Lent: Day 41 (according to the calendar)

Today is the last Monday of Lent...and I have a confession...



Psych! HAHAHAHA!



Thought I was going to confess that I had eaten fast food huh? Got ya!

I am happy to report that Jake and I are still going strong. I'm starting to not really miss fast food. Sure a good serving of McD's fries are called for from time to time, but the withdrawals are gone and I am feeling good. I'm actually kind of afraid to try fast food again now. I'm afraid since we haven't had it in so long, that our stomachs will be ultra-sensitive to the greasiness of it all. Jake is more than eager to try, but I'm more hesitant. Oh well, when I'm ready I'll see what happens.

Weight Loss Update

Posting twice in one day? Unheard of! Right?

Well I just decided to not wait until tomorrow to let you know that I have now lost a total of 10.5 pounds. And yes, the .5 counts. ;)

Lent: Day 34 and Weight Loss

Day 34: The urge to eat bad food is ebbing. I don't crave it as much anymore and I'm really happy about that.

As for the weight loss: I was at a 4-week plateau of 8 pounds, and it was getting old fast. But I kept with it and right now, I'm at 10.5 pounds gone. I don't want to stop, I want to keep going and see where this leads. I have been noticing that my pants are a little loose and I keep having to pull them up.

Spring has sprung!

Happy Spring to everyone! I decided to take some pictures of lovely flowers I get to see almost every day as I walk to work. Enjoy.

Magnolias down the street

Some kind of blossom (I'm thinking almond perhaps?)

I really cool mini Japanese-looking tree

I don't know what these are, but they are gorgeous

These are in front of our house :)

Weekly video 3/19/10

This week's video is of Jeff Dunham. He's a comedian/ventriloquist. So when he says "I know that is all for the little guys in the suitcase", he means his puppets. Nonetheless, he's hilarious.

Enjoy!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Are you wearing your green today?

5 years ago...

A cool half-decade ago, I was lost. I didn't have a stable job, I was still living at home, and my relationship with my parents was kind of on-edge. I was wandering around with the wrong "friends" who used me and I didn't mind because they were my friends, right? I was up and out 'til all hours and I was stupid.

Then he came into my life...

He pulled me out of my hole. He helped me wake up to the world around me and what it has to offer. He gave me the opportunity to stand on my own two feet with no strings attached. For the first time in a long time, I felt like myself. I felt like I could be me, and not expected to be someone who fits into his "ideal" mate...because I am his ideal mate. He gave me a hand to hold instead of a hand to push me down. He gave me what I needed. He gave me love.

Happy 5 year anniversary Jake. I love you.

Fleas!

It's a gnat! It's a mosquito...no! It's FLEAS!!!

That's right...our kitties have their first bout with the bloodsucking bastards. It all started Saturday night. Jake and I were cuddling with MJ on our bed and when he got up, I noticed little flaky black spots on the bedspread. I looked closer and they were kind of different sizes. I said "I don't think this is good" and Jake told me not to worry about it, so I didn't. The next thing I know, I feel something crawling on my arm. I caught it and looked at it and it was a flea. Craptastic.

Jake and I made a trek to Petsmart and got Frontline (it was a little cheaper than Advantage) and flea-killing powder for the floor and flea-killing spray for the furniture. Total? $104. That's right. These pesky little mongrels come with a hefty bill. But honestly, it didn't matter much. All we cared about what getting home and getting our furbabies back to normal. Jake wanted to wait until Sunday to do any treatments, but I made an executive decision to at least treat the cats. So we distracted them with treats (they were in heaven) while we squirted the medicine onto their skin. Shortly before this, I checked MJ and sure enough, he had 3 fleas on his neck...poor boy.

Yesterday we fully cleaned our house complete with dusting the carpets, spritzing the furniture and pillows in addition to the loads of laundry to get rid of whatever make lurk in our bedding ((shudder)).

So now as far as we can tell our kitties are flea-free and happy as little clams in their now-sterile house.

Lent: Day 21

That's right...21 days down, 19 to go.

Number of fast food items I've eaten: ZERO!

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since Lent began. There have definitely been some hurtin'. Just kidding.

Honestly I do have a confession though. The other day was a late day at work, I was tired and HUNGRY and I nearly said "screw it", but I had to tell myself that I committed to this and it's worth it.

Weekly video 3/5/10

My new favorite song...I speaks volumes to me.

(If there's a commercial before the actual video, please disregard it)

Enjoy!

Lent: Day 14

It's been 2 solid week since the beginning of Lent and Jake and I are still going strong.

No fast food has been had by either of us. Yesterday it was a little tougher because we were watching the Food Network and what did we see a commercial for? Wendy's. But, in the end, this sacrifice is worth it.

Just wanted to update everyone. :)

Shrimp and Asparagus

Jake and I tried this recipe last week and Oh. My. Yum! More please! :)

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Asparagus

recipe by Cathy Christensen of allrecipes.com

Photo by ALFANN02 on allrecipes.com

Prep time: 20 min, Cook time: 30 min, TOTAL: 50 min

8 servings

1 pound fresh asparagus

1 (16oz) package egg noodles (I used No Yolks noodles)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup EVOO

1 cup butter

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 lb medium shrimp - peeled and deveined

1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small saucepan, boil or steam asparagus in enough water to cover until tender; chop and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to full boil, place the pasta in the pot and return to a rolling boil; cook until al dente. Drain well.

3. In a large saucepan, saute garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat until the garlic is golden brown.

4. Place butter and lemon juice in the saucepan. Heat until the butter has melted. Place the shrimp in the saucepan and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Place the mushrooms and asparagus into the saucepan, cook until mushrooms are tender.

5. Toss the shrimp and vegetable mixture with the egg noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.