Occasionally Life Attacks You

... and currently, I'm under seige.

I have so much stuff to update you guys on. I haven't been blogging (again). It's partly my $%#$$@^ horrible carpal tunnel, which is now in BOTH wrists, and partly ... well ... other stuff. Namely, I've gained weight and it bums me out alot. I'm exactly back to where I was pre-wedding. I am working on it, though, and the only failure is not trying and even then, there's always the possibility of redemption.

Pre-Wedding Weight

Bachelorette Party Wt.

Obviously, I know it could be worse...

Been there, done that.

Still, it's crazy how we can fall back into old habits. It's like putting on an old, comfy shirt. Fits like a damned glove. For me, these habits are pre-bariatric surgery in some ways and I'm five-years removed here. Food addiction is real, my friends. There is no cure, only remission. Relapse is part of recovery, or so they say. I have to believe that eventually I will come out of this battle, like I have so many times before. If I can lose 200 pounds, I can lose the 20 I regained and the 10 I still needed to lose. Seriously, what is 30 pounds in the face of 200, right?!?

Anywho, here are some snippets from my trip to Disney's California Adventure theme park on my birthday (June 2). Anyone want to guess how old I am? Go for it. (If you already know, don't guess. That's no fair.)

Some pics are blurry. I borrowed from JGago's bloggie blog. She also has a cute post about our trip to Santa Monica, which you should totally check out because the pics are much better than mine were!

Oh! And, last night, I made a yummy "Chinese" dish. I put it in quotations because I seriously doubt the authenticity here. :p

Soy-Pineapple Chicken with Orange Peppers and Fried Brown Rice.

I wasn't overly impressed with this TJ's fried brown rice, by the way.

And, finally, while I've been away, I taste-tested Yves Meatless Hotdogs.

Ryan cooking them (just because it's adorable):

Husband Rating: A++

Hotdog Rating: C+

Meh. They're okay. I much prefer Morningstar's Veggie Dogs.

Tonight, Ryan and I are going to the San Diego Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Festival. It's usually $30/person (it's sold out, localites - sorry), but we're getting in free on a press pass (thanks JGago!). It pays to be a food blogger. :)

Be sure to check back this weekend for that post. San Diego has some AMAZING foodie stuffs, to be sure. xoxo

My 12 Commandments

In the spirit of self-improvement, which admittedly is a luxury of our American world, an idea has sparked in my wild mind. Lest it naggle and flit around like an irritating fruit fly, I have to see it through. For some time I've been wanting to devise a way for me to be a better wife, friend, and all-alround awesome person. I've changed alot since I first lost that 200 pounds and not all of that has been physical. A huge portion, in fact, has been internal.

I've recently been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's cool. It's basically a right-brained attempt at answering the question of personal happiness, very technical and yet humorous at the same time. Go check it out if you have an interest in such things.

Anywho, back to MY 12 Commandments.

I've wanted to create a way to measure the positive characteristics in my life ever since I heard about Benjamin Franklin's idea of "Moral Perfection." Though this idea is revisited in Rubin's book, I first heard it when I was reguarlarly attending a zendo in Pacific Beach. His program was to focus his attention on one moral "code" each week, and through habit his behaviors and character would improve. LOVE the idea. I have always said that all things we do are the results of habit. His "virtues" are:

TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

These are awesome and all, but I wanted something a little more Jasmine. Why 12? Well, I'm not religious, which is why I didn't have to stick with 10. Plus, I really couldn't widdle them down to 10. Old Benjamin has 13, which just seems unlucky. So, 12 it is.

Here's mine:

1. Be Nice More, Nag Less.

2. Spend Out.

3. Love as Action.

4. Complain for a Purpose (or Not at All).

5. Listen Closely.

6. Practice Order.

7. Let it Be, Let it Go.

8. Be the Change.

9. Commit Fully.

10. Give Blindly.

11. Thank Life Daily.

12. Be Here Now.

This week (Mon-Sun), I will be focusing on nagging less. This will almost exclusively be practiced within my marriage for obvious reasons. However, the "be nice more" part can be practiced in every situation. Tomorrow, I will post about Day 1 to let you know how it went. I am a major "nagger" so this is going to be rough. Wish me luck.

Housekeeping Stuff. This is still a food blog, but I'm branching out. When you improve one part of your life, all things improve, I think. Let's see how much I can "improve" in the next 12 weeks.

This weekend, I tried the Fiber One Blueberry Muffins for the first time. I was very impressed.

I had some frozen blueberries in the freezer anyway, so I threw maybe 1/2 cup in. Otherwise, I followed the box.

These came out great. Hubby LOVED them.

We ate two before I remembered to take a picture. :p I highly recommend these muffins. Very filling, great taste.

**Survey Time**

Blog Questions

Do you prefer blogs that only talk about food?

Do you like the idea of incorporating a self-improvement section into a "healthy" blog?

Do you follow mostly food blogs?

What other kinds of blogs do you enjoy?

Is your blog focused exclusively on food/exercise?

Kashi Meal Review & a Surprise Party

Good Evening Peeps!

I've been working on my book all night, and I'm just now getting to blog. This is wayyyyy past my usual bedtime, so I'll make it quick.

For lunch today, I tried a Kashi Meal: Lemongrass Coconut Chicken.

Ok, I seriously heart coconut. Where the halibut was the coconut?!? Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. I thought it would be really tasty. It has quinoa, which I love, but there was really no flavor. It tasted like chicken, quinoa and snow peas. No flavoring at all. And, it was a bit mushy to boot. I didn't eat it all.

For dinner,I threw something together at lightning speed because I needed to get back to work. Hubby couldn't cook tonight because the Colts were playing (HOLY COW - did you see that game!?).

So, I made Kraft Whole Grain Mac n Cheese with a can of tuna and some fresh broccoli. Served with kiwi on the side. It was actually really tasty.

Sorry, my camera sucks if I'm only using interior lighting (it was already dark outside, so no help from the sun).

Also, last night, we threw my husband a SURPRISE 30th Birthday Party. It was a total hit. He was COMPLETELY surprised.

Yes, a football cake, too. Of course, what else?

Hubby had an absolute blast. A complete success! I can't believe my man is 30!!! It seems so grown up!

And, now... it's really time to go to bed. In the morning, I'm hoping to hit the gym and finish my math homework, all before I have to be in class at 7:30am. SHEESH. We'll see.

See you tomorrow.

xoxo

--Mrs. Myers


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Humpday Megapost (w/Pictures!!!)

This is a humpday megapost coming to you LIVE from San Diego, California. :)

Kashi Mushroom Trio & Spinach Pizza

Kashi Pizza Review. Excellent! I really liked this pizza. The crust was thin and had a really good, almost clean taste. Not greasy tasting at all. The mushrooms were a little mushy, but the spinach was a nice accent. It was spare, which is good. Spinach can make a pizza soggy sometimes, but not in this case.

Look at this list of ingredients!

I made the pizza directly on the oven rack, as indicated. I've never baked a pizza "on rack" before, and this is why:

It fell through the grates. Gravity. Go figure. Luckily, I had the foresight to put a cookie sheet under there. Sometimes I have my thinking cap on and all the neurons fire... Tonight was one of those nights. In the end, I managed to get it out of there, and it was quite tasty.

I made up a fruit salad to go with it. A medium apple, a banana, a few grapes and a small handful of grape tomatoes.

I used a tad Orange Champagne Vinegar Dressing from TJs. I use this on all my salads. Veggies or Fruit.

And a dash of my SUPER SECRET WEAPON.

I know... Am I ingenious or what?... It was yum:

Ok, so backing up for a bit. As you know my camera crapped out on me this morning, so you got a picture-less post AND I had my exam today. I think my exam went well. There were maybe 3 questions on there that were a wee-bit tricky, related to cholesterol, but otherwise, I think I aced it. Yay!

I'll recap some of today's eats. It's not all of them. I thought maybe my card was fried so I didn't picture everything. Luckily, it's not fried, just tempermental.

Yummalicious and Nutritious (Breakfast)

Snacks

Leftovers Lunchie

========YOUR TURN==========================

1. What great new product have you tried recently?

2. Do you like product reviews? Would you like to see more? Think they suck and wish I'd quit talking about it? Leave a comment or suggestion!



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