All posts in category Planning

Idle Hands

I have a horrible tendency, if I’m not paying attention, to sit home all day with the TV tuned to TBS watching reruns of shows that I have seen dozens (or more!) times.  I try to keep the background noise tuned to PBS for Hanna in the morning because for some reason Sesame Street is a comforting noise, but by the end of the day it always goes back to TBS.

What is it about the show “Friends” that makes it so I can’t turn the channel?  I’ve seen each episode over 10 times (confession: WELL over 10 times each), but it feels like sinning when I turn the channel, or heaven forbid turn the entire TV OFF.

When I was in Utah last week and I was discussing the woes of being a Stay-at-home-mom with my own mom, and how I can let myself actually sit in front of the TV all day long and not accomplish one single task, she told me a secret to when she was a SAHM: Projects.

I know, it seems so simple yet I cannot pry myself away from Friends long enough to come up with some projects that I need to get done.  So I have forced myself to sit down and come up with a list of things that I either need to get done, or would like to accomplish.

First off, I am not crafty.  I mean, I AM crafty if I need to be, but I don’t want a house full of homemade displays and such, but there are plenty of projects I can do for Hanna that have nothing to do with my house.  Of course I turned to my Pinterest arsenal and got to planning.  The only thing is that I need a sewing machine for most of them (pffft.  whatever sewing machine).  I may have to see if I can borrow one from a friend.

Hanna has a quiet book that I let her play with in church and she loves it, but I think she is getting tired of the same old pages over and over again.  So I’m going to add some fun pages that I found from this website:

I thought the potato head quiet pages look awesome and have loads of different playing possibilities.

I would also love to make her these felt “paper” dolls that can be found on this website:

Another suggestion that my mom had was to slowly paint my cupboards.  I eventually would like to paint most of my house, but I am going to start with my kitchen cupboards, which I want white (right now they are grey).  I think I can get it done with 1 gallon of paint so now I just have to start sanding them down.  That should keep me busy.

Along with those things I would also like to:

  • Finish knitting the baby quilt I started when I found out I was pregnant with Hanna (I am NOT a procrastinator! Ok, maybe I am)
  • Start taking a weekly trip to the library since Hanna has FINALLY started letting me read books to her (this makes me so happy I could cry, I LOVE books!)
  • Peeling off all the labels to my old Kombucha glass bottles so that I can store bulk food items in them like shaved coconut, dried beans, lentils, and such.
  • Cleaning out my pantry so it makes sense.
  • Putting together a Vegan cookbook binder for all of my recipes that I have printed out and organizing them into categories.
  • Finish Divergent on audio book, and start another.  My 2012 reading goal is happening this year!
  • Organize my Pinterest boards, which I find ironic.
  • Re-vamp my blog and give it a facelift. This WILL happen the next time I am in Utah with my Graphic Designer brother.  And of course make it easier to navigate and organize it.
  • De-clutter the garage (this one may have to wait until next spring)
  • Go through Hanna’s room and re-arrange it, put old clothes in storage and get rid of some toys.  I literally have not done anything to that childs room since we moved 4 months ago.

Along with that list I feel like I have LIVED in my kitchen the last few days so a recipe roundup will definitely be making its way for What I Ate Wednesday tomorrow.  I will also have a recipe for a chocolate cheesecake that I will be sharing, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your eating philosophy) it has lots of dairy in it.  I am making dinner for our church missionaries tonight and every time I suggest a Vegan dish my husband gives me the stink eye.  On the menu: Chicken Enchilada’s with roasted green beans and Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.  Side note:  Whatever is left after the missionaries leave goes in the trash, or to a neighbor (don’t you wish you loved by me).  Here’s hoping my stomach doesn’t get too upset!

BTW: Dustin is doing stellar on his one week challenge so far!

Later friends!

7 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Change, Distractions, Indulgence, Kombucha, Making It Happen, Planning

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/07/17/idle-hands/

The Sweet Relief of Routine

Hallelujah!  My internet is up and running!  And so is my Google reader, apparently,  considering I had over 150 items to be read from the last week!  I’m slowly working my way through and seeing what all of my blog friends are up to.

I am happy to say (more like ecstatic) that life is starting to settle down and that all-to-familiar motivation is creeping back into my mind.  You know the I’ve-been-off-the-wagon-for-so-long-that-I’ve-actually-gotten-sick-of-eating-out-and-I’m-ready-to-kick-ass-on-weight-loss kind of motivation.  That’s the one!

The Diet (And when I say diet, I mean the food that I consume and not a diet plan.  This is a lifestyle not a diet)

I’ve been concocting a plan of action these last few days, and after getting the thumbs up from the Hub’s we are going to be doing round 2 of the PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart!  The truth is, I have never felt better in my life than when I was doing round one of the kick-start in January.  I cannot deny that this way of life agrees with me.  It is simple to follow, and I feel like all aspects of my life improve when eating a plant-based diet.

I will be tracking my calories on Livestrong.com, and I will be keeping daily blog food diaries.  The food log posts may be boring, but the whole reason I have this here blog is for accountability and documentation.  I will try to keep them interesting with lots of pictures and hopefully, some fun recipes!

The Exercise.

This is where I have to show how dedicated I am.  I no longer have a 24 hour gym with child care.  In fact, the hours of the activity center (although free) are from 8-9, which is not the most convenient of time for me.  I am not the kind of person who likes a lot of change in my workout times.  I like to workout at the same time everyday so that my routine is not thrown off.  Walking (and then hopefully running at some point) will be a major player in my exercise regime.  Keep in mind that I live on the side of a mountain, and I am also pushing 40 pounds worth of baby and stroller up and down hills.  Great interval workout right? Right.

Here are some pictures from the first of many walks that we will be embarking on:

These pictures do not do the hill climbs justice.  It felt like I was walking uphill both ways!  My legs are actually sore today!

We are also planning on checking out the Activity Center tonight so that we can get a better idea of what it offers.  We may even walk there considering it is less than 2 miles away from our house, but uphill the entire way.

The Motivation

As if I need any more motivation than my sweet baby girl and amazing husband, but alas, baby talk has been happening.  I think this is the one and only time in my life that I will experience my hub’s wanting another baby before me.  Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to have another baby right this very second, but I REFUSE to go through another pregnancy like my last.

I’m not saying that I need to lose a hundred pounds before I’ll consider having another baby, but we did come to the conclusion that I was going to give it my all until next January.  Then we can start trying for another.

This thought has weighed heavy on my mind lately, and I cannot wait any longer.  No more dragging my feet and being “off plan” more than I’m “on plan”.  I have been on this WLJ since June of 2011 and all I have lost is around 30 pounds.  It’s time to get serious and not let life’s obstacles get in the way.  It’s time that I show how committed I really am.

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on March 29, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Commitment, Diet, Motivation, Planning, Plant Based Diet, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on March 29, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/03/29/the-sweet-relief-of-routine/

Made in the Kitchen, Indeed.

Sweat it Out:
Elliptical 60 Minutes
Foam Rolling & Stretching 20 Minutes

I love Pinterest!  It is no secret that the struggling part of my weight loss journey is diet.  FItness is in the bag and I could improve on it immensely if I could just get my food intake under control.

Yesterday I had some noteworthy food and a few non-scale victories, if that is what you want to call them.

I do all of my grocery shopping for the week on Monday.  In the recent past I have gotten into a NASTY habit of rewarding myself (for going to the grocery store?) with a candy of my choice.  Ok, you got me.  A KING SIZE candy bar of my choice, which I scarf down in the car.  Ya, that puppy doesn’t even make it home before it is in my stomach.  I kept rationalizing that if it was only once a week it was no big deal.  But then there are the times that I have to run to the store because we are out of diapers, or some other small thing, and those delicious candy bar’s are staring you in the face at the check out counter where they have been strategically placed.

I actually haven’t “rewarded” myself with a candy bar for a few weeks, but it’s probably because I have been “rewarding” myself with all kinds of foods for the last 3 weeks for something or another.

I went to the store at 2:00 just after Hanna’s nap and I could tell on my way down there that the carrots, hummus, pineapple chobani, and apple that I had for lunch were not going to hold through the entire shopping trip.

I started getting a hankering.  For something sweet.  The thought would not leave my mind.

“No, Carrie.  You have done so good today and if you are hungry it only means that you body needs something, and that something is NOT a candy bar.  It will only leave you feeling sick and guilty”  

I love when I can have an inner monologue with myself, and it helps even more if I can actually say it out loud so I can hear it (yes, I talk to myself.  I am SO NOT crazy.  Try it when you have a moment of weakness, it helps).

After talking to myself down about 5 aisles (remember that I have a small child with me so everyone thinks I’m talking to her), I had an idea.  Protein bar.  Duh!  Why have I never thought about this before?  They sell them individually and at this point in the day I had only taken in less than 1000 calories, burned 700 calories at the gym, and I could totally afford a delicious protein bar.  The only problem is that I wanted a bar that had a LOT of protein in it so it would tide me over until dinner at 5:00.  A Luna or Larabar just wasn’t going to cut it.  I needed some calories people!

After staring at the protein bars for what seemed like forever I decided on this beauty:

Chocolate Peanut Butter= Pure Heaven.  It totally did the trick for curbing my sweet tooth and had a whopping 30 GRAMS of PROTEIN.  It was a weight lifting day yesterday and so I was trying to pack a protein punch.  It had 280 calories (that’s actually way more than I would normally eat with a bar, but at this point I was using it as a meal replacement) and 7 grams of fat.  Not bad at all.

Fabulous discovery #2:

I FINALLY made this amazing recipe:

Tomato Basil “Cream” Pasta from Oh She Glows.  BEST. VEGAN. PASTA. EVER.  I could have eaten an ENTIRE pan full of this stuff, it was that good.  I give it 5 out 5 stars.

Go try this recipe, now.  It was fast and EASY, and even the hub’s was into it.  I still have a little of the sauce in my fridge and I am saving it like its liquid gold.

Fabulous discovery #3

I’m trying to incorporate more salads into my diet and have decided that I am going to be eating them for lunch, but since I don’t want to run to the store several times a week I discovered a great way to store your lettuce so it lasts longer:

This is 3 bags of lettuce stored in glass mason jars.  I had heard previously that if you store lettuce in glass it will stay good longer, but I never even thought (until pinterest of course) that you could store them in jars!  What a great idea!  I’m trying it out this week to see if my lettuce will stay good all the way until my next grocery day.

Now I just need to make sure that the salad stays different and interesting.

What are your favorite salad toppings? Favorite dressing?

Protein Bars: love or hate?

Are you like me and feel like you have to reward yourself for doing everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping?

5 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on February 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Diet, Meal Planning, Planning, Protein, Rewards, Shopping

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on February 28, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/02/28/made-in-the-kitchen-indeed/

Where’s the Motivation?

I’m sure I’m not the only one nodding their head when I say it is tough to get back into your healthy routine after being sick and having a lot of stress going on.  Where’s the motivation?  Here is my testimony on motivation:  It always comes back, you just have to be patient through the times that it’s not there.

Yesterday it wasn’t there.  We put an offer on a house, and the stress of it made me fidgety.  I kind of walked around the house like I didn’t know what to do with myself, and then ended up organizing all of my misc. 3 ring binders, sheet protectors, and tab dividers (I know I have mentioned before how much I LOVE office supplies).

So why didn’t I just go to the gym you ask?  I was lethargic from all of the horrible foods I was eating to get myself “feeling better”.  I wasn’t looking forward to having a sluggish workout that would be challenging at an easier level.

This week I need to focus on getting the checks and balances back where my body needs to be.  Dairy has been clear and present these last few days and my body is mad at me!

The thing is, I know that my life is going to get hectic this next couple of months so I really need to be on my game.  I need to keep up the momentum I have going.  I have had such a wonderful beginning to 2012, and I only want it to continue.  I am happy with the change of lifestyle that my diet has brought on, and it keeps me motivated to know that if I eat good I can sustain that level of energy I feel every morning when I jump out of bed.

I am blessed in the fact that the gym is not a hard thing for me to do everyday.  As a stay at home mom I have the time to go to the gym without a whole lot of distraction.  The area that is hard for me is eating.  I especially have a hard time when my life gets crazy and stressful.  I kind of shut down, and have no desire to cook healthy and opt for the convenience of fast food.

I will say that since the beginning of the year I have had my eyes opened, and I find it hard to justify convenient foods anymore.  They really aren’t convenient.  I have decided that journaling is more important than ever in these hectic times.  I’m taking a page out of Aimee and Marion’s book and making my food journaling public.

I’ll make sure to keep these post’s interesting and they won’t be everyday, just 2-3 posts a week including a What I ate Wednesday post.  Today I am notivated, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. I am arming myself with the tools to get through the un-motivated times, and with that comes success!

 

8 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on February 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Diet, Distractions, Energy, Health, Motivation, Planning

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on February 7, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/02/07/wheres-the-motivation/

It’s All About the Plan

Here is what my kitchen table looks like right now:

For me Sunday is meal planning for the upcoming week.  I know a lot of people do Meal Planning Monday’s, but let’s face it, if I wait till Monday it ain’t gettin done, and we’ll be eating beans and rice for the next week (I’m sure the hub’s would just LOVE that).  Side note:  My hub’s spent 2 years in Brazil from the ages of 19-21 and LIVED on beans and rice.  Needless to say, he came home about 60 pounds lighter than when he left.  Whenever I suggest rice and beans for dinner he says, “too soon”.

I’ve got my bodybugg charging, and have been burning out my google search looking for some fun recipe’s that will tickle my fancy (and the hub’s taste buds).  Dustin has so far eaten everything I’ve made, but he confessed to me the other night that every time he tries something new he thinks “this would taste a lot better with chicken”.  last night I even made some fish sticks for him so he could have fish taco’s, and I just ate taco’s with black bean corn salsa (awesome), refried beans, and brown rice.

Another side note:  I have always been afraid of carbs (pasta, bread, etc.), and things with a lot of fat like Peanut Butter (which I LOVE).  Let’s just say I have weighed myself recently and I don’t want to reveal the number until tomorrow’s weigh in, but I will be afraid no more!  In fact, one day I ate oatmeal, leftover pasta, and another pasta dish for dinner, and the next day I woke up with no sausage fingers and I had actually LOST WEIGHT.  I am learning so much about how my body works eating vegan, everyday holds a different surprise.

I digress…

Back to meal planning…

I have found that eating vegan can be money consuming……if I let it be.  The first week of January I spent about $200 on my grocery excursion’s, possibly more if I really went through my bank account and added it all up.  I went to the grocery FIVE times that week!  I didn’t plan very well and it cost me more than just money, but my time as well.  I hate having to go to the store more than twice a week, especially if it’s just to pick up a couple of things.  Then you add the trips to the health foods store, and it just gets to be too much.

Last week I tried something different and collected all of my recipe’s on Sunday and made a plan for the week.  I made out a grocery list and I got only the item’s on the list.  I walked out of Wal-mart only having spent $57 on necessities, and only ended up having to make 1 unexpected trip back to the store. My total grocery trip from Wal-mart was around $90, and the health food’s store was about $20.  Much better than the previous week, so we all see why its good to plan, right?  Right.

I am also finding some really fun recipe’s to try, hoping that I will strike gold and my hub’s will finally say “make that again”.  Most of the recipe’s I find I pin to pintrest.  If you want to follow me click here.

Here is this weeks meal plan (I will be rating these recipes at the end of the week to let you know how they turn out):

  • Monday: Thai Peanut Noodles with Roasted Broccoli (The only recipe is the Thai Peanut Sauce)
  • Tuesday: Stuffed Chili Peppers
  • Wednesday: Homemade Tomato Soup
  • Thursday: Rice & Beans (Dustin will be working so I’m on my own for dinner)
  • Friday:  Mac & Cheeze
  • Saturday: Meatless Fajita’s.  I just sautee green peppers and purple onion in Fajita seasoning, and eat them on tortilla’s with beans and homemade guac.
  • Sunday: Bestest Pesto

Have I mentioned how much easier it is to cook now that I don’t have to prepare meat?  Well it is.

What is your go-to dinner?

Do you have a favorite recipe website?  What is it?

2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Meal Planning, Planning, Recipes, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 15, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/15/its-all-about-the-plan/

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