The Matrix, Blizzards, and Babies

Well we are in the midst of a historic blizzard apparently... I was joking on Facebook that I was just saying to myself I needed like five days off of work and from my extra curricula activities to do some de cluttering, organize my closets and do laundry so my bad about the blizzard because my Law of Attraction game is strong lol

All jokes aside thank The Lord. I have so much stuff between getting married, AKA, Links and Junior League I'm overwhelmed with stuff. I had several bins I already purchased to get my stuff together so I have been making my way through all of it and from the looks of things I won't be back to work until Wednesday earliest so there are my five straight days and no vacation days required!

Lo & behold my favorite movie The Matrix was on yesterday and it's in now. Mannnnnn that movie changed my whole life. It really was my first adult introduction to the Law of Attraction although it never used the term. I typically have a theme for every year and 1999's theme was "1999 is not a game" it was a hard, sad, tough lessons learned, really deep year. Between the Matrix and Lauryn Hill's MisEducation album my mindset started to shift. It was NOT quick or easy and there were lots of ups and downs but I understood changing my life... all aspects of it, began with how I think. The information I willing took in and most importantly learning how to ignore what was not helpful even when people thought their negativity was a form of support or assistance. Most people who know me know I don't like repeating things; I bore easily and so I don't re-read, re-watch, re-do anything often. The Matrix? I can watch everyday. I love it.

As God would have it as I was getting dressed for my wedding it came on and man the photographer had a field day taking pictures of me and my karate moves lol I took it as a good omen :-)

Anyhoo  all of  that was to say watching it yesterday made me realize I am so over the gym. Soooooo over it I  think I need to go do something active like boxing, maybe back to Krav Maga or even Karate... Treadmills aint getting it for me right now. I need to think about it and just do it. I really like Krav Maga and its close to my home. I'll update yall any suggestions are welcomed!

So went to my OB/Gyn recently and had the baby talk so I told her my goal is to lose 50 pounds this year to be ready for us to start next year. She agreed it was a good idea and a lot of women go on a baby diet as she called it.

 So Weight Watchers update this makes three weeks I have not been to the meetings! First week I had the Alpha Kappa Alpha Leadership conference, second week was the day after the Founders' Day celebration (lol) nuff said  see pics below and this week Blizzard 2016. I finally got on my own WW scale and I am now down almost 4 more pounds!!! According to Weight Watchers I am averaging .09 pounds loss a week which is right on track for my goal of 50 pounds in a year! And 2 more pounds and I get a month free. 

I am trying to log in on my phone and really working on my water. The exercise though I'm just not inspired, motivated or feeling it at all but ohhhhhh vanity I need to take my Presidential portrait for Junior League and I would at least like to lose another 10 pounds by then. My face looks so different with every 5 -10 pounds its crazy. So between the future baby and  my photo I'm highly motivate to stick with the Smart Points plan. LOL I aint shamed!

So weird to even think about family planning I have a lot of plans and goals and I had a great conversation with my good friend Danielle last week and she made me put my baby plan in the timeline LOL I just think there is never a perfect time to have a baby. I think there may be times that are better than others but a perfect time to have a whole human being to take care of, pay for, feed, talk to and keep breathing and hope they don't become a serial killer... no perfect time for that. I see some of my family members, Sorors and coworkers and friends do it to varying degrees of  success and I'm getting all kinds of stories some good but most bad lol maybe they don't mean for them to sound bad but I swear I don't know how the planet is over populated lol I'm taking it all in keeping in mind just like my love life... I get to write my own story so their lives are just FYI. Law of Attraction game is strong on my end so I am appreciative of people sharing their stories. I surely don't take parenthood lightly and I think that's a good thing. I think a lot of people go in with rose colored glasses and I don't know why but I  love the conversation and found a new idol Marissa Mayer CEO of Yahoo! She had her first baby at 40 or almost 40 and took of 2 weeks!!! DUDE TWO WEEKS LOL She's a rock star in my book! Talk about writing your OWN STORY! There are levels to this....

Anyhoo I have the perfect husband for me to make me willing to take the journey. Thank God for that! 

Well that's all for now!! Stay safe and warm good people! 

First 13 days of 2016

The first 13 days of 2016 have been busssyyyyy! All good things though. I missed the Saturday Weight Watchers meeting because of a sorority leadership meeting. I weighed in at home and it was the exact same as last week. I was not as diligent about tracking last week and this week. No real reason just fell behind and next thing you know its been three days. I find I do better when I'm in a routine so going  back to the office helped me a lot. Food hasn't been perfect but that's the beauty and appeal of Weight Watchers... just use your points.


I'm really focused on doing things I enjoy in 2016 and Broadway is one thing high on my list! I took a trip to New York with my friend to see The Gin Game with Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones  they were great! Living Legends! We went to eat at the famous Junior's Cheesecake and I had their Thai ginger wings and got a slice strawberry cheesecake to go. I still have not eaten it lol

I forgot to wear my pedometer but I'm sure I got plenty of steps in on those New York city blocks! I am glad I was feeling a bit better I seem to have injured my left hip after doing Bikram yoga last week Sunday! I mean pain in my hip like I've never felt!! I said that's it no more yoga... my 40 year old hip can't take it lol So I have been sidelined because of that and I was on a roll with walking in my building too! Oh well! I will take it easy for the rest of this week and start up again.

In other news, I've been using my gratitude journal. Not daily but I try to write a few things in it every day I am at work. But I need to do a 2016 Health and Fitness vision board! I need to do my daily affirmations! I found this list online and they are good.

The trick to to say them, write them, and look at them to make them stick. I have been a bit busy between Junior League , AKA and work but I  went to see my doctor and told her I want to lose 50 pounds before getting pregnant so she said that's common to do a "baby diet" so I have a good motivating factor.   I know this is all apart of the puzzle so I am on it. I am also working on getting my water intake up to 64oz. Its been a struggle though but I am at least focused on it and posting in the AKA workout group to add to the accountability and that is better than nothing! Already had 16.9 oz and its on 7:15am! So 3.5 more bottles to go!

That's all the updates for now!!! Have a great week! Will check in after Saturday's weigh in!

Recipes for success... Vision Boards, Smart point meals & second week thoughts

A few recipes since starting Smart Points for ya!

Breakfast:

Paleo inspire Scrambled Egg Muffins: 2points
Pros: Easy to prepare and a good grab and go option

6-8 eggs
Add any fillings you desire (green peppers, cooked bacon, ham, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, onions, spinach,
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 8 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Mix ham, bell pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and water into the beaten eggs. Pour egg mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until muffins are set in the middle, 18 to 20 minutes.

Flatout Bread Pizza 8 (really 9 points but I didn't use as much a recipe)

1 Lite Flatout bread Italian -2

1-2 tablespoons of Trader Joe pasta sauce -1

1/4 cup Six Cheese Italian shredded -3

15 pepperoni slices (25% reduced fat)-3

Bake on 350 for 15 minutes

Beef or Chicken soup- ~2 points 1.5 cups

Add chicken legs and/thighs or beef to a large pot

• diced onions
• 2 celery stalks, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
• 4-6 garlic cloves, crushed
• Half bag of baby carrots (chopped or boiled whole)

1. Bring chicken, water, and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large stockpot. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
2.  Add carrots, small potatoes, or yams if desired. Simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes
3. Chicken- you can add cilantro for added flavor

Ok so hope those help! I will try some more new things and be sure to post them! I was looking around on my laptop and found some old Vision Boards. I have not done a Health and Fitness Vision Board for 2016. I went looking for the O Dream Board and can't find it. I emailed the Oprah.com help desk to see what happened. It was such a great tool for online vision/dream boards! I found another but I didn't like it so I will probably use powerpoint! But here are a few old ones I wanted to share to encourage you to take some time to think about your goals for 2016!

Its only day two of the second week but I am feeling good about Smart Points. I went shopping yesterday, made beef soup, and left some higher point items in the store. I'm really optimistic about my 2016 goals and feel inspired to create a new board this week! Hope you do too!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!! Wow 2015 flew by I can't believe its 2016! I am sooooo excited about another new year! 2016 is a year of transitions. Good transitions. One is my age lol I'm excited to say "40 something" all my blogs, bios etc said 30-something lol I had to update everything now that I'm 40... but 40 is flat BUT 41; I can say 40 something! LOL  Its the little things I suppose!

Welllllllll.... Week One Weight Watchers Smart Points and I am down 3.8 pounds!!!! I really don't know how lol I was over my weekly points by 20+ but some of my reflections of the week:

1) Tracking the good, bad and the ugly is important. Even days I went over it made me think twice  about going even more over board.


2) The daily activity or fit goal was great. I wore my pedometer daily and it really encouraged me to be more active. I set a goal of 5000 steps a day which really wasn't hard and I will increase that this week. I didn't go back to the gym merely walking around the office. The floor of my building is bigger than I ever knew! lol I walked to the printer multiple times vs. waiting to pick up things I printed out all at once.

3) I prepared meals for the week and took them to work everyday without fail. I used my Sunday and work from home Monday wisely. I packed meals and bought salads to supplement. Overall I am satisfied with what I did in terms of the planning portion. I took a bag full of oranges and apples for snacks. I wanted popcorn but  know the one a work is loaded with butter so I opted for the small packs of pistachios.

4) I worked on my choices when I went out to eat. I think I did well in terms of not doing my normal eat whatever I want when I go out. I definitely took more time to think about it and log it in. I went to Founding Farmers and had a Grilled Cheese with bacon and tomato soup. I had half and took the rest back to my office and was immediately tempted to eat the other half. I wasn't hungry just greedy. I remembered I planned to not take home leftovers to prevent going over my points so I took a bit and threw the rest in the trash and poured water in it.

I feel good about the Smart Points plan. Its doable and flexible. I am a fan of the Wendy Plan (google it) so I know you can not be perfect and still see results the body is not a machine. I ended up having a good start to the new year I went for a mani pedi yesterday and going to the spa tomorrow with some friends and ending the day with Bikram Yoga with the AKA workout group Sorors.

Definitely focused on more self care in 2016.  Ironically the topic of today's WW meeting. I'm setting up better habits for my life and being more deliberate about who I keep company with, things I allow in my space and how I react to things. I feel like people have been baiting me the last few weeks but rather than being combative or offended I allowed myself to see the people for who they are and the bait for what it was and realize a few things about people 1. Many are not happy 2. Misery loves company 3. Their opinions have absolutely no impact on the great life I have so the negative energy doesn't serve me any good so the best thing I can do is focus on me.

How productive I've been!!! I mean man I am really excited about 2016. Its going to be a year of learning and growth and for that I am already grateful!

Yesterday was a great start I had my mani pedi then my husband and I went to a Soror's house for dinner with her family and a few other sorors. Man that was fun!!!!! Its good to be around good people! Especially good couples! Like my tshirt says...BLESSED!!!