690 calorie cookie.

Last night, I had a lovely sushi dinner with some lovely ladies. We were supposed to have Kitchen Queens, but we decided to reschedule for next week because this week seemed to be a busy one for most people. Thursday, they suggested sushi, and I didn't have to think twice about it.

Hey, Colleen! 

Sarah and her California roll. 

After a spider roll and some edamame, we decided to grab a cookie from the mall before it closed.

THE Cookie
I rarely do this, so I figured I would get the one with frosting in the middle (I love frosting) and eat half then and save the other half.

After I ate the cookie (a little more than half), I had to enter the nutritional info into my WW app.


I was shocked. 

Yes, I know the cookie is bad. But I had no idea it would have the same amount of fat as a Big Mac-34 grams to be exact. And at 690 calories, it tops the greasy burger by more than 100 calories.

How can 94 grams of carbs be in something so small?

The whole cookie would be 19 points. I get 29 a day. Obviously, the cookie was a terrible choice. And honestly, I will probably never get it again. Yes, I will eat a cookie, but I will stick with a plain chocolate chip next time.

Molly was at our family reunion last weekend.
She followed her "dad" (aka my mom's cousin) around the entire day.
She makes me smile! 

Happy Friday! 

Weight Watchers online.

Two nights ago, I decided to sign up for the online version of Weight Watchers. It was about $54 for three months.

A few years ago, I did Weight Watchers in my office. The accountability is great when you go to the meetings, but I just don't have time for that now. Plus, I tried going to a random meeting a couple years ago, and it's completely different when you don't know anyone.

I know how to eat healthy. Yet, I still make poor decisions (more than I should).

I've tried MyFitnessPal and Livestrong, but just keeping up with my calories didn't work.

When I did Weight Watchers a few years ago, I actually didn't agree with the program because I thought it taught people how to eat a bunch of processed junk while staying within the right amount of points.

The new system is SO much better. In fact, most fruits and veggies are zero points. And guess what? You don't even use the calories to figure points.

It uses fat, carbs, fiber and protein to calculate the number of points. The best about the online version is the mobile app. The app itself is free, but if you have an online account, you can do everything from your phone. I'm VERY impressed with the technology. Now, if I can just impress myself with the results.

You get an additional weekly PointsPlus Allowance to use for treats and extras. As you can see, I've already used a few of mine (my week started yesterday ...). I had a Junior League meeting at Noodles last night, so let's blame it on the mushroom chicken ravioli. Oh, I should probably go to the grocery store so I can do better with this.

You can also swap activity PointsPlus values you’ve earned for food. This will happen automatically after you use all of your weekly PointsPlus allowance.

So far, I'm loving the system.

You are what you eat.

I'm sure you've heard that phrase before. Wouldn't it be crazy if it were true? But the statement does make me think twice about what I eat.

When the boy is out of town, I tend to eat less healthy. I cook less. But I workout more. This results in me feeling terrible a lot of the time because working out while eating things that are bad for you is not a good combination.

Since he left last Wednesday, I've been trying to think more about what I eat. I love healthy food, but it will always take effort to choose it over convenience. And there are so many things we eat (and drink) that we think are healthy, but the reality is we are wrong.

I substitue Splenda in my Tropical Smoothie smoothies. I should just make a smoothie at home most of the time.

I order sushi (great idea) but I get the tempura roll (bad idea).

I go to Sonic to order a smoothie, but it's not on the menu anymore. So I order a strawberry cream slush instead. Bad idea but so tasty.

Crazy cup!

Here are some of my other food choices since Mr. A has been gone:

Watermelon for dinner.
And this is the "real" me that the general public NEVER gets to see.

Fruit salad from Chick-fil-a!

I heart almond butter.

If I could eat one thing forever, it would be chips and homemade salsa!

Natalie and Steve.

Things in my neck of the woods haven't been so rosy.

My sinus infection is still hanging on, and I'm afraid I will never hear normally again.

This means while everyone was having a blast at the lake this weekend, I was stuck at home assembling save the dates. Mr. A actually helped me a bit Friday night, but the whole process just takes a while.

In fact, I'm still putting together the address list. Who knew this would take so long? And who knew when you asked people for their address, they might not respond? Does this mean they don't want to come? Yes, I admit I'm overly sensitive. Unfortunately, this is never going to change.

When I came home Friday to the love package from magnetStreet, I got very excited! And I was impressed with the packaging. Everything was placed in a cute, blue box. They also sent some wedding invitation samples, which I thought was nice. Who knows ... maybe we will use them for everything!

In the midst of placing the magnets on the carrier cards, Adam and I ran across one that was a little out of place. Good thing we noticed so Natalie and Steve didn't get an uninvited guest at their wedding!

Seriously. This was in the middle of our stack of magnets. How did this happen?

Yes, those are our hands. :)

Isn't the box cute?

Adam even remembered to get "weddings stamps."

Yes, that's my address. Please don't stalk me.

Can some please remind me to get my camera fixed? The iphone photos just aren't cutting it.

And for your viewing pleasure, here is the gross food photo of the day:

I convinced Adam to go to a new yogurt place Friday.
My toppings: berry captain crunch, strawberries and mini Reese's Pieces. Yum!

Lean Cuisines and mud wrestling.

How do you feel about frozen dinners that claim to be healthy? I definitely think they're a better option than a burger, but I know I feel 10 times better when I eat food that's not processed for lunch.

But, my tortilla crusted fish Lean Cuisine at lunch sure was tasty. The big problem with these meals used to be the sodium. It was ridiculous. But with today's options, there's less sodium, more fiber, and 100 percent whole grains.

I like to keep them in my freezer for days that I don't have time to make a salad or pack something else for lunch. It sure beats eating a hot dog from the food vendor right after I burned 500 calories in Body Attack. If you didn't know, I work out at lunch almost every day. I'm lucky to work at a company that offers lunch time fitness classes with certified instructors. Actually, it's pretty awesome.

Although you might think frozen meals will save money, I still think buying fresh produce and using it throughout the week is a better option. But I'm the first to admit this isn't always easy.

So, I try to minimize the frozen meals to one every couple weeks. And I tell myself that's 100 percent OK!

Engagement photo news
Our pictures were supposed to be tomorrow, but we've had to reschedule due to Mother Nature. One of our photo locations is a field, and I'm thinking mud wrestling isn't on our shot list. Side note: Don't Google "mud wrestling." The images are not something you want to see. The new date is May 4. Hooray!

Happy, happy Friday! It's a GOOD day.

Five year college reunion and Mr. A's birthday.

This weekend, I had my five-year college reunion. What?

Not the best quality, but this is Megan and me.

Nikki and Katie, two of my bridesmaids.

Nikki and her wonderful husband, Paul. He also went to Hendrix, but he graduated before us.

Nikki and Alli.

I love this picture. Who knows what we were talking about.

You might be asking yourself what college has a five year reunion. Hendrix College! It’s a small liberal arts school in central Arkansas (affiliated with the Methodist Church—much like SMU in Texas).

Honestly, I really only saw the people I always see when I go “home.” But that’s OK because I love them!

Before the reunion, my Saturday started by working at the Northwest Arkansas Junior League's Touch a Truck fundraiser. Even though it was FREEZING at 7:30 a.m., it was fun to work with the girls on a fun event that supports such a great organization. I had to leave and immediately drive to Little Rock.

I shouldn't be dressed like this in mid-April!

The sun decided not to come out until after we finished setting up. At least it made an appearance!

When we got to Little Rock, we had a couple hours before the reunion, so I searched for an outfit to wear for this Saturday's engagement photo session. Unsuccessful. This is HARD! I bought this shirt, which is listed online as a cardigan (really?), but I don't think it is what I'm going for. And I don't know about a dress because I don't know if I want my legs to show. Also, it's supposed to rain Saturday. Great.

It looks completely different on me.

This weekend was also Adam’s 28th birthday! I didn’t do a special blog post for him because I’m 99 percent he doesn’t read my blog anymore. That’s OK. I love you, and I hope you had the best birthday ever!

The boy and I at the reunion Saturday night.

We had a great lunch with my family (so good to see them) at On the Border in Little Rock before we headed back to NWA. Then, it was time for Adam’s dinner choice—sushi! It’s pretty funny because before we dated, he thought he didn’t like sushi. Now he LOVES it. Dinner also included a huge cookie cake that I’ve successfully managed to make myself sick off eating way too much.

Since I’ve been eating so much cookie cake, I decided to really push myself during my lunch workout. We did our cardio/strength class outside, and I don’t know if it is because it’s the first time we’ve been outside this year or because I pushed a little too hard, but it killed me.

I was done after we did sets of stairs. And that was the first thing we did …

Happy Tuesday!

Eater's remorse. And a documentary: Seeking Happily Ever After.

Thank goodness it's Friday.

This is my "I'm so happy it's Friday" face.

This week  has been incredibly long.

My friends (two of my bridesmaids!) from Little Rock are coming up tonight, and I'm in serious need of girl time. I can't wait for them to hang out with some of my other ladies. I guess I should try to plan something ... but seriously, I made a to-do list, and I cried. OK, I didn't literally cry, but I very easily could have.

Remember how I said my friends were coming? Well, the "back" bedroom (aka junk room that's full of all the stuff I've never unpacked), had to be completely emptied so I could actually put the bed down. Guess when I started this task? Last night. I'm the ultimate procrastinator. It's true. Not my best trait.

Also, I'm not good at staying on task. I have to do 14 things at once. So, last night I chose to watch the documentary Seeking Happily Ever After. This award-winning feature-length documentary details why there are more single 30-something women in the U.S. than ever before, and whether women of all ages are redefining "happily ever after."

I thought it was fantastic, and you should definitely watch the film.

Back to the organizing.
How to complete this task? Move everything in the living room with the grand plan of unpacking and organizing it all.

Unfortunately, this isn't even everything. How can so much stuff be in ONE room?

My working shoes.

Honestly, except for the important stuff (like luggage), I should just throw it all away.

At around 1:30 a.m., I realized this was dumb and decided I would take it to the storage unit "shed" in the yard. 

This was dumb, too. I turned on the deck light, but the "storage unit" is in the corner. Did I bring a flashlight on my first (and last) trip? Nope.

As I turned the latch to open the door, I convinced myself there was a gang of burglars living in the wooden box, and I was immediately terrified. With a racing heart, I threw the boxes in there and promptly ran inside.

Yep, it's all in the garage now.

Things I needed to do this week that I haven't (some of these are one-time tasks; some are things I want to do more often):

• paint my nails (and toenails)--I might be skipping my lunch workout to do this
• work out more
• secure reception/ceremony music
• call cake people to reserve cake (have no idea what I want "cake" to look like, but that's OK)
• start using my Clarisonic more so I can have B-E-A-utiful skin for our engagement pictures (April 23)
• start organizing house so I don't have to shove all the junk into the garage; I'm tired of the cycle
• make a doctor's appointment I need
• several Junior League related items
• and on and on...

I'm just telling myself that this was one of those weeks where I needed a break. Next week, I'm a new woman. Or something like that ...

OK, on to the post topic: FOOD REMORSE

I might have eaten something for breakfast that was frosted. Why? Perhaps it's because of the above list. When we do things like this, I think it can be a wake up call to just take a second to breathe, relax and remember you can't let the to-do list take over your life. In reality, none of that stuff is more important than my health.

And frosted pastries are not the way to ensure that all of this work on the wedding will be worth it because I won't be able to fit in my dress.

I tossed the rest of the "food remorse" item in the trash, got some water and told myself that everyone has moments of weakness.

Wedding shoes and things you use.

I can’t believe I missed Wedding Wednesday. Again.

Do you want to know why? Let me tell you.

Every free second I’ve had this week (slight exaggeration), I’ve spent scouring websites to create our registries. It is hard to pick out things for people to give you. How do you decide on items you are going to have forever. I hear my mom say all the time, “Your dad and I have had this since our wedding.”

Seriously?

We wandered around Target (because we heard it’s the easiest place to register, so we started there) for about an hour and a half. After about 30 minutes, it got a little bit easier to choose things. But I promptly went home and deleted a bunch of them from the registry. It’s so much easier to choose which shirt I want to buy. I mean, a waffle maker that will make your bed sounds so cool, but will I really use it?

Maybe that’s why I already bought my wedding shoes (and bag!).

I had a 30 percent off coupon to Piperlime (thanks to a Junior League friend) during the Give & Get promotion, so I took advantage of it.

They should be on my doorstep today!

Breakfast this week
Each week, I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast each day. Last week, it was a granola bar and a banana. This week: Thomas Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with Weight Watchers cream cheese. Is it sad that I've gone to bed every night this week excited about waking up so I can eat my breakfast?

And I'm pretty fancy. I often use the plastic bag or a paper towel as fine china because I eat at my desk. Twice a day, Monday through Friday, I enjoy my meals in front a computer screen. Definitely not what the "doctors" recommend.

Happy Friday!

Vending machine coffee.

I've worked at my company for 1 year and and almost three months. Today is the second day I've ever bought "coffee" from a vending machine. 

My face is scary because I did RPM (spin) at lunch, took a shower, and didn't reapply makeup.
Deal with it.

I'm not sure it's actually coffee since I chose the "French Vanilla." It was 65 cents. Is it a latte? Maybe. Could it be a cappuccino? Perhaps.

I'm not complaining at 65 cents, but this cup is definitely not thick enough to contain the hotness.
I nearly made the walk back to my desk a hazard zone.

Will I need to brush my teeth after I drink due to the amount of sugar? Definitely.

I hope you're making it through the afternoon better than me! I really bought the coffee because I'm freezing.

What do you do in the afternoon when you're tired (and cold)?

So long, soda.

I grew up Methodist, so we didn't always celebrate the act of giving up something for Lent. In college, I had several Catholic friends who always gave up something (or focused on improving something) during Lent. The more I looked into it, the more I decided it was something I wanted to do each year.

This year, it's soda. A few years ago, I stopped drinking regular soda (for the most part). I actually lost about 10 pounds that I attribute solely to the elimination of Coca-Cola Classic. I still drink a regular soda (or two) on the weekend. But I drink a diet drink (or two) EVERY day.

So, I decided it was an appropriate item to give up for Lent because it will be hard. Really hard. But that's the point.

Many of the things I eat and drink are so psychological anyways (I need a Diet Coke to get me through the afternoon, right?), that I won't be surprised that this is the end of my diet soda addiction. Let's hope so!

Do you give up anything for Lent? If so, what?

Friday = spray tans and no more small shoes.

Reasons I'm SO CRAZY happy it's Friday:

• Work has been ridiculous lately. So busy. I have to remind myself to eat lunch. OK, that’s not true. And I still make time for my lunch workouts (most days). But still, it’s crazy. Let's not talk about it anymore. 
• What’s not to love about weekends? I wish I was going to see my family Sunday at the horse races, but I think we’re going next weekend. And next weekend I get to see baby Vivie (my friend from college had a baby—she was born a couple months early, but everything is good now!).
• I always get a delicious salad from the lunch vendor on Fridays. This morning, I sort of forgot it was Friday and brought my lunch. I still got the salad. But the vendor was different today, so I had to put barbecue sauce on it because the only dressing they had was ranch. I didn’t know this until after I bought the salad. The sauce was good, though. The picture … not so appetizing. I’m weird and don’t eat the croutons.



I realize this looks completely disgusting. But I had to show you. :)

• There’s no more snow left because it’s in the 60s, ya’ll!
• This has nothing to do with Friday, but I had a great time with some fantastic friends last night. We extended happy hour into a full evening of fun. I’m not going to lie … it feels a little awkward to be at a bar at 10 p.m. in your work clothes when everyone else is … not.



Theo's (a super nice restaurant) is the best happy hour place in Fayetteville.
And they have delicious $5 appetizers.





I love Colleen and Sarah!





Colleen and Sarah: Take II!

• After Saturday’s spray tan, I’m addicted. I think I’m going to go get another today.
   
• I finally get to return my new workout class shoes (I must use different shoes for classes and running) because they’re too small! I used them once, so don’t tell Academy. How was I supposed to know they were too small until my feet went numb during a spin class?