Top 10 Weightloss Foods

{Low Carb - High Protein} Of course, I can't tell you what YOU should eat because I don't know your likes and dislikes, not to mention whether you have any intolerances, allergies or foods you don't eat for ethical reasons, etc... but research has shown that there are some definite advantages to a low to moderate carb and higher protein diet for fat loss purposes. These include reduced appetite, higher thermic effect of food and “automatic” calorie control. Keep the green and fibrous veggie intake higher however, along with large amounts of lean protein, small amounts of fruit, and adequate amounts of essential fat.

It’s not so much about the high carb - low carb argument or any other debate as much as it is about calorie control and compliance. The trouble is, restricted diets and staying in a calorie deficit is difficult, so most people can’t stick with any program and they fall off the wagon, whichever wagon that may be. Low carb vs. high carb is getting really old… so like… get over it everyone, its a calorie deficit that makes you lose weight, not the amount of carbs. 

“Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with and good habits are hard to form but easy to live with.”  -Jim Rohn, motivational speaker

http://www.burnthefat.com/list-of-top-10-weight-loss-foods.html

10 top natural starchy carb and whole grains
1. Oatmeal (old fashioned)
2. Yams
3. Brown rice (a favorite is basmati)
4. Sweet potatoes (almost same as yams)
5. Multi grain hot cereal (mix or barley, oats)
6. White potatoes
7. 100% whole grain bread or sprouted bread
8. 100% whole wheat / whole grain pasta
9. Beans (great for healthy chili recipes)
10. Lentils

Top 10 top vegetables

1. Broccoli
2. Asparagus
3. Spinach
4. Salad greens
5. Tomatoes
6. Peppers (green, red or yellow)
7. Onions
8. Mushrooms
9. Cucumbers
10. Zucchini 

Top 10 lean proteins
1. Egg whites (whole eggs in limited quantities)
2. Whey or Casein protein (protein powder supplements)
3. Chicken Breast
4. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
5. Turkey Breast
6. Top round steak (grass fed beef)
7. Flank Steak (grass fed beef)
8. Lean Ground Turkey
9. Bison/Buffalo (lean game meats)
10. Trout

Top 10 fruits

1. Grapefruit
2. Apples
3. Blueberries
4. Cantaloupe
5. Oranges
6. Bananas
7. Peaches
8. Grapes
9. Strawberries
10. Pineapple 

Note: I DO include healthy fats as well, such as walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil (supplement - not to cook with), avocado and a few others.  

If you'd like to learn more about fat burning nutrition and what to eat for maximum fat loss, then be sure to take a look at the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle nutrition program. Thousands of men and women call this their "fat loss bible." For all the details, visit: BurnTheFat.com There you can check out Fat Loss Coach Tom Venuto and see how he deals with burning fat!

So after reading this article, it seems I have been kind of on the right track. The first things I buy at the grocery store to use almost every day are: red & green peppers, apples, eggs, lettuce, and spinach. For breakfast I usually start out with a cup of oatmeal, vanilla yogurt, or eggs ( I rotate from scrambled to hard boiled)  For snacks I usually have an apple with peanut butter or nutella, or some fruit. For lunch I eat a salad topped with 2 pieces of turkey & little chunks of cheese, as well as red & green peppers, cucumbers, and sometimes pickles. And for dinner it's always fresh veggies (asparagus, broccoli, zuchini, squash) with chicken. Unless I am extremely worn out, tired, and lazy - Ill make a grill spinach & cheese sandwich (2 pieces of wheat toast, fresh spinach stuck between 2 slices of american cheese, pam spray or very light butter) with some crackers & salsa on the side. I love to cook so I love to experiment! 

What is YOUR to go to diet food? We all have a favorite "help us lose weight & keep us on track" food or meal. Share it with us :) PS - today is a weigh-in day for me, wish me luck!

Food and Fun!

Food and fun shared with you by pictures!

So since my dreadful last post about being miserable, I have managed to get out of the house and hang out with some pretty awesome friends of mine, while taking pictures to share with the world. So breifly, here they are.....

One night - I decided to take it upon myself to ask a bunch of friends to hangout at my other friend's house - where she has a fire most nights, along with some physically fun activities like bat mitten and volleyball. She also usually has a stocked fridge of coronas and twisted teas too! Although you can't tell in my pictures because I only took a few - all of my friends (besides one) have children. So while all us girls & (about ten of us) and James sat around the camp fire, talking shit, and reminiscing about crazy old times... we also had about ten kids (and two dogs) running around the yard like a bunch of hellians. Mind you, bat mitten is my all time favorite game to play, but as soon as the ADULTS want to play, along come the kids to take it over. We couldnt play for more than five minutes without a child running off with the "birdie." Anyways - it was a great night to catch up with friends and have a few drinks and two smores!

Another day, one of my besties {Lauren} invited me to a SUMMER BASH. Probably the b-e-s-t one that I have been to, maybe ever. Lauren and Michelle picked me up in the [cadillac escalade] packed with four adults and five kids!! We drove about 40 minutes away on a hot summer day and arrived at Dave's house. It was awesome. There was a live band, portable potties, four grills with a shit load of food, a humongous blow up slide, and games like sack in the hole, beer pong, and delicious jello shots!



While in the midst of people watching, enjoying the music, and having a BLAST... my friends (lauren, michelle and lisa lips) got WASTED. Which was fine, they told me early on that I was the "designated driver" which was okay because afterall, I didn't come prepared so had no liquor of my own, and cant stand the dreadful taste of beer. So I sucked down a few jellow shots just to relax and filled up on fruit. There was literally over fifty people there, all strangers, but we had a great time, it was a great party. When we were ready to leave I was worried about driving because the cadillac is HUGE, I am really bad at directions when it comes to highways, and all my friends were drunk! We packed the kids back in the truck and took off. I took the advice of a drunken friend and got us on the wrong highway initially, and once we got back on track I had to get off at the nearest exit because boligerant people might piss themselves! Overall, it took us about an hour to get home that night but it was well worth the craziness :)

Then lastnight was Yankee Homecoming a few towns away. It's a tradition in the town of Newburyport, Ma. where every summer in the center of town they have a ton of food vendors, leisure activites, performers, a live band, boat parade, and fireworks. Although me and the boys didn't make it till about 8pm, we got a great seat right on the boardwalk where we got to feel the ocean breeze and see the fireworks. It was also great to people watch!

Now... here it is, the last day of my "vacation" and I am watching Coraline on dvd, listening to the puppies and my husband snore beside me. It is a groggy, muggy, rainy, day and I'd much rather fold laundry and re-organize my closet than go outside in this weather. Though, I am eager to get back to work tomorrow to see my awesome co-workers and weigh in on Wednesday.

Speaking of weightloss. We did grocery shopping yesterday and for the first time in my life I skipped out on a bag of potatoes. I am a potatoe queen and it was literally like giving up heroin. I stood beside the bag of potatoes for five minutes wondering if I could go without, almost sweating with anxiety, and then in the freezer aisle (where I normally skip) I came across an already chopped bag of potatoes and I had to open and close the freezer door three times before walking away. I cook potatoes in many forms during the week - I like to cut up baby reds and throw them in the skillet with all sorts of things, mostly various veggies. In my house, we are not junk food junkies. Growing up my mother always bought snacks; ding dongs, funny bones, cookies, and ice cream. In my house we pleasure more on chips and dip and pudding. Other than that, I cannot remember the last time we had a package of cookies or ring dings in the cabinet. My guilty pleasure is CARBOHYDRATES! I love bread, I love chips, and I love potatoes! Yesterday I replaced chips with a bag of grapes, and I replaced potatoes with more fresh vegetables. I've also been struggling with finding something healthy and quenching to drink. While I have finally gone 100% at drinking water all day at work, I just cannot do it at home. I was filling up on gatorade but I am sick of it, and v8 is becoming dreadful too. So yesterday I got myself a bottle of Sprite Zero. Figured I could have a glass with my sandwiches or as a "dessert" to myself when I am craving soda. I gave up soda a few months ago cold turkey. Went from 2-3 bottles in the house a week to NONE! Also, SPINACH HAS BECOME MY FAVORITE FOOD ACCESSORY lately. It is absolutely delicious in grilled cheese and on every cold cut sandwich ever! However, it does go bad very quickly if you do not store it properly, which I havent figured out yet....

Anyways - I have to pee and pretty soon I am going to take a shower and go over to my mom's house. I decided that I need a hair cut. Quite honestly, I am very careless with my hair. I would let a homeless man on the sidewalk cut my hair if he wanted to. My hair is just so thick and grows so fast that I don't even care who messes it up, and right now Im at the point where it is even getting too heavy for a pony tail so I need a change! Pictures later in the week..... toodles :)

In Better Spirits & Delicious Food!

First, I'd like to say thank you to a few girls that commented on a post I had put up a few days ago. I was really in a bad state of physical being and even yesterday, I had a horrible day at work. I was emotionally down and out, I even broke down crying in the bathroom during my lunch break. I have alot of things going on behind the scenes at home and my husband and I are just trying to straighten out our credit and get things back in order. But it seems sometimes that good things don't happen fast enough to those of us that deserve them. Needless to say, when I read your comments today I felt so blessed that someone had read what I wrote and actually taken a minute (not only to pray for me) but to reach out and say hello, and to offer me to feel better. Even far away, strangers to one another, and behind a screen... I am greatful - and it touched my heart <3 thank you.

Today though I must say I was in a more chipper mood. For those of you who are just "following" me and don't actually "know" me. I am the clown of the bunch. I am constantly sarcastic, or telling a completely made up story just to one-up somebody as a joke, or to make you laugh. I will burst out in song and dance out of no where and reach out my hand to anyone in need. Today was one of those days that I spent taunting my co-workers in the pharmacy and flirting with all my elderly customers. I had a great day.

I have even been contemplating going back to school.
Although I have known for awhile now that I want to, I just was indecisive about what. I did a Medical Assistance course back in 2004 and then recently did some online classes (at a sketchy school in Iowa) towards my Bachelor's in healthcare. Which I dropped out due to mis-communication factors on their part. Now, here I am wanting to go back again. My pharmacist and my bff James (who is also my pharmacy supervisor, kind of) pretty much talked me into pharmacy school. I had thought about it before, but it seemed just like a  DREAM. It seemed like something too unnatainable for me. Because how could I possibly work full time, take care of a husband, house, and dogs, and go to school full time too? Crazy. But then I was told that I could probably get a loan big enough to live off of, while I am in school. So... here's my thoughts - I could do could all my pre-requisites done at the local community college in town that would take me about 2 years, and continue working full time at CVS. And then I can apply to Pharmacy school toward the accellerated program which is only 3 years. And although its about an hour away, maybe by then I will have a not-so-shitbox-car and a loan to help me pay my rent so I won't have to work as much, or at all. And after 3 years of pharm-d school I will graduate and make over $100,000 a year! Yes! That's it! I got it all figured out. Doesnt seem too bad now does it? Speaking of pharmacy stuff... here's some pictures of James and I at work late lastnight......

And just an update about my weightloss.

So I started my journey (again) at 278 at the end of June (I think it was the 26th). I quit soda, changed my eating habits, and lost 14 lbs right off the bat within 20 days and got down to 263. In the past two weeks I have watched the weight go on, day by day, pound by pound. Now - for the past 4 days I have been at 268. My pharmacist {who is literally just like Jillian Michaels. She is my health expert and food advisor and weightloss motivator} told me that its probably just water weight cause I've been PMSing and finally have my period now. I did have a few days where I failed :( I had Mcdonalds twice, a few sodas, and some french fries at the theme park. But besides that, over all, I have been eating really well and drinking water daily at work vs the usual soda or juice. I was doing a really good job using either my FitnessPal app on my android, or logging via Livestrong, but I've been slacking & haven't been counting calories. But I've still been photo-capturing everything.

So here are some pictures of what I've been eating lately...

L U N C H

And... like I said, have been drinking way more water than usual. Eating alot of peanut butter and apples too. I think that is my favorite snack. It's very thirst-and-crunch-quenching! I haven't incorporated any exercise yet into my weightloss. Although I am very determined quite honestly I WANT TO! I can't use my body pain & problems as an excuse, but they truly are. As well as it being 100 degrees here in Mass on most days - I can't really go outside. I have gotten in alot of walking & swimming though. And plan on trying to jog (or something similar) in the fall. I will be joining the gym as soon as we have some money to spare, we are literally b-r-o-k-e. No lie. Literally broke. But anyways....

We also don't have the internet or cable. I {very luckily} can get a connection off someone else with my wireless usually, and get about 10 basic cable channels cause we live in an apartment complex. So I've been missing all my reality shows and watching sitcoms and the news alot alot alot, and I cannot tell you how much I miss it all. I have also been summonsed (spelling?) to court to pay for an outstanding $4,000.00 ambulance bill (around the time I lost the baby last year) but I had insurance but supposably the hospital & e.m.t service that was used was "out of network" so now I have to worry about that and paying back some owed taxes from the beginning of the year as well. Ugg, I need to play the lotto......

Anyways - this never usually happens to me, but my wrists hurt from typing, good night.

BFFs, Birthdays, Chinese, and Kareoke!

So it was a double birthday dinner date at the end of the week, celebrating Lauren & Michelle's life. Lauren is my best friend, and Michelle is her's! A bunch of us decided to head over to Oriental Garden's; a local chinese resteraunt with a bar and kareoke. It was Thursday night, the crowd was pretty dead, and one my other bestie's was our waitress.

First of all, I got out of work at 5 and it took me over an hour to get home (normally 20 min tops) because there was an accident on the highway. When I got home I hurried to freshen my make up and pick out something to wear. Being another 3 lbs down I was feeling pretty hot. I don't know if I look any different, but I definately feel different. I pulled out this thick black belt that I've had for probably five years and only wore one other time, to a wedding. I clinched it around my waste and headed out the door. By the way, I was starving because I didn't have time for dinner yet........

You know how hard it is to not feast on chinese when you're on a diet {and starving!?} A corona and two blue hawaiians later, and everyone is ordering food. I really wanted a #21 which had chicken fingers, steak teriyake, boneless spare ribs, and pork fried rice. I refrained for as long as I could stand.... which was the whole night. Yay! Go me! Although I did eat one crab rangoon off someone else's plate! Then.... when the cake came out, I even said no and skipped a piece of that and just delicated on two chocolate covered strawberries. I was actually very, very, very, proud of myself for keeping in check. Did I mention our friend Tricia made the cake and surprised Lauren with it? It looked gorgeous {and delicious} she did a great job!

Overall, we all had a great time, great drinks, and shared some great laughs. Old time stories (most of us have been friends nearly 20 years) and mentioned our 10 year high school reunion coming up in a couple months. It was good to get out of the house and see the girls.

Weight-Gain Paranoia.

I'm only about 2 weeks into starting to lose weight again and I've lost a total of.... 9 lbs. Right now I am at that point where everything I put in my mouth causes me paranoia. Which, I'm not sure is a good thing or a bad thing? Every day that I am at work {where the scale is} I just wanna weigh myself every 5 seconds!

Today my day consisted of a lot of laziness and food. But I have a thing with vanilla yogurt, I don't like it too much, but my husband picked me up a large container of Chobani {greek yogurt} for my fresh berries so I had some for breakfast, it was a little "sour-ish" if you know what I mean so I guess it'll have to grow on me. I also found out that I like blackberries better than raspberries cuz theyre too sweet.

For lunch I cut up 4 little baby red's and threw in some onions, peppers, and sugar snap peas {my favorite}. My mother came to visit so we got to hang out and chit chat. That was nice ( I should have taken a picture of her - shux - next time ) She only lives 5 minutes away so it's not a big, luxurious visit.....

I was worried later in the afternoon when I started to get hungry. My husband made lasagna lastnight which I refused to have a piece of, and he also had a box of pizza in the fridge from yesterday. So he was torturing me!!! I wanted a piece of pizza so damn bad today I almost had to throw it away before I stuffed it down my throat.

For dinner I wasn't sure what to make, I decided to go with some eggs, and didnt know what to do with them so threw them on a bagel thin. I was proud though, I normally would scramble FOUR freakin eggs. Today I only cooked TWO and I cut that in half to put on my bagel, so I guess I literally only had ONE - go me!!! See, its the little things that count, right?

And although today was my day off and I was hoping to bathe in the sun and maybe swim with some fish, I got too caught up in trying to restore my laptop and get my paint shop to start up again, that by the time I looked at the clock and decided it was time to go out - it was too late! Hopefully soon my friends and I will take a camping trip or do something summer-ish and crazy soon :) But it was nice {very nice actually} to spend the day with my husband and my babies <3

Detox - Day 3

Another 2 lbs. down! In three days I've lost a total of 3 lbs and 9 lbs overall in the last 11 days. So I am pretty excited. It definately gives me the motivation to keep going. When you are actually making healthy choices every day you don't realize how many un-healthy choices there are available, or who around you is eating poorly, and how hard it is to say no. I ran into that today....

Breakfast was easy. I had a bowl of blackberries & raspberries at home. And I prepared my lunch for work the night before so I knew that I would be okay - usually if Im unprepared and hungry I buy junk or eat McDonalds (which is right next door.) When I got to work though, there was a HUGE box of a dozen donuts and 8 friggin' iced coffees {which Im a sucker for}and it took a lot of will power to say no to a chocolate donut and not grab an iced coffee! I guess at drug rep brought them in for us, which isnt unusual- they always try to "sweet talk" us, literally.

This all fruit & vegetable diet though with only brown rice is coo-coo. So I give up! I failed yesterday anyways and since I've been losing weight just by making healthier choices, why do anything different? So consider this the last day of my 7 day detox diet, maybe Ill try again {or something similar} another time.....

 For lunch I had a small bowl of flax cereal and some berries over cool whip. And for late lunch, our store manager bought a Subway platter because we did such a great job the past month in our execution (which is like our report card) So when I went into the break room for dinner tonight, I made myself a nice little smorgashboard of onions, peppers, pickles, and lettuce ontop of some honey oat bread ( I took a roastbeef sandwich and took out the roastbeef sandwich so I could use the honey oat bread haha ) Needless to say, it wa delicious and I was fufilled. Normally I could eat a whole 12 incher, but today my stomach felt full after 6 inches and some water. I was pretty proud of myself....

So... that is the end of tonight's post. I will continue eating as much fruit and vegetables as possible, low calorie juice, lots of water, green tea, and try to eat less bread, other carbs, and other stuff I was used to. xox

Detox - Day 2

Failure. Well... for the most part I did very well, I went almost two complete days without any food; only drinking water & green tea. At one point during work today I was soooooo hungry, my stomach was growling so badly it almost hurt! But all I could think about was the dissapointment of my friends, family, and readers if I couldn't pull this detox off 100% then I ate one friggin almond. I figured one tiny piece of food would fufill me enough to stop the hungry till tomorrow. Fail!

I just had a realization! OMG! I had a really rough day today. I wonder if subconciously I needed to eat something to make me HAPPY and get me through the day? Know what I mean? Not that at any point today did I think, "wow, what a shitty day, I need to eat and feel better." But was I really hungry (or was it an emotional thing?) I mean, my stomach was absolutely growling and I felt almost starved to death, but I'm sure my emotions played into it a tiny bit.

Recap; I worked 11 hours yesterday {in a stressfull, high volume, retail pharmacy mind you} and wanting to hop in my truck and leave the parking lot my car wouldnt start. I had to have a co-worker give me a jump start, then I had to drive my best friend home, needless to say I didn't get home till 8 pm. So I had literally been gone 13 hours. I was so busy at work yesterday that not eating was simple, and when I got home, I had enough will power to continue on. I went to bed around 10, watched some MTV, felt kind of funny. I was energized during the day, but once it got later into the evening I felt a little dizzy, kind of drunk-like. So I drank a glass of gatorade {to replenish my electrolites} and eventually fell asleep. I had a very strange dream. I actually dreamt (long story short) that because of my detox, I was hallucinating. And that I didn't wake up for work and ended up going in 6 hours later.

So this morning my husband woke me up (he wakes up at 4 am to get ready for work) so I only got about 5 hours of sleep. When I left the house at 7 to head off to work.... surprise! Surprise! My car wouldnt start. I struggled to get back into my apartment because the lock sucks and it needs to be changed. My cell phone is off till I pay the bill tomorrow so only because I borrowed my bestie's spare phone could I text. I had to beg my mother to drive me, which was a project all in itself. She loves to help me, with anything, any time, don't get me wrong - but it was really early, she had no gas, and I work about 20 minutes away up the highway. I arrived at work late, I ended up spilling my Green Tea all over myself, and the rest of the day just went awkwardly for me. My father in law's wife (who is actually a life long family friend Melonie) ended up picking me up and when I got home all I wanted to do was eat.

I struggled for hours not to eat. Finally, my husband got home from work, a neighbor ended up giving us a brand new battery for my truck. And I finally gave in and made a salad. So in the past two days I have eaten one little chunk of cheese, an almond, and a tiny salad. But I failed my liquid 2-day part of the Detox Diet. And I'm dissapointed in myself. And even worse, I'm too honest of a person not to admit it in my blog LOL So what's my plan now? I still have 5 days left of the detox diet. Tomorrow I wille at fruit all day, continue drinking water, and green tea. And on Saturday I will oncorporate (maybe some rice but I doubt it) and vegetables into my meals. And continue fresh fruit and veggies until Wednesday and see how I do. No carbs. No extra stuff.

{ Here's a picture of my chicken salad today - a chicken patty over a bed of salad with fresh red and green peppers and half an apple cut up in chunks. And probably the best green tea I've ever had }

So far though, I am down 1 pound from yesterday :)

Day 1 - 267 lbs and Day 2 - 266 lbs 

I just hope that I didn't ruin my entire detox from failing today, ahhhhhh we'll see!

In the meantime, I've been working hard on my blog. I used to be a web & graphic designer working from home, and actually owned a few websites (Jazzy-Jazz.net & Flawless-Space.com ) but sold them when the whole myspace extravaganza died down. So I am very skilled when it comes to layouts and stuff, but.... my desktop and just recently my laptop crashed and I lost all my programs so now I cannot be as creative as I want to, or used to be. So I aint satisfied with this layout or any of my blog's set up. But - I just redid all the sections in my top navigation link bar. So check them out, and right now I am working on my meal's page.

{ As you can tell I am rambling like crazy tonight, sorry, talk to you tomorrow, on day 3 } Muah!

Food Today, Gone Tomorrow.

7 Day Detox Diet... here I come! Thanks to Miss Haneefa over at Black Girl Gets Fit who just finished her seven day detox diet losing a total of fourteen pounds {14 lbs - yes! That's right} Anyways, I found her post during her 2nd day and followed her all the way through, asking many of questions, and then ofcourse researching for myself & making the decision last week to start tomorrow.

I chose tomorrow (which is Wednesday) because it was the first day back to work after my 5 day mini fourth of July vacation. Also, I will be working 10 hours (8am-6pm) so it'll be easy to keep food out of my mouth while I'm busy at work on the go-go-go. I am worried that I wont have alot of energy though, but the detox diet only consists of days 1 and 2 with only fluids, then days 3 on you can incorporate brown rice, fruits, and veggies into your meals. I'm more worried now about how I'll do on Thursday because I'm out of work at 2pm which makes it an early day for me... but I guess I'll just take it one day at a time.

If you are worried that this is a diet where "people starve themselves" or that its a "fad diet" and is just a waste of time, I don't care. Not only do I want to lose fourteen pounds {ha ha} but it also cleanses your body of all sugars and other unnecessary chemicals in there, given you do it correctly. If you wanna know full details about the 7 Day Detox Diet then Google it!!!!!

As for right now, I just stuffed my face with a pita bread full of chicken breast, sharp cheddar cheese, and lettuce, as well as some tortilla chips and salsa. We went grocery shopping today, knowing that I was going to do this Diet I should have gotten more fruits and fresh vegetables but we were kind of poor so I didn't have much to spend.  And I wasnt 100% sure I would even follow through. But hey, whats 7 days anyways, right? Here's what we did get though.....

Lots of delicious berries; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. A salad mix {and I have another one in the fridge} some cranberry muffins, organic flax cereal {which is delicious} some pita bread, cool whip for dessert, red, yellow, and green peppers, and some frozen veggies.

For dessert I opted out of something chocolatey and frozen {did weight watcher pops last week} and decided to grab a box of cereal, cool whip, and fresh berries to quench my thirst. It was delicious. Anyways, back to the 7 Day Detox Diet....

I respect your opinion {mainly speaking to friends and family on facebook who will be commenting like crazy and keeping up with my bitching during the process} but.... if you are only going to give me negative feedback about this diet please keep it to yourself. I understand that you might think it is unhealthy, or not good for me, but to be honest - I've seen people do alot worse. I have friends who literally have anorexia and have starved themselves just to be skinny. I know Pastors who have gone 40 days without hard foods and just drank liquids to fast for God, and I even know muslims who don't eat until it's dark out. So it's okay. 2 days of liquids and 5 days of fruits and vegetables will be GOOD FOR ME! I promise :) Love ya <3

4th of July Recap.

Happy 4th of July on the 5th of July. And yay to me, who enjoyed a mini 5 day vacay. Most of which I spent at home with the husband and dogs. Cleaning, staying up late, waking up even later, and just lounging around. It was lovely. My hubby who normally works close to 60 hours a week also had three days off with me, so we got to spend some quality time together. Which rarely happens. Although I'm not as much as a home body as him, so I took up every oppurtunity to hang with friends, family, and hit up cook outs.

Friday morning I spent time with family shopping - which is shared on my blog a few posts ago. As well as my shopping experience yesterday where I found a cute cheetah top and some dollhouse sandals.

What I haven't told you yet is that on Saturday, me and some of my bff's (James and Derek who are Room-mates, Molly who lives downstairs, and Ryan who is one of our other besties) decided to throw a 4th of July barbecue {what we call p-a-r-t-y} at their house. James, Derek, and Molly live on Salisbury Beach, a tourist attraction and great spot for the locals to swim in the ocean, bathe in the sun, play some arcades, and eat some great food. Around 3 pm- Molly and I went outside and set up about 20 chairs, hung some Tiki decorations, and set up the tables for the food. The party started at 6. About 20 people showed up including a few friends, co-workers, and some of Molly's family. We ate some delicious food, had some delicious drinks {which included frozen margaritas, rum, and coconut jack} and roasted marshmellows over the fire pit. At 10 pm we all walked down to the beach, where we layed on the sand, to watch them light fireworks over the ocean. It was a blast. And it was actually our first party that none of us got hammered, so instead of staying the night I drove home at 2am and snuggled in bed with PJ and the pups <3


Yesterday I also went to a cook out one of my life long best friend Lauren's house. She cooked a huge assortment of food; from onions & potatoes, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, to pasta salad, and a few desserts. We played bat-mitten (spelling?), volleyball, talked, and hung out drinking Corona's and Soda while listening to music and watching all the crazy kids of their's run around the back yard. The weather was wild. One second it was hot and humid, and the next it was thunder & lightning and the rain poured down on us. The second it was over, we were right back outside, only for it to repeat two or three times more. I ended up leaving before Lauren's fiance lit off the fireworks {which are illegal in the state of Mass- where we live} but ohwell :) I'm sure it was worth the smiles on the kids' faces and the men who got to shoot them off! I didn't get any pictures, BUMMER.

Cheetah Top & Cute Shoes!

Shop-a-Holic. Well, not so much since I've been poor. Normally it's hard for me to hold on to a buck. Like, literally. I am one of those people who... would spend down to my last 25 cents, even if it was just on a lousy piece of candy! Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those shop-a-holics that would let my electricity get shut off or  become evicted just to go out and blow some money. Rent, gas in the car, food, and bills. That's my list of priorities, in order. But every now and again I do deserve to go out and buy things ( that I don't need. ) Like a new purse, some sexy panties, or a cute pair of shoes.

Although yesterday was not any particular day that money fell from a tree right into my pocket. I actually made the choice to cash in some gold. I had some old broken bracelets and earrings that were just beyond repair and soaking up space in my jewelry box, which is crowded already. So my husband and I brought it to Pawn Mart in Plaistow and they gave me over a hundred dollars. Which was great, I thought Id only get a meesely fifty bucks for it, so I was happy. Hubby got some money for a new game, we put money into the gas tank, a few bucks towards food and we paid our rent. What was left over was mine to b l o w.

KOHL'S here I come!

I have a few tops that I need a strapless bra for, which... being a 40DD- wearing a strapless bra has never been easy (or easy to find or comfy to wear.) But I really really really wanted to wear these shirts this summer! So, I invested in a new bra. It fits, it doesn't fall down, and you can actually wear the straps in 3 different styles. And I also bought this fabulous CHEETAH top.

Then, I realized that I had a coupon to AVENUE for an extra 30% off because of The Fourth of July. So I went over to see if there was anything I liked, and to be honest, there wasn't. Most of it was not my style, a little more "elderly" and "bland" for me. So I went next door to Marshall's. Where I found an amazing pair of sandals. I knew I didn't wanna spend more than $20 on a pair of sandals and it worked out cause these Dollhouse ones, were only $16.99 and I also bought a flowy, hippy-like, black, layered, beachy, skirt... which my husband haaaattteeeeessss LOL

The shoes on the left are the ones I bought and the ones on the right were hand-me-down's from my cousin's ex roomate. Which - if you can't tell, they tie up the ankle... so I fell in love with them immediately and didn't mind that they were second hand.

{ And these are just a few flicks of me  in my new cheetah top and cute shoes }

Im kind of hoping that I can make shopping a regular thing. It's been a really long time since I've been able to go out and spend pointless money and it felt really good. And most importantly, I felt really good wearing my new stuff. I know that it's impossible until our bills are reduced or one of us gets a pay increase, but a girl can always W I S H right ;) Maybe Ill explore some consignment shops and document my journeys here....