Be careful of the yeah-but. the yeah-but will kill your dreams. – Jeff Goins
It’s finals week, friends.
Oh, Peanuts – you always have it right.
Which means that I am trying to keep my eye on the prize. [and not let any “yeah-buts” get in my way.]
This means that I’ve been neglecting my blog [and you, my lovelies] because I’ve been drowningcrying studying like crazy – well, maybe not so much. It’s been a mad CRAM the past few days.
So much has happened since my last post!
Update: My birthday was April 23! I am now a “certified adult” [as proclaimed by my younger brother], a legitimate 20-something, instead of a young adult.
Twenty-four years old…it feels wonderful!
[Sabrina The Teenage Witch]
What else?
We’ve moved into a new apartment! It’s wonderful, quiet and has a gorgeous balcony. I’m in love with our new kitchen. Culinary greatness will be happening in there. I’ll be sure to post pictures, soon.
We’ve got oodles of decorating to do.
Ohmygooooodness!
It’s just been a wonderful ride. The beau got his first post-grad job! He earned himself some yummy chocoflan.
Check out SweetLittleCakes!
The boys ate these lovelies so fast that I wasn’t able to take a picture! 🙁
Anyhow…there’s lots of fun and exciting things coming up.
I’m starting a VLOG! I’ll also be posting these recipes that I keep promising. Honestly, I have them all – I simply haven’t been able to code the drop-box and menu. I’ll get to it once finals are over. I promise!
I’ve had enough of the “yeah-but” issues. No more excuses.
The gym has seen more of me these days too. 3 miles a day.
New goal?
15 pounds down by June 1.
What “yeahh-buts” are you letting run your life?
Kick ’em to the curb and gain some perspective.
Take back control of your goals and get at it!
Mom came over for help with her weekly meal plan. We spent 9 hours together. Two hours of which were spent on shopping for groceries at multiple locations because we needed some Asian specialty foods…thankfully, I live conveniently near a HUGE Vietnamese fish market/grocery center.
Saturday was fantastic.
We got practically free skinny caramel macchiatos [a FAVE] from @TomThumb, since it’s my birthday month (I <3 them!) and we cooked side by side while watching Pitch Perfect. What did we make?
Let me show you, but be sure to have a hanky near – you may unattractively drool all over yourself. At worst, you may faint from all the nummy goodies overload.
Brace yourself!
Spinach & Mozzarella Stuffed Meatloaf Suggested sides – Smashed Potatoes with a Yummy Salad
Mom’s recipe will be up here soon! I promise. Her meatloaf was delish!
We also made Red Curry (sans peppers, because my mama loathes them. Since she was going to pick them out anyhow, I opted to leave them out). I’ll have to make some more for lunch this week, because it was completely devoured – along with the Black Rice [a.k.a. – Forbidden Rice]. Sadly, it was completely gobbled before I had a chance to take a picture. Later this week, for sure!
Red Curry Chicken [Thai Chilis and all, ya’ll!I know you’re just oozing to know what else we made, right?
Well, we also made three different pasta bakes. Two with homemade alfredo sauce [because, why buy bottles when you can make tons of it for less than $5?]…the other with vodka sauce and tomato-ey goodness.
Cheesy, ooey, goodness! Alfredo Penne Bake
Sunday’s treats were scrumptious too!
I woke up with a hankering for Eggs Oscar and & mimosas.
The bummer? No OJ. The boys guzzled it. [downside to living with three boys – it’s hard to keep the fridge stocked.]
We had crab, cream, eggs – the werks for my required dish. [Oh, I nixed the asparagus. I <3 me some vegg…but asparagus for breakfast? Yeah, that’s not my scene.]
I learned how to poach an egg about 2 minutes before I started cooking. [Inner “WOO” for getting it right on the first try.]
Eggs Oscar Succulent crab and hand-whipped Hollandaise
Now for the middle [I’m damn-near amazed that I restrained myself enough to take this picture]. The second I snapped it, my phone was replaced by the fork. snarf, snarf, snarf…oh, remember to breathe.
Ooh, la, LA – right?
Last but not least…desserts! Because how could my kitchenfest be complete otherwise, right? Let me just say…I made 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I’m sure you’ve seen a chocolate chip cookie. If not…email me at cerebellumchef@gmail.com and I will personally email you a picture of my chocolate chip cookies. their awesomness cannot be captured in print. – at least not with my iPhone. Sorry, bud.
Now, the Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Banana bread is quite photogenic. Don’t believe me?
Check this out!
Chocolate Cinnamon Banana Bread [I shant add more…the picture is enough]Bahaha! I feel soooooooo devious. You gained ten pounds just from the pictures, huh? I had t unbutton my pants. Don’t be ashamed. You know you loved it.
As Joey from Friends says – “I’m sorry, I’m not even sorry!”
I totes know that sharing these nom nom nom treats is kind of unfair (ya know…because you didn’t get to snarf them down) – but I’m hoping you’re now inspired to conquer your kitchen!
Oh Joey – I feel about cake how you feel about sandwiches!
Go on! Make something yummy![Then send me the recipe, because I want to try it too!]
I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
– Thomas Jefferson
Sometimes I think I’ve got everything figured out [well, mostly – like career choice and whether we need to buy more milk].
Lately, I’ve been a bit more indecisive with life choices. Naturally, this leads to a bit of stress. Which I happen to quelch with running a few miles and baking up a storm!
Yesterday, after getting through 2/3 of my midterms and most of my brain power, I needed a nummly pick-me-up. Up for an adventure, I opted for something new:
Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes!
Guess what?
They were delish! Ohmygoooooodness! I don’t tend to eat much of what I make, because that would go against the running and getting fit part of this health-foodie journey. Instead, I give away the food I make. The office peeps just lurved these nummies! One guy said he took a bite and then “stared at the magic of it” before snarfing the rest of it down. I did get a chance to taste one and, I daresay, I completely agree. These cupcakes are wonderfully moist with a power-packed punch of awesome.
Seriously, clouds might very well be made of the same consistency and sugary components that went into the gingerly fluffed caramel butter cream frosting [aka: tastiness to make your taste buds break out in killer 70’s dance moves]. Heaven.
Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes
I’ll be sure to post recipes this weekend! I’ve got to work on the drop-down bar and a few other search functions. 🙂
It’s Wednesday night (almost Thursday) and I’m just now realizing how little sleep I’ve truly gotten. These sporadic naps between study sessions and work have been a great help, but sheesh – only 6 hours of sleep from Sunday until now, with 4 hours worth of naps sprinkled in here and there…it’s no wonder my words aren’t coherent.
[Mental note – take journal everywhere and document self “unfiltered, let me give a stranger my two-cents on life issues, right here in the women’s restroom” moments. They’re gold.]
I was so tired getting home after today’s exam, that the beau made the Executive decision to take me out to eat. This lucky gal got to order some quite nummly foodles from T.G.I.Friday’s!
Take a look at this sexy dish!
Hibachi Steak Skewers with Mashed Potatoes and Vegetable Medley
Two exams left and this steamboat is damn near empty. Everything’s foggy…I swear, [on the ride home] one of the boys was talking about his hindrance for lack of blacksmith training – yeah, I don’t know where I pulled that from and the guys had no clue what I was saying.
Sleep-induced aphasia?
It must be a real thing. If not, well – it is now.
Sadly, this fit chick didn’t get a workout in today, but I’ll be sure to hit the gym tomorrow. More adventures to come, sans the beau. He’s heading to San Antonio and I’ll be left to my own devices for the weekend.
You know what that means!
RECIPES for all my readers! 😀 I’ll be working hard to get the pages updated – snazzy, sexy and drool-worthy. Oh yes, you’ll want to drop in for that food porn. Scout’s Has-been Brownie’s honor.
Midterms are HERE!I’ve got 3 exams in the next couple of days and would be completely lying to you if I said I wasn’t stressed. What happens when I stress, you ask? I BAKE! Ginormous amounts of cookies, brownies, blondies, cupcakes…pretty much using everything we have in the pantry and occasionally adding random “what happens when I add this” ingredients. It’s not quite full-on nerd science, but I still feel like Dr. Bunsen.
Sadly, I’ve been so consumed with studying that I haven’t even attempted to step away from this desk longer than a 10 minute coffee run and to buy some much needed hair products (seriously, frizz central over here). The boys tried to distract me earlier and all they got was my best “Quit it, I’m studying for my O.W.L.s!” exasperated look.
Best eye-roll, ever.
It’s been quite a week so far! I haven’t averaged more than 3 hours of sleep a night, naturally – I look and feel like a troll. Wicked sexy, huh?
Maybe I can get some baking in tomorrow. For now, I’ll share the nummlies we’ve had over the past few days. I’ll be sure to post recipes soon!
Parmesan Alfredo PrimaveraCrockpot recipe!
Despite all this yummy food, I’ve been hitting my 1200 cal mark! 😀 Thank goodness for squeezing this jiggliness in some spandex and getting to the gym! 7 pounds down, folks!
Everything has been so hectic lately. My classes are kicking my butt, I work 50 hours a week and getting a work out in has been high priority. So naturally, my life is in disarray but the elliptical is getting some nice booty action.
I haven’t had a chance to blog, because I’m barely sleeping. My life is all work-class-tutoring-homework/study-cook/back-workout-nap-work…and repeat.
Part of my NYRs was to keep up with my blog, but I’ve been slacking. I’m so very sorry and will do much better, I promise!
Now…imagine my surprise when this wonderful bestie (my lobster, of sorts) nominated me for a Liebster award! How awesome right? How not-cool of me is it that I’ve been a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins and haven’t added my newest recipes and workout tips? Yeah, talk about shameful. On the flipside, what excellent motivation to kick things into high gear! Thank you, Laura-dearest!
What is it? The Liebster Award is given to new and upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers or so. Liebster is German for “sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”
Learning more about each other is the name of the game. The Liebster blog award rules are as follows:
– Post 11 random facts about yourself. – Answer 11 questions from your nominator. – Nominate 11 other blogs with under 200 followers and ask them 11 questions.
11 Random Facts About Moi!
I am in love with my best friend. Thankfully, he loves me too. It’s a cheesy-dorky-quirky relationship that people only tend to read about; not perfect, but perfectly imperfect and completely wonderful.
Sharpies! I can never have enough of them. I have them in every color and use them for my label-craziness, organization and even my class note cards.
I am powerless to bookstores and coffee shops – especially when they’re in the same location.
My dream car happens to be a Lotus Elise – there’s just a sexiness about cars and machines in general that draws me in.
I have never, ever been drunk. I tried to once, but the beau put me straight to bed when I started getting tipsy. Apparently, I’m a riot.
Running is my jam! In the past 29 days, I have run 92 miles. I’ve met my goal and surpassed it! Plus, I’ve got another 2 days to run my butt off!
My mom is my best friend and she always has been. I never went through one of those “ugh-I-hate-you” phases. We fought, no doubt, but I always let her know I loved her.
My parents had me at 21, consequently – I fully blame them for my love of all things 80’s and for raising me to appreciate great music, fast cars and real family time.
I traveled to Paris, France and got my grub on! Seriously…I ate ants and snails! They were tasty, but since I’m not normally on a grub-hunt with Timon and Pumba, I don’t seek out bugs.
I want to be a Pediatric Oncologist – and have wanted to be one since I was 5!
I’ve been working on a novel for the past several years and hope that one day, it’ll be published.
Questions from my Nominator
What is your favorite season?
Winter. Hands-down. I have a too-short love affair with snowflakes, outdoor ice rinks, floppy ear-flap hats and salted caramel hot chocolate. As a girl from South Texas, I’m used to triple-digit heat and snow cones, year round. When I went off to college, I was beyond thrilled that Baylor experienced temperatures below 50 degrees, where I could watch the seasons change and hear the ever-wonderful crunch of gold, amber and rouge leaves beneath my feet. Naked tree branches and pale morning skies. I love everything about winter, including the transition into my most favorite season.
What was your first concert?
I actually attended a TRAFFIC and Sade concert when I was 4…does that count? Maybe they weren’t performing together – I honestly couldn’t tell you. My first official “big girl concert?” Well, I flew to Minneapolis, MN to visit my aunt during the summer between my junior and senior year of highschool. I was gloriously in love with THE FRAY and guess who was playing? I was thrilled! I got to see The Fray, TRAIN, Trampled by Turtles and several other bands at Basilica Block Party. If you haven never had the pleasure of attending – get your tickets for this year’s show! It’s a big to-do, raises money for a great cause and they have deep-fried Oreos. Need I say more?
What is your go-to Karaoke song?
Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” – seriously…is there a better song to belt lyrics to?
What is your favorite quote and why?
This is a tough one…I truly love quotes. I mean, you can’t begin to imagine how much I love quotes. So picking out just one is almost painful. Quotes are filled with pieces of wisdom and wonderful specks of truth. The quote most meaningful to me right now:
“Know your own truth and live by it.” – Mario Batali Wonderful, right? Simple. Lovely. Thoughtful. So full of inspiration and deeper meaning. I’ve been contemplating this particular quote, lately. I’ve found that I haven’t fully formed my own person yet, I’m still trying to find my truth.
Who or what inspires you?
Right now, I’m reading Katie Couric’s “The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives” and it really has some amazing advice from many wonderful people. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy. The stories it holds are so powerful and one of them struck a particularly powerful cord.
Katie Couric, my new hero. I grew up knowing who she was, but I had no clue she’d been through so much until I read her introduction. How unbelievable is it that she had a “cookie-cutter childhood” and kind of expected the same for her adulthood, only to have everything flipped topsy-turvy. She married the love of her life, had two kids, loved her job and then lost her husband to cancer. Then she lost her sister to cancer, too. But she kept going, moving, fighting, doing – that’s why she’s amazing. Despite facing extreme adversity and insurmountable loss, she’s learned to keep loving and looking toward the bright side. We can only hope to learn such courage and strength.
What is one thing you cannot do without in the morning?
You’re expecting me to say coffee, right? WRONG! I leave for work at 6:15am every day, and am gone until about 6pm. That said, I absolutely cannot leave my apartment without kissing my boyfriend goodbye and leaving him with a simple sign of the cross (Hispanic-Catholic-habits…they die hard) on his forehead.
When are you at your happiest?
There are these moments of pure, unadulterated bliss I am lucky enough to experience when my entire family is together. Those milliseconds in time, rare as they are, leave me replete with happiness and longing for seconds or minutes more of those stories, smiles, embraces. I live for the sounds filling the rooms in which we spend our time but, mostly, I miss having my entire family in one place.
List three strengths and three weaknesses about yourself.
Three Strengths:
Confidence – I’ve got it oozing out my pores.
Resilience – I am kind of the human equivalent of a cockroach. I can come back from just about anything and always have plan a and b and c…all the way to z. There’s always a solution and I’m programmed to find one.
Rainbows – There’s a brightside to everything. Would you expect anything less from the best friend of Laura, at TheBrightSideAccordingToLaura? I believe everyone has a good side and because of that, I help everyone in any way I can.
Three Weaknesses:
Humility – I’m not quite sure I ever learned how to harness this superpower. A Mother Teresa, I am not. I am trying to be better about this but it’s a daily struggle to keep my ego in check.
My tendency to over-give – I give past the point of hurting. I want to give until everyone is happy and peaceful but this sometimes leaves me exhausted, sad and beating myself up over whether or not I can help more.
Ambition – At times I think it’ll swallow me whole. I want to do so many things and help so many people, but there isn’t enough time in a day.
What is your all-time favorite song?
There isn’t just one. Music is as much a part of my life as literature. I need it to breathe, to love, to learn, to laugh and to feel more deeply than an empty soul because without music, life would be empty. Right now, my favorite song is a tie between:
Tracy Chapman – Give me one reason
The Lumineers – Dead Sea
What are three blogs you read regularly?
I absolutely love to stumble across new blogs. It’s kind of a weekly habit, and really hard to kick. The problem with new blogs, is that I have trouble keeping up with them all! I do have a few favorite (or a couple dozen, who am I trying to kid here?) bloggers, which a faithfully follow. One of them is my bestie, Laura. Her blog is sweet, lovely, inspirational and usually chock-full of fun bright thoughts. Light-hearted, funny, occasionally overly-Texan (as if there’s such a thing possible!) and always loveable. She is always presenting you with a brighter side to everything, with a heaping helping of warmth. How could you not want to read her thoughts? Visit her here!
We all know that I’m a serious foodie, hence the need to workout and write this blog. What you may not know is how hard it was for me to keep up with a decent diet. Why? I love chocolate, cake, frosting…all three of them combined is just brilliant – don’t you agree? I am constantly searching for ways to get my sweet-tooth fix, without breaking my calorie budget. I tend to find much inspiration over at FitFoodieFinds.com. She’s great and goes through fun phases where she’s addicted to certain ingredients, it’s fantastic!
Have I mentioned how much I wish I had sisters? These wonderful ladies make it look like sooooo much fun! They’ve got ideas on just about everything and are all about wholesome family values. I am always inspired by them and love reading about their excursions. These sisters are wonderful, find out more about them at Six Sister’s Stuff
I’ve been bouncing around all morning, an unleashed ball of energy. It’s fantastic! There’s so much to do! I’ve got engineering assignments, lab reports, two exams to prepare for, laundry, this week’s lunch to make and grocery shopping! GAH! So, I reminded myself to STOP. Stop thinking about all the cray-cray crap that’s gotta get done. Screw the deadlines. Forget about everyone who wants you to do them a favor. Take a minute to just do YOU! Wiggle it! Dance it out! Read! Nap! Make a dessert! Whatever it is…make sure that you’re doing it for you! I am always forgetting to put myself first. In fact, I’ve been putting off my workouts to get things done for friends and family. I decided to ride in the backseat. My wants, needs…I threw them out the damn window. Dear self, I’m sorry it took me so long to realize the error of my ways. But I’m back now, stronger than before and ready to get back to work. You are the most important thing in my life and I promise I will never let anything get in the way of you, again. Do you put yourself first? If you’re riding bitch, you need to make a change. Put yourself first, before you start helping someone else. You can’t help them if you’re out of whack. What are you doing for yourself today?
I’m working out, hard. It’s time to bring the pain again and push past this plateau. Get strong, be fit, live happy. Love you.
BLAM! I’ve hit a plateau. So obvi…I feel fat. TOM is visiting, so I’m bloated on top of all this weight-loss business and feel the intense need to cry. Shameful, right? Ladies, I know you know what I mean. Gentlemen…it’s really is like shark week, but sometimes not even chocolate and kind words are going to save your butts. FYI. Anyhow…I’m feeling FAT. No, not PHAT. FAT. Hefty. LARGE. Giant. As tall as I am round. So what does my beau suggest? BRA SHOPPING! “Babe, you’re beautiful. Go buy yourself some lingerie, I promise you’ll feel gorgeous.” Wonderful, right? End of this cheesy story? NO! We go to the mall, get measured (me, not him!) and it turns out that I’m actually a FULL CUP SIZE bigger than I thought I was. MAJOR FAT. How is this possible when I’m losing weight? Is the remaining fat re-depositing itself in my boobs? Sigh… What’s worse? This skinny cow with no tact, shopping with her man, whispers to him…”yeah, as if that’ll look good.”
Hand to GOD…I almost rounded on her and said:
But, I remained calm and continued looking through the oh-so-adorable-but-I-probably-cannot-fit-one-cheek-into-these lacies. How sad. Did I mention I’m in between sizes? Everything’s too big or too small. GAH! I loathe plateaus! So what am I doing about it? We’re changing it up, peeps! I’ve got 6lbs of frozen fruit that needs to be munched!
This coming week (starting Sunday)…I’m having a protein shake for dinner, until I get tired of them every night. I’ll change up the ingredients, but always keep the protein to meet my daily nutritional values. You see, I’m incredibly busy and tend to work out in the late afternoon or evenings, so a shake will work much better for me than a typical dinner. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes. Lunch will be mainly salads, but I heart me some bunny food – so that won’t be a problem to stick to. Which leaves?
BREAKFAST! The real question is…
I’m going to incorporate some awesome home-made breakfast bars, so that I can snack halfway through my morning. Can anyone say woot? Mmmm, yum! [pictures to follow] My man has been kind of a slave-driver lately. He’s all “gotta work out, ROAR!” :gnashes pearly whites: It’s kind of annoying, actually. He’s super strong, so he’s pumping some serious iron and looking sexy-buff, while I’m working with puny-baby-weights and can barely make fluffy look good, let alone with my sweaty booty in neon spandex. Good grief. I just realized how comical I must look in the gym. SMH.
Add this song to your workout jams…it’s EPIC!
Oh, so what happened with the new bras? I bought a few and they feel like they’re ALL over me! But I guess that’s what a good one’s supposed to be like, huh? It’s like a boobie protector, all up in my business and holding things in place. The beau was right, too. Once I got home and showered, then a bit dolled up for a night out…well, I slung one of those puppies on (the black lacey kind that makes me blush, even though no one else knows I’m wearing it) and all my man could say all night was:
Babe, can you get me…”As you wish.” Sweetie, I need…”As you wish.” Is it alright if…”As you wish.” More coffee for me….”As you wish.” This over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder is brilliant! If you don’t have pretty, lacey, lovely undies…GO GET SOME! It’s not the fabric that makes me feel pretty, it’s the look I get from my man. He loves me bundles. Enough to drag me to the gym, when all I want to do is nap. More than enough to work around my hectic schedule to make sure I eat healthy. Beyond the normal love levels that one would expect. He’s the real deal and I’m one lucky gal. So I won’t push past this plateau for him. He already loves me. I’m doing this for me, so that maybe someday soon – I’ll love myself as much as he loves me. Now that would be spectacular, but for now, I’ll make fluffy look sexy.
You know the one. It’s this wonderful frothy mixture that you know must have been sent down to us from Zeus in a spontaneous moment of insane kindness for us mere mortals. Mortals with a serious weakness for sweet decadence. [Yes, the apple has come full circle.]
Chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch, vanilla creme….there are so many splendid flavor combinations to indulge those cravings and well – who doesn’t love sipping down that shake?
HIPS.
They hate it. My boobs, they hate it. Well, maybe they could stand to gain a little suppleness [since they’re attached to a has-been athlete and probably hate being so…lameflat nothing special. My hips though? Hell to the NO! They definitely could do without the extra calories and itty bitty pieces of lard that would be deposited by the shake. We can’t have that. We’ve gotta do activities!
And 1 & 2…&1&2…
All that aside ladies and gents – who of you can actually give up your favorite things? Not me. So I found several healthy ways to make me not want to cry. Most of these ideas are not actually milkshakes, but smoothies. When I want a really great milkshake, I switch out crazy fat-loaded ice cream for something non-fat or (LOVE!) go for the Fro-Yo! Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s make wonderful options! :]
The Green Monster – Laura introduced me to this wonderful creation and it’s never a bad option.
It looks freaky, but it’s yummy! Promise.
Berries are my fave! Blackberries are the bestest!
You can get some awesome recipes HERE! Our friends over at Prevention are pretty much on the up & up! Yummy stuff, ya’ll! I hope you all are mixing up your nutrition! I don’t like when things get boring. I would much rather enjoy some nummy eats that I don’t have to see every single day. Except salads. I <3 them and can eat bunny food every day! Only exception…and they're obviously not the same salads. Everything's got a twist! Now on to my new Arm Workout! I’m starting it this week and am super mega-stoked. Wanna join?
I hope that your fitness journey is going well. We’re finally starting to see real results. The beau is down 12 pounds, since December. Fan-flipping-tastic, right!?! I’ve been healthy baking like crazy, so it’s a mini-miracle – but these recipes really are the best of the healthy-fit and foodie craving worlds! Don’t settle for your lifestyle. Make compromises when necessary, but make sure you’re loving the direction you’re headed. Fewer calories doesn’t mean better and too much is never good. Find your balance while busting those buns. More endorphins, happier nature, loved body. Get going! Now, I should get back to my studies. Good night, loves!
