Monday Musings

It's been a while since I did a Monday Musings.
Basically it's a jumble of randomness, so pretty much the same as all my posts.
I really want to log more about my weight loss, as far as exercise and nutrition, because I've had some questions about it.
So hopefully I will get on that soon!
Until then, I leave you with these thoughts...

What I'm Listening To: Dierks Bentley's Riser Album

Seriously, his entire album is amazing.

He is probably my favorite right now.

Even amazingly attractive, successful country stars have heartache too.

Who knew? ;)

What I'm Reading: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Yes, I know I'm way late to the party on this one.

I'm still finishing up Gone Girl and the list of books I have on my Kindle is semi-embarrassing

I've always kind of jumped around when it comes to books.

Read a few chapters then read another book, then back to the first.

Unless I'm instantly hooked on a book and I read it in 2 days {ahem, Twilight...}.

So far, the list looks something like this:

The Single Woman by Mandy Hale: I can relate so much to her, it's scary. Fun fact, she isn't single anymore.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: I heard so many amazing things about this book. I can't wait to read it.

Divergent by Veronica Roth: Yes, I still haven't started it...

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks: I have been half way through this book for months now. It's a great story though and it'll probably be the book I finish next.

I have 3 books by Shauna Niequist waiting for me - Bittersweet, Cold Tangerines, and Bread & Wine. I truly love her writing. There's something calming and inspiring about it. Which is probably why I bought all 3 books and haven't read them yet...haha Oops! 

What I'm Watching: Orange is the New Black Season 2

I guess you could say I've been binge watching this.

The show has been out 3 days and I'm already on episode 10.

I love it!

What I'm Eating: Baked Chicken & Black Bean Tacos from Simply Taralynn

I've made these before and I plan on making them this week.

They are sooo delicious.

I am addicted to Mexican food and these were amazing.

They come out crunchy and full of flavor.

Even my dad, who normally sticks his nose up at modified recipes to make them healthier, liked them.

I love Taralynn's blog, and anyone looking for inspiration for health and weight loss should definitely check her out!

What I'm Wearing: Honestly, my fashion has been kind of boring lately.

I wear my Sephora uniform and workout clothes a lot because that's what I've been doing with my time.

Now that I'm losing weight, I need to find some cute clothes that fit well.

Here are some Pinterest outfits I'm loving for summer {keep in mind, Alaska summers can still be chilly}:

I've always loved the mix of structured and flowly.

Skinny jeans with a ruffly top and blazer over a baggy tee.

Just enough to make an outfit look put together without being dressy.

I hope you all have a great day.

Happy Monday!

XO Linds

Let's Get Our Lent On

You may remember last year I gave up meat for Lent.
It was also when I started CrossFit.
Man, I miss it so much!
I'm hoping that once I hit my goal weight, I will join CrossFit again.
Two years ago, I gave up sweets.
By far, giving up meat was 100% easier than giving up sweets, mostly because I worked for a bakery at the time and dessert is my weakness.
Well, this year, my crazy mother and I decided to eat clean for Lent.
6 whole weeks of no overly processed foods, no refined sugar, no fried foods, basically anything with a list of ingredients on the box.
It will suck.

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In preparation for the next 40 days of no junk, I did just the opposite last night.
I wanted to have "a last meal", if you will.
A hamburger seemed just right, but by the time I went out to order one, I was starving.
So, I did what many people do on a daily basis and I drove through McDonalds.
What a mistake.
I was up really late with an upset stomach, a headache, and bloating.
This is the type of feeling I'm hoping to avoid by eating real, whole, healthy foods.
My mom and I can put away some food, but for whatever reason, we can always stick with Lent.
Probably because there is a timeline and accountability.
For several months I've been trying to eat cleaner, but I could never stick with it.
My workouts are intense and long and I need way more calories than I'm getting and much cleaner fuel than what I'm putting into my body.
It's really frustrating to be working out like crazy and barely lose any weight, but obviously it's more important about what I eat than how much I work out.
All that to say, I'm really excited to see the results after it's over.
I'm hoping to continue with the clean eating lifestyle, but let's be honest, I'll definitely need a cupcake and a glass of wine after Lent is over.

Are you giving up anything for Lent?

Have you tried a clean eating lifestyle before?

I'll keep you updated!

XOXO

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: Step Out by Jose Gonzalez

Last week I went to see The Secret LIfe of Walter Mitty.

It was SO good.

As soon as I heard this song I was hooked.

Actually, the whole soundtrack is really awesome.

What I'm Reading: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Amazon

I actually just bought this book on my Kindle.

I don't have any idea what it's about, but I've heard so many awesome reviews I had to check it out.

I'm finishing up Gone Girl and then I will jump right into this.

What I'm Watching: The Bachelor and Downton Abbey

^^I really wasn't going to watch it this season, but just look at him.

I simply had to.

^^I'm SO excited for this season.

Hopefully there are some happier times as last seasons finale left me in stupid tears.

What I'm Eating: Optimum Nutrition Whey Gold Standard

Optimum Nutrition

A few months ago I realized I wasn't getting enough protein in my diet.

I can only eat so much fish and chicken in one day.

I decided to get this protein because the reviews were really great.

The flavor I got was extreme milk chocolate.

I read some reviews and this seemed to be one of the favorite flavors.

Also, the guy at GNC was tired of me staring at the wall of protein powders and just offered to let me try some of his; Which just so happened to be the extreme milk chocolate.

I can't drink a protein shake if it's overwhelmingly protein tasting.

Gross.

This I can shake up with just almond/coconut milk and it tastes just fine.

I usually drink it post workout and it fills me up for a little while.

What I'm Wearing: Gap's Sexy Boot Jeans

Gap

I have a hard time finding jeans that fit me well.

Don't we all?

If pants fit in the waist, they are huge in the butt, hips, and thighs, and vice versa.

These sit pretty low on the waist and fit perfectly everywhere.

I've also heard Paige Denim at Nordstrom would fit my body type well, but I have yet to fork out $200 for a pair of jeans.

Did you have a good Monday?

Also, have you ever been at the gym and the crotch seem of your yoga pants starts to split?

That happened to me today...

Good thing there was only a few people in there at the time.

I powered through my workout anyway and those pants are now in the trash.

Have fun watching The Bachelor tonight...or being lame and not watching.

;)

XOXO

Starting the New Year Right

Even though I technically didn't write a list of New Years resolutions, I did decide to detoxify this first week of 2014 and eat healthier as a lifestyle.
I know, I know, it almost sounds like a resolution...
I've been following the Tone It Up 7 day slim down plan.

^^Blackened Alaskan halibut salad with apples, broccoli, and cherry zinfandel balsamic^^

Honestly, I like the general guideline of the plan; Eat 5 clean, small meals every 2-3 hours.
The plan keeps me on track because I have something to follow; However, it definitely is not enough calories for me, or almost anyone in my opinion.
The first day, I started getting really hungry around 4pm so I went home and had meal 4 and meal 5 shortly after.
By this time, my head was pounding, my stomach was rumbling, and I was HANGRY!
If you don't know what hangry is...you've probably never been on a diet.
I added up the calories at the end of the day and it was only 1,150 calories {I even added brown rice to meal 5 to get more calories!}
I'm sorry, but 1,000 calories is simply not enough.
I work out hard at least 4 days a week, including cardio and weight training circuits.
I literally leave the gym soaked because I'm working out so hard.
I can't be eating 1,000 calories and then burning off half of that at the gym.

It makes me sad that a lot of girls think they have to eat a very restrictive caloric diet in order to lose weight.
In my experience, all that does is make me hungry, upset, and I quit the diet in 2 days...or less.
I'm not saying this to offend anyone and I don't claim to be an expert.
I just know what works for me.
You know your body better than anyone else.
If you can eat a very low amount of calories and feel healthy, awesome!
I'm willing to guess that's not the case for most women, though.
What I'm really trying to get at is, yes, I want to be in better shape and look my best, but I want to live a healthy, balanced life and feel positive about myself.
That's what 2014 is all about for me.
Becoming the best version of myself.

Pinterest

That's all we can really do, right?

XOXO

Monday Musings

What I'm Listening To: Mindy Gledhill's Little Soldier

Oh my gosh, so amazing!

What I'm Reading: Buzzfeed

I love my Girls

I Love Orlando Bloom SO MUCH

I Love Cats

What I'm Watching: Christmas Movies

So far, I've watched Elf, Home Alone, and Bad Santa {at the request of my brother, of course.}

I will definitely also watch The Holiday, Christmas Vacation, and The Muppets A Christmas Carol, which are my absolute favorites!

What I'm Eating: Kastle's Kreations

Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Gingerbread, and Salted Caramel

I went to school with Kastle.

She has a cupcake truck that she parks in different places on different days.

Recently she was on Cupcake Wars and WON!

It was the first team from Alaska to make it and it was so fun to watch her.

Before I even saw her on Cupcake Wars I tried her cupcakes and fell in love.

If you know me at all, or have read my blog for a while, you would know my love for cupcakes.

These are the best I've ever had!

What I'm Wearing: Layers Upon Layers

'Cause baby it's cold outside!

This was Saturday the 14th on my 26th birthday!

 I definitely got a lot of snow even though I didn't wish for it...

I hope your week starts off amazing and stays that way.

Getting closer to Christmas!

Yay!

Stay warm, dears.

XOXO

Wine&Garlic Festival

Yesterday was such an incredible day.

The weather was beautiful, about 68 degrees, sunny with just enough chill.

I started my morning off meeting a friend from high school.

Dirty Chai Latte's <3

I made a quick stop to Barnes&Noble, you know, "just to look".

I had a stack of 5 books I desperately needed, but walked away with 2...and 1 magazine.

Hello, self-control.

Then it was off to the Wine&Garlic Festival with Alex.

Oh. My. Gosh.

So fun!

We drank, ate, drank, listened to music, scouted out some hotties, and drank some more.

It's hilarious how many "friends" we made while waiting in line for wine samples.

We even had some girls ask to get a picture with us.

People got so much more friendly as the day went on.

I wonder why...

This was at the end of the day after all the wine.

Fried oreos and garlic fries.

I've always thought fried oreos sounded interesting, but had the good sense to stay away from them.

Let me tell you though, they are amazeballs.

Yes, I will be in the gym for an extra 12 hours this week.

Fatties R Us.

We even got a free wine glass.

Score!

Alex and I decided to start going to ever festival we could find.

Well, at least the ones involving alcohol and fried oreos...

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi friends!

I hope your weekend is going fabulously.

I am one happy camper, mostly because my mom is finally here!!

She flew into DC Friday night where I went to pick her up.

We spent the night at my cousins then headed to Richmond Saturday.

I took her to Short Pump mall which was really fun, but I didn't even get anything!

Shopping fail!

However, we did go to P.F. Changs for dinner...my first time!

It looked a little something like this:

I will be trying to find this recipe and most likely eat them every day for the rest of my life.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I could have eaten them all by myself, but I shared.

Spicy Green Beans

 Sesame Chicken

Great Wall of Chocolate

Oh yes we did!

Since Richmond is only 2 hours from me I am definitely going to get a group together and going back.

It was incredible!

Today we're going to do some more shopping and more eating.

At least we get lots of walking in too!

Then Bible study with my ladies and a group cookout tonight.

I hope you all have fun plans for your day off, but I hope you also remember why we have a day off in the first place.

Freedom comes with a price and unfortunately I know a few people who have paid the ultimate price so that I could be free.

I am forever grateful for that.

XOXO