December 21

December 21

Went to the doctor today and pretty much gave myself a heart attack as usual (white coat syndrome), but all is good. Gotta get an x-ray for my neck/shoulder pain, but my doctor isn't worried and says it's just a formality. I'm not sure why being 24 and perma-fatigued and in severe pain almost constantly isn't considered a big deal, but heyyy better than having some scary disease...we'll see. She did order 10 physical therapy sessions, so maybe that will help. She also suggested I go to a professional bra fitting place just in case that's a contributing factor, since I'm pretty small (rib-cage wise and all that) compared to the bustiness, which could put pressure on my body, o'course. Ya never know. I've been meaning to do that anyway just to make sure.

Didn't have much of an appetite today, so a lot of grazing ensued. On sugar. Did you expect any different from me? *sigh*

-pretty much all day I picked at a 1/4 lb of white meat chicken (no skin)
-part of a side of green beans
-a tiny bit of a side of baked beans (most of those are still downstairs)
-a few sips of iced tea



I wanted a salad, but my Mom picked Grandy's for lunch and I don't think they have any? Weird.

-part of a hot chocolate (about 4-6 oz?)

I made Christmas my bitch (or did it make me its bitch?) and I wrapped presents, drank hot chocolate (from 711--best hot choc ever. The first cup I made tasted like ass. It was SO watery, but the nice lady at the register worked her magic), and made MORE cookies tonite. Ahhh, the holidays. Whoever doesn't find this time the most wonderful time of the year can suck it! The only thing I drew the line at was the Christmas music. I'm not opposed really, but I hear enough in the car, so I just blasted a little Glee ipod-age instead. It worked.

-leftover lasagna (momentarily forgot that the noodles contained gluten :-\. I've been trying not to eat it again)
-water
-cran-raspberry sparkling water




-egg nog Godiva truffle





-small gluten free gingerbread cookie from a batch I made tonite with small amt. of gluten free vanilla frosting (cookie: good, frosting: gross, cookie: homemade, frosting: jarred)
-water



All of the other cookies I made into shapes (gingerbread men, stars, and stockings. The men ALL are missing limbs and a couple stars had some casualties as well. Boo).

exercise: 20 min elliptical (while cookies baked, natch).

The treadmill was covered with pressies, 'tis the season & all that, but kind of annoying. I'm not a huge fan of our elliptical for some reason, even though in almost every other sitch I'm totally elliptical>>>treadmill. *shrug*

I'm watching Rachael Ray right now on DVR and she's gushing over Rod Stewart (her guest) and how he seems ageless. Yeahh, Rach, you're just being nice. He looks ridiculous performing Love Train. He's a childhood favorite, but I'll just stick to my cd's thankyouverymuch. Sorry, Rod.

xo,
Amanda

Dec 18-20

December 18
-a handful of cheeto puffs



-a half sized salad with spinach, tomato, chick pea, hardboiled egg, red peppers, green peppers, black beans, pumpkin seeds, green onions, purple cabbage, and tofu with a fat free tomato vinaigrette
-a regular tropical unsweetened iced tea



-a sample of the tomato spinach salad
-a smalll sample of the caesar salad
-a sample of the fettucini alfredo (terrible, fyi. don't order this at buca di bepo)
-a sample of calamari
-a sample of spaghetti with meat sauce (my mom gave the leftovers, which were enough for prob 10 people, to the BITCH who works for us who we all hate, I'm pissed)
-a sample of lasagna
-a small piece of white cake w/ chocolate frosting
-I'm going to guess 6 glasses of wine, but I kept pouring half glasses, so I didn't really count


ate all of the calamari, but only half of the rest



The only reason I drank so much was because nobody else was touching the red wine hardly and we got a HUGE ASS bottle of it (basically equivalent to 2 bottles) and I didn't want my dad to think he wasted his money, since everyone else gravitated to the chardonnay (blah). I'm sure he would have rather me just leave it though, or let the drunk asses at it once their second bottle of precious white was gone. Hindsight and all....ugh. I told myself I could have 3 glasses, but, well...oops.

-another glass of wine (?)

After the office part, my co-worker/friend took me to a bar w/ her and her boyfriend-- I didn't realize the bitch and her boyfriend were coming too, but whatever, and they got me another glass of wine. Lots and lots of drama ensued shortly thereafter, so I can't remember if I finished the glass or not.

December 19

Obviously I didn't feel great re: what I drank last nite. I woke up with a headache, took some vitamins and advil, and went back to bed and woke up fine, just a little dizzy. Then, I felt progressively worse throughout the day. Just that whole BLAH feeling where you can't WAIT until the next day when it's supposed to go away.

I wasn't hungry at all. I had one of those free smoothie samples at the mall around 6:30pm and a few sips of an iced tea at the movies (Avatar at the Imax in 3d...pretty cool, but about an hour too long), but that was it until about 11pm or so.

That's when I had a Kind fruit & nut bar that my dog found and tried to steal (kinda forgot how much I love those things)



Then, around midnite I had a sample of the alfredo (still sucky, even covered in black pepper), a sample of the lasagna (even better than before), and another small piece of the cake. REALLY wanted that spaghetti tho, and that's when I found out it wasn't there :( :(. Seriously that bitch didn't deserve MY food :-P

didn't finish
only ate about half

December 20

I still felt crappy, but I think because I didn't sleep much.

-water
-one piece of ham
-a few bites of breakfast potatoes
-a few bites of fruit




my stomach felt too blah to eat much, but I still wanted my Sunday breakfast ritual

-the rest of the potatoes
-the rest of the fruit

-a salad with spinach, red peppers, green peppers, black bean and corn salad, tomato, sunflower seeds, hardboiled egg, and italian dressing (I love spinach and hardboiled egg whites together so much)
-water



-2 vosges truffles (the absinthe one was kind of gross, but the white chocolate one was delish)



xo,
Amanda

December 17

December 17

-gluten free mary's crackers with brie and cranberry chutney
-grapes
-small bowl of multigrain puffins with organic skim and a dash of cinnamon
-a little pom tea





-2 chocolate vosges truffles




Saks.com randomly gave away amounts between $20-500 for customers on their e-mail lists. I assume most people got the $20, but lucky me, I got $100! I couldn't really find any clothes or shoes I wanted (nothing under like $700 anyway), so for part of the money I bought some frivolous chocolate. I mean, it's good, but it's not as amazing as I've heard *shrug* I got the box of 9 exotic truffles and the box of 9 mini candy bars. We'll see if any of them change my mind eventually.





-a half order of tuscan mussels (basically in a white wine sauce w/ navy beans and sundried tomatoes)
-a side of gluten free pasta pomodoro
-my mom's side of spinach
-about 80% of a glass of cabernet
-water

tossed aside the bread, natch




-a small plain pinkberry yogurt with pomegranate seeds and mango



-more of the pom tea
-water

-the rest of the gluten free pasta
-the rest of the pom tea
-a pint of water



Another pretty good day.

Again no real exercise, but I was at the mall and walked around + more present wrapping. I also did more cleaning. Just trying to do what I can--Only so many hours in the day, especially around the holidays. I was feeling real good jogging every day tho, so must not let that go to the wayside.

xo,
Amanda

Single Digits 'Til Christmassss! :)

December 16

-hemp oatmeal with maple almond butter, a splash of almond milk, raisins, and a couple spoonfuls of coffee yogurt (the oatmeal has barley flakes, so a little gluten. Also, it woulda been better sans the yogurt, a lil too tangy)
-water



-bowl of mashed turnips with earth balance vegan butter, pink salt, and black pepper
-jasmine green tea with a little honey
-water




-2 slices of homemade pizza on a gluten free crust (tomato sauce, a little 2% cheddar, a little goat cheese, spinach, portobello mushroom, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, steak, and pine nuts drizzled with truffle infused olive oil)
-side salad (spinach, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, a little goat cheese, cucumber, light ranch, black pepper)
-glass of pinot noir
-3 pieces of dark chocolate with marzipan filling





-pint of water

-half of a plain frozen yogurt with fruit (and 2 or so tiny cheesecake bites)



I wasn't going to eat again, but I was hungry and planned on being up another hour or two at least to wrap gifts, so I had to at least dig into part of it!

OH OH and my Dad's patient sends us a box of Harry & David pears every year that we all look forward to. He hadn't been seeing my Dad as consistently, so we weren't sure if he was still going to send them, but they came today. I literally saw the box and was jumping up and down. I bet my neighbors think I'm a real winner. :) Best pears ever!

-another pint of water

I was too lethargic to exercise (excuses, I know), but I did clean out my closet (including trying on 849494 things to give away) and now I'm going to wrap pressies, both of which take a lot out of a girl!

Good eats today and mostly all good for me. My fave kinda days, yet they've been too few and far between lately.

xo,
Amanda

Ten Days 'Til Christmas

December 15

YESSS, IT'S TRUE: TEN DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I'm such a kid about the holidays.

-chocolate banana gluten free granola bar (from my emergency purse stash, of course. I was FAMISHED when I woke up and didn't have time to make breaky)



-white meat chicken-no skin (4 oz)
-baked beans
-mashed potatoes w/ a lil gravy
-iced tea (unsweetened)

didn't eat the roll this time

Had a little bit of acid reflux again, blah. Maybe from too much tea? I got a HUGE one, I didn't know the large was THAT big, but I only drank about 1/3 anyway...

Kinda funny though. Grandy's, where we got lunch, is right by our office. My Mom and I picked it up thru the drive-thru. On our way out we noticed my Dad's car there and went inside and I just sat down at the table with him and I think startled him a little, LOL. I was hoping he wouldn't notice I was there for a sec tho haha, he was deep in work and not really paying attention, so it coulda happened lol

-cheeto puffs (I know, I know, but they are gluten free at least LOL)



Years ago those used to be the ONE food I could never control myself around. I used to buy the jumbo sized bag once a year and eat almost all of it in one sitting and get soooo sick I never wanted them again....until the following year. Rinse and repeat. LOL. I only ate about one serving this time and even then felt a little queasy. The first handful is still good tho :-P.

-small gelato (eggnog, pecan pie, apple cider. I looooove anything eggnog around this time of year, especially ice cream)



-small, open-faced (on gluten free multigrain bread) extra lean turkey burger with a little goat cheese, spinach, & pesto with a liiittle truffle infused olive oil drizzled on top
-biggish side salad w/ spinach, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, roasted potatoes, tofu, and a tiny bit of tuna and topped with cottage cheese and a super small drizzle of this apple cider/oil/garlic vinaigrette
-water




Feeling acidy again :(. I took a digestive enzyme and it seemed to help asap, hopefully it won't get bad again.

I was just planning on the salad, but my Dad made a bunch of turkey burgers w/ ground turkey breast that was going to go bad and I couldn't help but eat the littlest burger. It was sooo good with the pesto!

For groceries this week I mostly bought vegetables. Spent way less too, including buying some presents for a gift exchange. Love that.

xo,
Amanda

Random

December 9

-about 3/4 of a grande nonfat gingerbread latte

first one of the season. Deeeeelish.

Then it was off to babysit Kendyll!




she's so silly

And their dog is SO obsessed with me. Dogs can always tell a dog person :)

up in my face lol
wouldn't let me rest alone on the couch LOL


I packed lunch. I wasn't sure if it'd be enough, but I packed wayyyyy more than necessary. I got full SO FAST.

-turkey sandwich with spinach feta spread w/ spring mix (GROSS. My Mom loved. Hmmm)
-half of a juice box
-3 cookies



+ 1

I also packed us dips (hummus + red pepper raw macadamia) with veggie sticks, a banana (for mom), yogurt (me), and possibly one more thing? Maybe not. Regardless, the sandwich & cookies sufficed. O'course I saved room for cookies, but not celery, right? Oops.

-about 3/4 of a small prickly pear frozen margarita
-water with lemon
-chips and salsa
-flautas dipped in queso and sour cream with a lil spanish rice and a bite or two of black beans
-a few bites of shrimp cocktail but it was way too ketchupy

I don't know why I am so obsessed w/ fried mexican food drenched in queso lately. :-\







-a few bites of sugar cookies I made (meh, forgot a couple ingredients, doh. just okay)
-2 big glasses of water

In between was a roadtrip to see my brother's girlfriend for the weekend. It was, in short, a disaster. I worked my ass off, but it couldn't even put a dent in the fried, sugary mess I put myself through. Fried Chicken, fried shrimp, fried fish, fried catfish, french fries, fudge, fudgesicles, root beer, sweet tea, you get the idea. NO BUENO. Time to get back on track. I semi-failed today, but it could have been worse? Not an excuse though, I WILL be better. I have to.

December 14

-about 3/4 of a gluten free frozen lasagna (not bad. not great, but I'd buy again)
-handful of trader joes chocolate (dark choco macadamia nuts and dark chocolate chipotle hazelnuts)
-lil bit of pom blueberry juice with sparkling water


+2


-100 calorie pack of cocoa almonds



-rest of the lasagna
-a few bites of fudge and coconut praline
-another glass of the sparkling juice




-2 pieces of sweet and spicy beef jerky
-frozen peas with a spritz of butter spray
-water



-moo goo gai pan with extra veggies (no rice)
-a couple bites of my mom's spicy cashew chicken
-one chicken wing with the breading taken off (still horrible, I know...)
-another sparkling juice
-another 2 or 3 bites of fudge

too hungry to go upstairs to get my camera, wolfed that meal down, oops. was craaaving it.

-1.5 small gluten free oatmeal cookies
-cup of herba tussin tea with slippery elm bark and a drizzle of honey



Yeah, I need to start planning my meals and not let myself be left to my own devices anymore. Toooooo much sugar. Nom. I'll be happy when that fudge is gone, but nobody else seems to want to it eat. No fair! Not that I don't have 384949595 treats lying around too *shifts eyes*

I also haven't been gluten free in almost a week and I feel HORRIBLE. Once again, I don't know for sure if it's the gluten or just the overload of fried food, which I rarely eat, but ate EVERY. DAY. over the weekend. Roadtrips and small town trips will do that to you, but I'm not blameless. At all. I had the opportunity at every single place except one to make a better decision than I did, but I concsciously chose to overindulge. My scale says I'm up 5lbs, despite working out for 1-2.5 hours daily at the hotel fitness center. I have to be weighed at my doctors on Monday (I was going to go this week, but was too ashamed and wanted more time to remedy the situation, LOL). I had acid reflux fairly bad on Sunday morning that woke me up twice. Ugh. I had it a tiny bit today too. Neeeeed veggies and sleep and water. And NO GLUTEN. At least not until our (gluten fest) holiday office party on Friday. Yeahhh.

I'll just leave you with this, my CRAZY ASS DOG. I still can't figure out how in the hell he does this, but...

Normal Buster:
awwwwwwwww

Batshit Crazy Soaking Wet For No Reason Buster:



Whenever we leave him locked up in a room, even one with no liquids, I have NO idea how he always ends up dripping wet??? One of these days I need to video tape it somehow. My brother says dogs can't sweat, but seriously, what else would it be? Insane....

xo,
Amanda