I know a lot of bloggers guard their privacy fiercely.
No last names.
No employer names.
No hint of where they live,
where they're from,
what they look like...
not me.
Here, our new house on Google maps.
You can play around to look at us from different angles.
Goodbye, anonymity.
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Monday, December 29, 2008
Out of the closet...
I wrote recently about how excited I was to be getting my closet all fixed up. Last night Mike took that annoying extra rod out of my closet. Today I picked up some of those cheap plastic stick-on hooks at Lowe's (yay Lowe's!) and I stuck a bunch of them on the closet wall. They came out horribly crooked, but I am still happy. I may get even more of them. I like the way I can see so much just at a glance. Obviously I am not done yet, but I thought I would make a quick post about how happy I am with my big closet!
If anyone has any advice for how I could utilize the space in here better, I would LOVE some advice for reasonably priced options.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Morbid Obesity.
The internet just told me my BMI is 40.7. Morbidly obese, as expected. Two pounds away from just obese. Looks like I have found my next mini-goal!
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An ode to leftovers.
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Lately, I have fallen in love with cooking again. Cooking is fun. I love cooking for my boyfriend, too. I love knowing that in a small way, I am helping someone I love lead a healthier life. I enjoy cooking for company. I secretly beam inside when friends compliment my cooking. I squirrel away every compliment and comment (such as my father saying my mother should make her chili more like mine!) for a self-esteem rainy-day. But you know what I love the most? Leftovers. Anyone with serious food allergies can tell you how hard it can be to find simple things to eat for breakfast and lunch. The answer? LEFTOVERS! It makes me feel like such a happy little homemaker to open my fridge and and see all those pretty tupperware containers, begging me to choose them for my lunch! It also makes me feel smart and responsible to pack our (my and my boyfriends) lunch bags every morning with a balanced and healthy meal. Saves us countless pennies in the canteen. Saves him calories, because he'll go get lunch at McDonald's if I don't pack him something tasty. And it makes me happy when people sniff the air in the break room at work when I am eating my lunch, and tell me "oh! I am so jealous!" and then look at their frozen meal with disdain! Yes, I do love me some leftovers!
Clothes, clothes, everywhere...
In the new house, I have what can only be described as an absolutely humungous closet. I do believe I have posted pictures of it before, and therefore I will not subject you to them again.
I have a clothes rod at least eight feet long. Probably closer to ten. I have a huge shoe rack. I have plastic stacking shelves dedicated to pajamas, underpants, bras, bathing suits, socks, and other various items such as fashion scarves and belts that cannot be hung up. Would you believe me if I told you that all of my clothing does not fit in this closet? Well, it's true. I have filled that closet. I have piles of vacume-bagged clothes in one of the storage closets upstairs full of clothes that are too small and will probably skip right over to being too big, as the problem is length and I don't seem to be getting any shorter. (It doesn't seem likely that I can be a size 20 on bottom and a 30/32 top can still be too small. I don't think weight loss will ever make them long enough.) The 30 foot clothes rod in the laundry room is quickly filling up with my washed clothes, as there is nowhere in the closet to put them.
And yet, I seem to wear the same clothes over and over again. Most of these clothing items that take up space and never get worn are either unflattering, out of style, or don't match anything.
So, I am starting a new project. I have put a large box in my closet, and written "donate" on it. I am going to promise myself that from now on, I will wear something out of the closet everyday. I will not start re-filling the closet with washed clothes from the laundry room until I have actually run out of a certain type of clothes, such as work pants or jeans. If I put on a piece of clothing, such as a shirt, and decide that it isn't good enough to wear that day, then I will immediate drop it into the "donate" box. I will also promise myself to make an effort to try on the clothes that are marked "too small" on a very regular basis. Nothing is sadder than trying on a cute skirt, for example, that you have been saving for years to find that it is TOO BIG, and you missed your window of opportunity.
Also, maybe I can stop looking like a homeless person all the time, dressed in clothes that are hanging off of me in flappy and unfashionable ways!
More resolutions, New Year's and others, to come!
I have a clothes rod at least eight feet long. Probably closer to ten. I have a huge shoe rack. I have plastic stacking shelves dedicated to pajamas, underpants, bras, bathing suits, socks, and other various items such as fashion scarves and belts that cannot be hung up. Would you believe me if I told you that all of my clothing does not fit in this closet? Well, it's true. I have filled that closet. I have piles of vacume-bagged clothes in one of the storage closets upstairs full of clothes that are too small and will probably skip right over to being too big, as the problem is length and I don't seem to be getting any shorter. (It doesn't seem likely that I can be a size 20 on bottom and a 30/32 top can still be too small. I don't think weight loss will ever make them long enough.) The 30 foot clothes rod in the laundry room is quickly filling up with my washed clothes, as there is nowhere in the closet to put them.
And yet, I seem to wear the same clothes over and over again. Most of these clothing items that take up space and never get worn are either unflattering, out of style, or don't match anything.
So, I am starting a new project. I have put a large box in my closet, and written "donate" on it. I am going to promise myself that from now on, I will wear something out of the closet everyday. I will not start re-filling the closet with washed clothes from the laundry room until I have actually run out of a certain type of clothes, such as work pants or jeans. If I put on a piece of clothing, such as a shirt, and decide that it isn't good enough to wear that day, then I will immediate drop it into the "donate" box. I will also promise myself to make an effort to try on the clothes that are marked "too small" on a very regular basis. Nothing is sadder than trying on a cute skirt, for example, that you have been saving for years to find that it is TOO BIG, and you missed your window of opportunity.
Also, maybe I can stop looking like a homeless person all the time, dressed in clothes that are hanging off of me in flappy and unfashionable ways!
More resolutions, New Year's and others, to come!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Brownies :)
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Checkpoint: 65lbs.
Normally I would never, ever in a million years post a picture of myself in a bathing suit. Not for the entire world to see. It was bad enough to be wearing one in public to begin with. But I think it is somewhat important to post today.This picture was taken in the second week of June, of this year. Just over six months ago. This was the fattest period of my life. In this picture I weighed 332lbs. I liked to pretend that if I acted like nothing was wrong, nobody would know.
This second picture was taken Christmas eve at aunt's house. I weighed 268lbs.
65lbs lost.
I am still fat. Still very fat, in fact. Still fat enough to be considered morbidly obese. I believe. If someone wants to look up my BMI, go for it. I'm 5 foot 8.
But I am getting there. I am pleased to say that my life is much healthier. In this picture, I was mixing up salad dressing in a bowl.
When I saw the picture, I actually said out loud, "wow I do look like I've lost weight".
I never take full-body pictures. I only see them when other people take them. I am usually too ashamed.
But maybe I don't have to be anymore.
My weight is going down everyday.
I am feeling better everyday.
Life is getting easier everyday.
For once, I am actually proud of myself.
** edit: I should also say that my good habits are rubbing off on Mike, too! He has lost 16lbs since that top picture was taken!
Chili and Chops
This is the white bean apple chili from the "A Year Of CrockPotting" journal. I really enjoy this journal because most of the recipes are gluten-free.
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I wish I had served it in a bowl instead of letting it ooze all over my plate :)
I also took this picture before I added in the sharp cheddar shredded cheese. Even after, it didn't come out looking as good as hers did on her blog, but I liked it. It was different, and it was very mild. Before the cheese I almost thought it was too bland, but the sharp cheddar contrasted with the sweet of the chili and I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be eating the leftovers at work.
The porkchops are from a recipe that I got at the grocery store back when I was visiting. They were amazingly delicious! They called for all ingredients that I can eat: pork chops, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, orange juice, e.v.o.o.. If anybody wants the recipe, let me know... I would be happy to post it.
Mike ate the chili but said it wasn't a recipe he would want to repeat. He agreed that it was much better with the cheese. He loved the pork chops, though, and said he wished we had eaten it with rice so he could have poured the extra sauce onto it.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Who wants onions? I want onions!
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You can't see the side dish very well, but it is this recipe from the "A Year Of CrockPotting" journal:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/sweet-and-sour-carmelized-onions.html
I love onions so this is a recipe I was excited about trying. I was sad, though, when our hickville grocery store didn't have enough pearl onions for the entire recipe. I ended up cutting the entire recipe in half. Even with only a pound of onions, it still took me an hour to prep the onions for cooking. For this reason, I probably wouldn't make this recipe again unless it was a special occasion. They were absolutely delicious, though. Sadly, they did not reheat well. Fresh out of the crockpot they were so good that I had to restrain myself to keep from eating the entire batch. The next day the raisins were so rubbery that I just picked the onions out and threw the rest out. I was surprised by how well these ingredients went together, though, and I highly reccomend this as a holiday dish!
(The pork chops were just cooked with salt and rosemary. I was tired.)
We love our crooked little house!
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Driving home on 421.
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I know the focus of the journal is supposed to be my allergy diet and health, but I had made the decision at one point to also make it about living a positive and optimistic life.
I took the picture on my blackberry as I was driving home from Winston-Salem. The clouds moving across the sky and the sun shining through was so gorgeous it just took my breath away, and I was a happy, happy girl as a result, even if only for a few moments.
Sugar-free Hershey's Syrup!
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I have tried other diabetic syrups and things like that, and Hershey's is by far the best. I also recently discovered that I can have the coffee flavored Breyer's all-natural ice-cream, and this is the perfect topper!
It is funny how simple things are so much better now that these allergies have given me a new appreciation.
BTW, if you are wondering, regular chocolate syrup usually has both soy lechetin (sp?) and high fructose corn syrup in it.
Thank you, Janet, for remembering how hard it is for me to find this in the boonies where we live!
<3
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