Well, hello there!

Well hello there strangers! Does anyone even follow me anymore?!!! Gosh...it's been soooo long!! I have some extra time tonight and I thought, "You know what, I kinda miss blogging....let's see what everyone is up to in blog-land!"

And so here I am. And then I got lost reading my previous posts. Do you ever read your old posts?? The entire time I was thinking....

1. Dang, I came up with a lot of excuses as to why I couldn't get it right. 
2. I ate a lot of processed junk and thought I was eating healthy. 
3. I whine a lot haha! 

Should I just delete them and start all over fresh? I'm trying to decide. I guess it's all part of the learning process.

Things are so much better now! I actually go to the gym every day after work. I run. I eat salads every day with very little cheat meals. I'm happy. I'm busy. I'm so much more healthier. Though I still haven't managed to get all the weight off, I'm finally getting there and feel good about where I'm at!

So I don't know if I'll be a regular on here, but I definitely will be making more appearances. It was nice to have the sense of accountability that this gives, even if it was a false sense because I was lying to myself. We'll see.

How are you guys doing??! Let's catch up!

XOXO,
Crystal

Chili melt-down

I guess because it’s been rainy and semi-cold and just plain yucky these past couple days, I have just been in the mood for chili! I don’t really make it that often, even during the winter time, because….well, I don’t really know why not. I just never think of it. So last night, I made a basic chili – sirloin ground beef, kidney beans, black beans, chili spices and tomato paste. It was perfect for my craving!

After I ate though, I was getting into the shower and I stood in the mirror and just had a mini-meltdown. When did I let myself go so bad and why was I not more angry and motivated to fix it?! In my early 20’s, I would starve myself all day long if I saw a bloated stomach (not literally, but you get my point) and now, I just ignore it and stuff more food into my mouth as I watch tv on the couch. I mean, I have done SOOO much better in the last couple months and have lost some weight, but the point of all this is that I just don’t understand when and why I basically just stopped caring about myself. And it’s frustrating.

And I feel like it’s all I ever think, talk, write and complain about, but yet I can’t stick with anything. I start going to the gym and within a month, I’ve lost all motivation. I eat healthy for a couple weeks and then have a binge weekend of Burger King and ice cream (which thankfully hasn’t happened in a looong time!)

I just need that “thing” that makes my body switch into motivation mode. I need “the final straw” for me. I need someone to kick me in my freakin a** and tell me to get into gear.

What was your “moment” that kicked your booty into gear?

I think seeing myself and really looking at myself in the mirror last night may have been it. This is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my entire life. 70 pounds over what I was in high school! And these past couple months I’ve used the “I’m too busy” or “I’m too stressed” excuses more than ever. And yes I am busy and stressed, but who cares! The fat that is accumulating around my stomach sure enough doesn’t!

Uugh! 

I just want to lose this weight. I really do. 

Big News...well for me, at least!

My life is about to CHANGE! :) Well, not that much I guess. But there are some changes a-happening this way.

First off, the obvious, if you follow me....me and the boyfriend will be moving into our new home!! We close on May 16th....so close, yet so far. Once we get the KEYS!!! we plan on spending a week or two doing a couple things before we actually move in. Plus, my mom and brother are coming into town on Memorial Day, so we thought we'd move then. You know, "Hi, thanks for visiting us, sorry you have to sleep on the floor, now help us move please" kinda thing. My family <3's me :)

On top of that big move, I will also be starting a NEW JOB the same week we close on the house. I know I'm crazy, but it's just the way it all worked out. So after signing house papers, I have to rush over to sign new job papers. But it's so much closer to home and it's an amazing job experience working in a field I love. I'm really excited. The month of May is pretty much gonna be CRRRRAAAZZZYYY, I tell ya!

My current job is laying off a HUGE portion of employees, it is so sad. And I'm not sure if I was going to be one of them, but it doesn't matter now. However, it is an ugly, sad place to work right now. People are hateful and upset and have every single right to be. There are people here that have put in 30 years of their life or the person who has a year to go until they can retire and here they are trying to rush to find a new job. It's just not fair and it breaks my heart. I have been laid-off before in a previous job and it's a gut-wrenching scary feeling. I would never wish it upon anyone.

So with all that going on, I think I should weigh like 80 pounds with all these skipped meals and running around like a mad women. But alas, I'm not even down any pounds.

I'm SOOOOO ready to be on a regular schedule again. I crave a schedule and work-out time planned out and a meal schedule, etc. A couple nights ago I even dreamed about being able to run cause I haven't all week. I'm craving working out too. You know when you don't do it for a while and your body craves it?? That's where I'm at. I just want to RUN!

Unfortunately, this weekend was yet again another dreary, gross, rainy weekend. What is up with all these gorgeous work days and nasty weekends, Florida?! Geesh, get your act together!

So no running again this weekend. Just some boring elliptical time.

BUT since I won't be working at the place where my gym is, I guess it's time to find a new gym close to the new home. Gotta start researching that!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

XOXO,
Crystal

Water with lemon, please

For about the last month or so, I’ve been drinking my water with a slice of lemon. I usually cut a couple lemons into wedges, throw them in a Ziploc baggie and keep them in the fridge at work. Whenever I fill up my water bottle, I add a lemon to it. It’s really helped me get more water in (I’ve actually been rockin’ the water intake lately and I’m surprised at how much I drink on a regular basis now!)

But a co-worker that sees me constantly drinking the lemon water concoction, recently told me that I could be ruining my teeth, as lemons can erode your tooth enamel. Ummm, yeah that’s a lil scary.

So bring on the Google search!

I learned that although the citric acid in lemons CAN erode your tooth enamel, it’s not any worse than what sugar or soda does to them! If you were to eat the lemon directly, this could cause more problems, but with lemon water you are already diluting the lemon properties. Also, If you are taking care of your teeth, it shouldn’t be a problem. Some articles I read suggested a baking soda rinse, special toothpaste or cutting back to ¼ lemon a day.

I personally haven’t had any problems with my teeth in the last month. I haven’t noticed any changes with my teeth at all actually – no sensitivity or dis-coloring or gum problems. I’m not a dentist though, so this is just my personal experience.

The more I research lemon water, the more GOOD news I found that definitely overcomes the one bad thing.  

Lemon is like this fantastic “drug” 

that people do not use enough!

~ Aids in Digestion (perfect if you suffer from indigestion or heart  burn or tummy problems!)

~ Clears skin complexion

~ Balance pH

~ Helps with cravings

~ Suppresses appetite

~ Boosts your Immune System

~ Increases Energy (can even REPLACE your coffee!)

~ Eliminate water retention because it's a diuretic 

How did I not know about this sooner?! I didn’t realize simply adding a lemon to my water was helping with all that! 

Some other helpful tips I've seen:

1. Drink your lemon water warm - the heat absorbs the lemon more. 

2.  Don't immediately brush your teeth after eating citrus acid, because your enamel will be vulnerable right after and the act of brushing can actually do more harm. 

3.  Lemons have been used for many decades to treat the cold, flu, liver problems, kidney stones, digestion problems, asthma, sore throats, urinary tract infections, etc. It can be used to brighten skin, clarify your hair, add natural highlights to your hair and bleach your fingernails white.

So drink up! I'll have a water with lemon, please :)

XOXO, 

Crystal

Migraine remedy?

As I am sitting here typing this, my head feels like it is being jack-hammered. Seriously. I have the worst migraine ever. The whole “no bright lights, no loud sounds, lay down and go to sleep” thing would be very nice right now…....except I’m at work. And my boss would probably wonder why I am cuddled underneath my desk and fire me on the spot. Not happening.

So I grabbed my fruit bowl and a fork and decided that I’d take a break and blog. I wish I had Tylenol on me….Any one know any special secrets to get rid of a migraine?

This weekend was good. It rained and rained and rained so most of the weekend we were stuck inside the house. But I did manage to head on over to the grocery store Friday night and we made our meals all weekend. I’m really trying to break that eating out thing! And I even made time to cook for the week. I’m even surprised at myself! I wish I would have taken a picture because it all looked so perfect with all my Tupperware laid out across the counter with chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes and a veggie in each one. My boyfriend laughed because I have our fridge lined with Tupperware now, but I’m determined to stop making excuses about having nothing to grab for lunch in the mornings. And I do have to admit, lunch was a breeze this morning!

But I did wake up with a stomach ache. I don’t know what is going on with me. We had steak and corn-on-the-cob for dinner and we ended up eating a little late so maybe it was just too late for my tummy. I had worked out on the elliptical at home right before dinner so maybe it was that. I don’t know. It was something. But I drank a glass of water, ate my Kasha protein bar and was fine.

I’ve been back to my lunchtime workouts and then just doing the elliptical at home. Today I may go running. I just haven’t been in the mood to run lately so my elliptical has come in handy.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday!! Our bosses have a meeting at the end of this week and I’m guessing we will find out soon about the layoffs. I’ve been praying like crazy that I have a job. Not much else I can do about it now, I guess. Stressing makes me fat so I’m trying to just hope for the best and quit worrying about it for now. Keep me in your thoughts! :)

XOXO,

Crystal

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Okay, seriously I’m back this time guys! For good. Or for at least a good, long time!

This past month and a half has been rough. We’ve been house searching and though we moved down to this area about a year ago, we honestly don’t really know the area all that well. SoFl is huge and there are a lot of great neighborhoods to live in, but there are also a lot of not so great neighborhoods. And trying to figure out where and what we want to be close to with that in mind was really difficult. We basically based a lot of assumptions off what our realtor thought. And thank goodness she knew the area and gave us an opinion on everything!  

We’ve put an offer on the house, got approved and are waiting for our closing date! 

Yeah, one stressful thing outta the way.

And then at the same time, I am dealing with a possible lay-off. I don’t know if it’s going to happen and I’ve been praying for the best. With the way the economy is and the state of Florida being so freakin’ poor, my employer has no choice but to lay off employees. It will happen. I just don’t know if I’m going to be one of them. And this is really scary because…HELLO, I just bought a house!!! And also because my family is 6 hours away and I don’t really have anything else to fall back on except the boyfriend. [[And he’s been my rock in this!]] So I am just hoping for the best, preparing for the worst and trying to not stress about it.

Whew! I feel like a whiny baby…but things are tough right now. And diet and exercise has been thrown to the curb. 

That’s ALWAYS my downfall. ALWAYS. 

When things get tough, I quit.

But I’m ready to get back on and get this outta-control weight off so I can be gorgeous and sexy, even if I am homeless and jobless! (just kidding…!!!)

So today, I got off my fat butt at work and went on the elliptical up stairs for 30 minutes during my lunch break. It felt good to be back, but boy am I outta shape! You would think that as much as I HATE starting over again and again, I wouldn’t quit! It was hard, I’m not going to lie. But I did it. And tonight I will go for another run/walk for 2 miles with the dog.

My eating has been pretty decent though, but not fabulous. I didn’t fall completely off and eat an entire pint of ice cream any day or anything crazy like that. I just need to be getting more fruits and veggies in and less of those carb-things! So back to planning out all my meals this weekend and getting everything pre-made and in separate Tupperware dishes for grabbing.

I’ve still been reading everyone’s blogs and I promise that I’m gonna start making a better effort to catch up with you guys! I miss my bloggies that I was starting to get to know :( BUT I’m back, I’ve got some good things planned and I’m ready!

XOXO,

Crystal

My Stress Eating Secret

I know there are a million articles out there in Google-land about stress eating, causes, ways to over come, things to steer clear of, etc but I thought I'd let you in on one of my little secrets!

How simple is that?! I swear by it lately. As you all know if you follow my blog, I'm house-hunting and want to rip my hair out calmly handle all the stress that comes along with it! Drinking tea has done this for me. It works.

There are so many varieties out there that I have officially become a tea-junkie! I've tried so many brands and flavors lately and I'm in love with (most of) them. There is a herbal, organic and natural tea for every single ailment you could possibly have from muscle soreness, to sleepless nights, to bathroom issues, to increasing stamina!And then there are dessert teas....ohhhh, don't even get me started on all the dessert teas out there!


Here are some of my absolute favorites that I always keep on hand now

Yogi Organic Green Kombucha Tea 

This tea is easily one of my favorites. It tastes amazing and I feel like I'm doing something really healthy for my body when I drink it! I drink it just about every single day.

From their website: "...designed to support your immune system, fight fatigue and detoxify your body. Spearmint naturally aids digestion, and Plum and Lemongrass combine to create a fragrant tea with a light, fruity flavor."

Lipton Purple Acai and Blueberry Green Tea Superfruit

This is another favorite that I could drink every single day. It's fresh and satisfying when I want something sweet. This has been a favorite for a really long time and I keep going back to it.

Art of Tea Coconut Cacao Puerh

If you love chocolate and coconut, this is the tea for you! It is soooooo good! If I'm stressed to the max and want to eat an entire pint of ice cream, I'll grab this tea instead. It really has helped me curb my chocolate addiction! It's so coconuty and chocolatey (are those words?!) and it really does fill my sweet tooth void. I actually got mine from a friend, but I will be placing an order asap!

From their website: "Pure Bliss! This unique blend of organic loose leaf Pu-erh with cocoa nibs and coconut provides a smooth, round, robust, yet sweet flavor with a mild hazelnut finish"

52 Teas Cinnamon Roll Honeybush

I was searching the web for dessert teas a while back and this company was highly recommended so I placed an order for the Cinnamon Roll Honeybush. No disappointment here!! This tea is absolute cinnamony goodness and pairs perfect with your breakfast. Go to their website and tell me that you can't find ten teas that you want to try! They all look so yummy. (Well except the Fried chicken and waffles, I don't know if I can get with that one haha!)

From their website: "At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year.  We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else."




Are you a tea drinker? What are you favorite teas?
I'm always on the hunt for new teas now. I think I may need to get a bigger kitchen cabinet to hold them all :)

XOXO,
Crystal