The Changes of Holidays or When Can I Put Up My Christmas Decorations…

Today, the day after Halloween, should be a respite before any other decorating to commence. Yesterday, I was in the grocery store to pick up some Halloween candy. I know last minute, but if I get it any earlier it disappears from the house. My husband blames it on goblins or house elves. I do agree with him, if he is referring to the 6’3” goblin that looks to be his twin, digging through the candy bags. Unfortunately for him I have a very good nose and can smell it on his breath 10 feet away. But I digressed, so there I was in the grocery store, looking for the bags of candy. It no longer was in the front of the store, it was relegated to the back and on clearance. In the front of the store were Christmas decorations. My favorite time of the year for decorating is Christmas. However, what happened to the decorations for Thanksgiving. Alright, so Thanksgiving decorations are somewhat limiting, however you can do some pretty beautiful fall color settings. And you can use the pumpkins and corn from Halloween to carry through. This year I am already decorated for Thanksgiving, mostly because we only used the fall decorations for Halloween, instead of decking out the house with Halloween. My husband’s favorite decorating time of the year is Halloween. It is an over the top, skeletons, graveyards and spiders type of decorating. The little boy who wants to scare everyone comes out in him for this time of year. This year however, our home is on the market and should anyone happen to want to see it, I didn’t think a cemetery in our family area would have added to the sales value. Now we come back to the question of when I can put up Christmas, traditionally, I feel the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good time. But you also can score some pretty good Christmas sales that weekend too. The dilemma of being a girl that loves to decorate and shop. I also have thrown into the mix a holiday party for our company. We do the party prior to Thanksgiving and give a turkey. It also frees up the month of December when it seems we compete with other parties and open houses. I would love to be decorated for that, although, we host Thanksgiving Dinner for our family this year. Sometimes, especially when trying to make decorating decisions I feel like I have a split personality or the little devil and angel sitting on my shoulders….what to do, what to do….I am now no closer to deciding what I should do than where I was at the beginning of this article. I suppose in the meantime I can peruse the catalogs from Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Frontgate, Crate & Barrel & Pier One for some fresh new looks for Christmas, until I make a decision as to when to decorate. I added a new page to my blog in regard to skin care. I want to see if an ordinary person who does this at home can achieve the same results if they were seeing a professional regularly. I have also updated recipes, fashion and beauty as well. I hope you enjoy and would love your feedback!

As always Breathe Chic

Vacations that are worthy of needing a vacation when over!

I had a very enjoyable vacation with friends, including my husband and I, there were 3 couples. We shared a 3 bedroom condo at Disneyworld. Walt Disney World was celebrating with the International Food and Wine Fest. We ate our way through 29 countries and it was fantastic. I want to make note you will not see an update on our loss log. The reason for no update is this: when coming back from any vacation do not get on the scale to see a disappointment. It will be disappointing. First of all there will be a water weight gain, especially if there was flying involved. On vacation, people as a rule tend to get more dehydrated. We simply forget to drink the water we need. Secondly, when eating out more than you are used to, combined with not being able to control what goes into each dish (and we had many) especially with salts, which also helps the body in retaining water and thus, converts to more weight gain.  And finally, typically you go off your routine, not only in eating but also in exercising. So I believe, the moment you get back home, get back into your normal routine which includes water intake. Wait a week, then weigh yourself, you still may be up a bit, but at least you won’t have that heart attack sensation, I normally get when stepping on the scale the moment I put my suitcases down. Vacations are a great way to connect with friends. You are out of your every day routine life. You experience new things together and gain insight from other views. It was a wonderful experience. Vacations are also a great way to meet new people. You never know the person you are standing in line with could live only 2 hours away and you obviously have some similarities if you are waiting in line to experience whatever attraction it may be. In my case, I met a new friend who was traveling from Germany in a line to get Korean food.  We sat and shared a meal together exchanged emails and had a wonderful conversation. I know it enriched my life and I am sure this is just a start of a good friendship.  Next time, however, I will need to schedule a few days off before going back to work and rest from such a fun filled (read tiring) vacation.  I have updated Beauty, Recipes and Fashion pages, so take a look and let me know what you think. In the fashion page I have included the Wrap Dress. This has been (or should be) a staple in every woman’s closet since Princess Diane von Furstenberg first introduced it in 1973. Yes, she truly was a Princess, but since her divorce can no longer use that title. She obviously knows how to dress a woman. The wrap dress looks sensational on EVERY body type. I show 2 on the Fashion page.  I own 3 different ones myself that I wear quite a bit.

I am happy the change of seasons has come upon us and now I can change my wardrobe accordingly.

As always,

Breathe Chic

Life Unplugged

It started the Friday before Labor Day weekend. My computer had gotten a bad case of the (first cue scary intro music) Blue Screen of Death. Which believe it or not is the true technical term; the pros call it BSOD for short.  I intermittently have had this problem, however, on that Friday I received this screen 5 or 6 times prior to noon.  When you receive the blue screen of death there is nothing you can do but to turn off your computer wait a bit and turn it back on.  Anything you were working on at that moment is gone…..(unless you are one of the smart people who back or save your information every few minutes, I for one, am not) Fortunately for me, my future son-in-law works with computers for a living.  This is unfortunate for him as soon he will be related to me and computers have an aversion to me. So he offered to take my computer for the weekend and run diagnostics on it and fix it if he was able.  I reluctantly turned it over to him. My reluctance had nothing to do with his ability. My reluctance had everything to do with my security, my computer.  I was trying to remember the last time I was computer less.  I think it was before I bought my first laptop. Which I am guessing was about 15 years ago.  It goes with me on vacation. It had become an appendage to my body, much like my phone is.  Luckily I still had my phone; otherwise I would have probably needed to join a 10 step program. Because today my cell phone is more than a phone, it is a smart phone.  It has internet, it has my email, and it has games. Okay the games aren’t truly necessary, but it kills time. AHA! Time killing! Distractions! I discovered that was what my computer was doing quite a bit. True, in today’s environment to run a business you have to have a computer to be competitive. However, with all the social networking, blogs, games, shopping, research and who knows what else, it gets exhausting.  So the little bit of rest I was getting, the reconnecting with my husband and friends were great.  We went to visit some friends on the Sunday/Monday and went to the small Colorado town of Gateway. Gateway has a fabulous resort, restaurant, car museum and NO CELL SITE. I have lost all forms of technological communication. I was in MAJOR WITHDRAWAL. But you know what, I survived. I did better than survive, with having my life "unplugged" I had my inner batteries recharged. I felt fantastic on the Tuesday after the long weekend, so much so that on my next week long vacation I am leaving the computer home….I will however still have my Smartphone though. We all must take baby steps.  I added to the loss log, fashion, beauty and recipe pages as well, let me know what you think.

As always,

Breathe Chic

I LOVE FALL

I LOVE FALL

I know it’s not quite fall yet, but I received my September issue of Vogue, the Fashion Bible as I like to call it.  It puts me into the mood for fall; I can hardly wait to wear my fall clothes. Although, here in Colorado it is still quite warm for the heavy layers of cotton, wool and tweed associated with fall.  But I can start organizing my fall wardrobe, and there is not a need to update everything, items that were in last year are still going strong this year, menswear, equestrian look (think Ralph Lauren)and reptile. It is going to be a fun fall.  The other mood enhancer for fall is education. Whether it’s your children going back to school and giving you some much needed break time or at least a little bit before all the fall sports kick into overdrive.  One thing to remember is to take care of you.  And part of it is to feed your brain. Enroll in a college course or two, something that interests you and not necessarily to enhance your job.  There have been endless studies that support if you continually work your mind you postpone dementia or even Alzheimer’s.  I am enrolling in a couple of 1 day workshops for fun and a 7 week course to learn another aspect of my business.  After my father retired, he took up some volunteer jobs, he also worked part time.  When I asked him why he doesn’t take it easy, he replied: “Daughter, I can either keep on working or just wait to die.”  He was of sound mind until the day he died. Everything we do, or do not do will affect the way we are able to live as we age.  When thinking of our health we tend to ignore our brain. Our brain is who we are; we need to take care of it as good, if not better than the rest of our body.  I have added to the loss log, added is the key term; both Walt and my weight are up.  I could blame it on the salty dinner we had the night before we weighed, but that’s just an excuse.  The fact of the matter is that we got a little lazy and a bit busy and we were eating out more than we should. So time to ignore my lazy bone and just get back into the kitchen and make a conscious effort of what goes into my body. I have also added to the fashion, recipe and beauty page. I hope you enjoy or learn something new.

As always, Breathe Chic

Case of the Blah's

Typically, I lead a crazy, hectic life.  For example, I hosted 26 High School Students at my home.  They are part of the Rocky Mountain District Key Club, their board to be specific.  They are a wonderful group of high school students whom I love working with.  They ate and slept at my home.  They bring their sleeping bags and most camp out on the floor.  The Governor gets the guest bedroom….perks of being “King”.  Usually every weekend I have something going, so when I come to a weekend like this past one and I didn’t have anything crammed packed into it, I felt off. I felt like I was missing out…..on something….anything.  Although the whole weekend wasn’t all relaxing I do have to help an adult child move on Sunday/Monday. I did get to enjoy my husband and my home and watch the hummingbirds for once.  It was a real treat, but it felt wrong and I feel that is wrong to feel wrong.  I have to learn to relax and smell the flowers; I suppose. However, I guess I just wasn’t wired to relax.  So next weekend I will have about a dozen High School students from our local Key Club Board stay the weekend and plan their year.  I love being involved with youth.

Speaking of moving a child, that leads my brain to decorating.  I like to freshen up the look of my home and typically on a whim and usually late in the day when stores are closed.  So to give a different look to an area, say a mantle or a shelf, gather different objects of the same color and display them.  For instance I noticed I had different candles, vases, a wine glass that were all purple and all within a shade or two of each other. I arranged them all on a fireplace mantle. It gave it a nice decorator touch and I spent zero dollars doing this.  The best part is all the compliments I get from people saying how beautiful, clever, ingenious and/or classy it looks.   You can change depending on the seasons or your mood. Just have fun with it and if you don’t care for it you can always change it back.

I added to the recipe and the beauty page and the loss log. I am still at a plateau but I must admit I have been horrible on the water intake, I also started beefing up my exercise routine and my muscles were pretty sore, which means water retention too. We shall see if it starts going down this next week. If not I will continue working at it.

As always,

Breathe Chic

Plateaus, purses and pimples; the bane of my existence

I guess my blog is going to be a whine fest, I would have preferred a wine fest, but since I am at a plateau with my weight I should not be having alcohol.  I know it’s a normal phenomenon to plateau after losing a good deal of weight.  And I have lost about 20 pounds (I only started recording when deciding to do this blog so it isn’t from the “true” beginning of my weight loss.) So now I am doing the up and down of quarter pounds.  I have to admit it ALMOST makes me feel like throwing in the towel, but since I am extremely stubborn I won’t. Instead I am going to intake more water.  Although I try; I do not do a very good job at keeping hydrated and I am going to try to up my exercise. That shouldn’t be hard since it is almost nonexistent. Next on my whine list is purses. I LOVE purses. The problem truly isn’t with the purse itself.  My problem is I have to make sure I have the right purse with my outfit, which means I am changing purses nearly every day. That is my whine.  I sometimes forget to move things over, like my epi-pen.  Hopefully, I will never need it. I am highly allergic to tree nuts and this pen (injection) will allow me enough time to get to a hospital in case I ingest nuts and go into anaphylactic shock.  I even did an impulse buy. The Kangaroo keeper.  I am sure you have seen it on TV.  I saw it at Target. I bought it. I took it home opened it up and it will be going back.  The large size was larger than most of my purses. Granted I do have a few satchels.  I had a phobia of large purses. I believe it started with going to the store with my mother who would carry quite fashionable suitcases err I mean purses. In my memory they were humongous. And EVERYTHING was in there, kind of like Mary Poppin's carpetbag.  I still remember the embarrassment of when My mother would go to pay for groceries, clothing, the hairdresser and literally almost without fail end up emptying out her purse on the cashiers stand to find her wallet…even at seven I was mortified I vowed I would never carry such a large bag that I cannot find things.  Well that worked up until about a year or so ago. A couple of things happened, a) I carry too much stuff for ordinary everyday life, like my Smartphone, my epi pen, my wallet which has to be medium to large size because of all the cards you have to carry and I am not talking credit cards, but all the preferred member cards, the Costco and Sam’s club the Expresso drive thru coffee punch card and the list goes on, sometimes my kindle if I have a doctors appt. or any appointment I know that I will end up having to wait, my lipstick, a pen, oh and let’s not forget the epipen and then ) fashion has evolved to where the purse is the most coveted of  accessories, and they don’t do them small. And finally the last thing to get off my chest is pimples.  I am 46 years old why must I still get this monthly annoyance. Yes that’s right I get 1 sometimes 2 a month and right on my chin. I know I know it could be worse, it’s not but I do not like them. I have tried everything to get rid of it. Nothing works.  I suppose I am doomed I just need to learn to accept it be thankful that all I have ever gotten my entire life is this 1…or sometimes 2 pimples once a month on my chin. Wow, it’s amazing I feel better already! Now as my husband would say I will take a little cheese to go with all that whine!
There is something new in the recipes, fashion and loss log tab.
As always,
Breathe Chic

No coincidences with God and a few other thoughts

I had 2 quite amazing things happen to me over the past couple weeks.  The first happened during my adoration time.  In our church we have an adoration chapel. An adoration chapel is where the body of Jesus Christ resides.  At our parish, we signed up during different hours throughout the day to spend time with the Lord. It is a time of reflection, prayer, and reading.  I call it my date with Jesus and although I always look forward to it, I wondered am I making a difference.  I was in prayer and asked for a sign of sorts to see if what I was doing made any difference.  As I was praying a woman walked in, clearly upset and was praying fervently.  She then asked if we could pray together. As we were praying I got to find out what was on her mind and heart. It was something I could actually council her with.  We had a very nice time working through her predicament, so God meant for me to be there when she needed somebody.  A few weeks ago I was going through an old box of pictures and found one with me and my best friend in 8^th grade. I wondered whatever happened to her.  She came into my life when we moved and I had to change schools after school had started for the year and being 13 it was a little tough. To have her befriend me was one of the best things that happened to me that year.  Well about a week ago she found me on Facebook. It is a time in my life when I need her as a friend. We spoke on the phone and it was as though no time has passed, she sounded exactly the same as she did 30 years ago. And there was something that drew us together then, that holds true today.  We are in similar lines of work; we have the same religious beliefs and the same political beliefs.  I look forward to renewing that friendship. Are there coincidences with God? Maybe they appear that way to us, but probably not with Him.

I added to the loss log page or maybe I need to call it the gain page this week.  It was a hectic week not a lot of meals at home which is a major culprit. We weren’t up in weight much, and fluctuation is going to happen so am I concerned? Not really, but if I am up again next week then I will be. Life happens and you have to just go with it at times.

I also added to the recipe and fashion and beauty page.  Speaking of fashion, it should be time for the annual fashion bible to be gracing our mailboxes. Yes, I am speaking of the September issue of Vogue.  I have looked forward to it every year since I was 12. Fall is the best time for clothing in my opinion and I have a feeling this year will not disappoint us. I wish you all the best week.

As always Breathe Chic

Uncle Ted and the importance of earplugs

This past week, I got to go see Ted Nugent.  The last time I saw Ted was in 1978, I think, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.  Ted is a little older, but his music still sounded the same. LOUD. Although I cannot believe it, I am a little older, too.  I know unfathomable.  We had earplugs with us. Walt was holding mine. The girls and I went down to the front of the stage, while the guys stayed in our reserved seats. I was not going to give up my place to go back and get the earplugs. Normally, I take very good care of my ears. I always wear earplugs at concerts.  Even as a teenager, I never played my music loud.  Yes I was THAT irritating friend always turning down your music and telling you how you would have early hearing loss. So there I was about 3 feet from the speakers listening to Motorcity and Cat Scratch Fever.  I will digress for a moment,  my youngest child actually got this disease when she was little. You get it from cat scratches. When the doctor told us that is what she had I actually answered, “I thought that was just a Ted Nugent song.” As I was saying, there I was 3 feet from the speakers, caught a guitar pick too! When the show was over and the sound turned off, I felt as though I was under water. 3 days later, I still have some slight ringing and muffled sounds. The moral of this story is:  Protect your ears, especially when you are young, but more importantly when you are old.  Then you won’t be like me this week and keep repeating, “Huh?  What did you say?” I am annoying myself immensely and most likely those around me. Okay so more than usual.  But this is important.  Sound levels at concerts can be in the range of 120 to 140 decibels (db), well beyond the 100 db normally recognized as the threshold at which short-duration exposure can cause hearing loss. The loss is caused by damage to fragile tissue strands within the cochlea. These strands resemble tiny hairs. They move with the fluid in the cochlea to stimulate the electrical impulses in the auditory nerve. The hair cells become damaged in the presence of loud noise. To understand better, it’s like stepping on your grass, doing it occasionally your grass can recover, but if you have frequent traffic (or in my case a dog that uses the same path for his morning chase the chipmunks) and the grass becomes permanently damaged.  Damage to your ears happens the same way.  So even if you do not want to appear uncool or lose your place at the concert get those earplugs in.  It will be more enjoyable during and after the concert.

I have also updated the loss log, recipe, fashion and beauty pages.

As always, breathe chic

Like sand through the hourglass.......

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a Catholic Jew.   My mother was Jewish, my father Catholic. I always like to say I got the best of both worlds, and double the guilt. I also like to feed people, or as my husband would say overfeed people. I disagree, I do not overfeed people, I just make sure there is enough food that nobody leaves hungry. The importance of me bringing up this background is because I just found out one of my daughters is getting married. This is wonderful.  I am so happy for her.  She was on vacation and called me to tell me the news.  She also made the comment that I didn’t sound too excited.  It wasn’t that I wasn’t excited. My mind was churning. The Jewish half kicked into full gear, I was already planning the menu and location and where would be the best place to go bridal gown shopping. For a brief moment I forgot she was on the line, I also forgot I am not the bride but the mother of the bride. I am going to have to keep my Momzilla of the bride in check. It is exciting however, another page in life and then my thoughts turn to her having kids, guess I should wait for the wedding first. However, I cannot be totally to blame, some of the guilt falls onto her. I mean, she is the first one of the girls to get engaged! I have so many questions for her and have to wait until she comes back from vacation. That is really unfair and it should be worth me having my say for at least one thing in the wedding.  The really odd thing to me is how is that I have a child old enough to get married, I feel like I am only 25. Time just blows by. It seems it was only yesterday that she started kindergarten. Corny and cliché I know. But it is true. Speaking of feeling 25, I always get comments how great and young my skin looks and what do I use. In my opinion, part of what helps is what you apply your makeup with.  The right tools are so important.  Whether you are a mechanic or a makeup artist, the tools make all the difference in the world.  Invest in good brushes.  Good doesn’t have to be synonymous with pricey.  I find good brushes at Ulta, Sephora and Target. Sonia Kashuk has a line of bamboo brushes at Target, they have gotten great reviews. I have a few brushes from Origins that I have had for 10 plus years. They are still in great shape.  The reason why is that I take care of them. By taking care of the brushes you also take care of your skin.  Brushes are a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. You do not want to apply germs onto your skin. Every evening I clean the brushes I used that day with a little bit of baby shampoo and I rinse in warm water then let them air dry.  This also helps with your eye shadows, it keeps the colors true.  Speaking of eye shadow under the beauty tab is a great eye shadow primer. I also updated the loss log and fashion page.

As always Breathe Chic

Work Just Gets in the Way

Whether we love our jobs or we have our jobs as a means to live life it still seems as though it just gets in the way of living life.  As we come upon our great nation’s birthday, most of us get a 3 day weekend.  We look forward to it, and then we cram as much as we can into it so that we don’t miss anything.  When Tuesday comes, most of us are exhausted. Couple the tiring weekend with a short work week and the full expectation that you still need to get 5 days of work done, you will then need a break. Wouldn’t it just be nice to not have deadlines and do what we want when we want?  Well since we are adults and have responsibilities; that’s just wishful thinking. So that is why this year I am not planning a big barbecue or massive gardening projects.  I am planning just to enjoy my time off with the company of my husband.  I am even going to schedule a nap or 2 into the weekend.  I also am going to spend time in the garden.  I am not going to spend all day everyday weeding. I will limit it to 1 half day, and then I will enjoy a glass of tea or slice of watermelon. Sitting and enjoying the garden.  This will make the 4 day week a little easier to take on. That is the plan although then I remember the saying: “Men plan and God laughs”.  After last weekend of listening to great artists in the heat of the desert and eating not quite as healthy as I like, I need a get back on the wagon weekend. Although typically, in the past, when I would go to Country Jam I would come back with 5 -7 pounds of added weight.  This past weekend I was only up an 1/8 of a pound in weight and I am happy with that.  I think, too, that my weight is a little up as I haven’t been drinking my water like I should every day since coming back.  I heeded my advice last weekend and had drunk so much water and 0 calorie Sobe that I think I waterlogged myself. In closing, I would like to ask that everyone have a safe weekend and we Americans offer thanks to those first patriots that risked their lives and reputations to give us a country rich in freedoms for us.  Our country isn’t perfect, but it is a Great Nation, with great people.  GOD BLESS AMERICA!

PS: I did add to loss log, recipes, beauty and fashion tabs this week, be sure to check them out

As always Breathe Chic

Festivals and Sun

Summers bring on festivals of all kinds.  Last weekend we had our Strawberry Days.  This weekend, starting today, we have Country Jam. It is a huge music festival in Western Colorado. So far west it’s just a few miles to the Utah border. Which means it borders on a desert. Translation of the last sentence is it is very hot and sunny.  I have been attending Country Jam for over 10 years and only recall one summer where it was cool. Actually, cool is an understatement, it was cold and storming and bands had to stop.  I guess they weren’t game enough to play in the lightening while holding electrical instruments, go figure.  The most important thing when enjoying the music is to keep hydrated and use the sunscreen if you can’t get into the shade.  There are quite a few people who think that beer is hydrating, it’s not. Sorry, I know what a disappointment that must be for some of you. Seriously, if you want to drink, go for it, just drink a bottle of water in between the beers, or whatever you alcohol of choice is.  Unless of course your goal is to look like a middle aged prune then by all means go out there and bake yourself into a drunken oblivion.  I, however,  will be the one with glasses,  a hat and plenty of sunscreen sipping my water mostly and enjoying the great music of Lady Antebellum, Clint Black, Alan Jackson and Little Big Town just to name a few.  Yes I do imbibe I just want to remember the weekend.  Another pet peeve of mine is why is it that if you are going to a “party” atmosphere whether it be Country Jam or Vegas the dress could liken to that of what the oldest professionals were, and I am not talking white collar here either.  What happens in Vegas really doesn’t stay in Vegas, it usually gives us all good stories to bring back and the occasional cattiness of OMG did you see what she decided to wear?!  I am all about dressing up; I love my tall heels, but not at Country Jam as it is in a hayfield and would make it quite difficult not to break an ankle, although I have seen women there with platforms.  If you want to get a man’s attention typically less is not more, it is just less, leave some intrigue.  Most bodies look better covered anyway and you will have fewer parts that get burned.  The key to looking young is protecting our skin.  Some really important areas of the body that gets missed and can give your age away are your hands, neck and décolleté’.  Remember to apply to these parts as well.  I have updated fashion, beauty and the loss log this week.  I hope you enjoy them.

As always Breathe Chic

Summertime, busy time

I really love living in Colorado and there is no beating Colorado summers. No matter how warm, okay sometimes hot, it gets you can always rely on a cool evening. Which is probably where I get my fondness for jackets, wraps and cardigans. And this season all 3 are in style! We also need to protect our skin in the sun so either apply and reapply that sunscreen or layer with a light jacket. As I was reading through my past posts I noticed I was so focused on my weight loss. And that is such a small portion of my life.  Walt and I are still on our plan to be at a healthy weight, every week I will post our (hopeful) loss, I just am not going to consistently blog about it every time, unless I have a real light bulb moment. If you are interested you can always keep up on us through the loss log tab.
Like most small towns we have a central focused annual celebration. In our town it is Strawberry Days. There will be a carnival, carnival food, craft booths and lots of socialization. All the service clubs, I belong to Kiwanis, will be out in full force. It will be a very busy weekend, but very enjoyable. It culminates with Father's Day. Here is wishing all Father's an enjoyable day, hopefully spent with family. I will go down to the park and get my traditional carny dinner of a Gyro, yeah doesn't really sound like carnival food, but its about the only place you can get a good one in our town. Good carnival food? Is that an oxymoron?
I have updated the loss log, fashion, beauty and the recipe page take a peek and let me know what you think.
As always Breathe Chic

Birthday, Girlfriends and Weigh in

And not just on the scale, but on a total health management and lifestyle changes.  As you remember, I am on the Fat Trimmer Plan. Basically, I get 65% complex carbs (yummy fruits and vegetables) 15% protein and 20% healthy fats.  I feel the diet is going well. I have plenty to eat, more than plenty sometimes I cannot eat all that is allotted to me. For example, on Wednesday for lunch I made a vegetable soup, it was very tasty and filling, so filling in fact I couldn’t eat all the crackers or fruit that was meant to go with it.  I didn’t eat the allotted afternoon snack either as I was still really full from lunch. I am eating no less than a total of 8 servings of fruit and veggies a day. I LOVE this. Love it, love it, love it. Summertime is the season for fruits and vegetables and I am enjoying it and can this year as I am not on some forced unhealthy diet. God put the fruits and vegetables on this earth for us to eat! He did not have potato chips or frozen meals sprouting from the grown or blossoming on trees. I feel better and I have more energy.

The results, this week I am down almost ¾’s of a pound.  Walt has dropped 3 ½ pounds. Again, I am celebrating, I am down! And as I wrote last week, I had a party weekend the drinks were flowing, the food was abundant and the girl time was GREAT! Life is a celebration.  Again, I will be celebrating on Saturday. My husband and I are celebrating our 9^th anniversary.  We will be hitting one of our favorite restaurants, Riviera Supper Club, owned by a friend Colleen Stuart.  Riviera always serves fabulous food and they have a great wine list. I just need to remember to make wise choices or exercise more.

This leads me into this paragraph. Exercise. I actually did begin an exercise plan this week. Only 3 days ago. I could feel sore muscles. Okay so I felt like an extremely old lady, every time I bent down I groaned. It took me 5 times as long to roll over in bed, and I groaned.  But it felt good. My body needed it. And once my muscles get use to me moving again it will release the water it is retaining and I should see another drop in weight.

And finally, do not ever get too busy for your girlfriends….ever…there has been those emails that circulate about how your girlfriends will always be there.  I had the most fantastic birthday with my girls.

We had it at Nordstrom’s and it was fantastic. We had drinks, hors d’oeuvres, truffles, birthday cake, makeovers, and we shopped for outfits.  Truly a girl’s night out. We were going to go see a show too, but we ended up staying there until an hour after closing. Nordstrom’s were very accommodating. Enjoy some pictures of that evening below.

As always, Breathe Chic

2 Weeks down and 18.75 pounds to go!

So that seems like a lot but it is less than 20 pounds.  It wasn’t very long ago I had 35 [pounds to go.  I wasn’t very strict this week.  Memorial Day and friends and margarita’s were in the mix. But I came across a great skinny version of the Margarita. Check under the new recipe tab! It’s only about 150 calories per glass.  That is significantly lower than the real thing of 600-800 per serving.  I am often heard saying, I would rather eat my calories than drink them.  But I am celebrating, because the scale still went down.  So even though I had a day that wasn’t the healthiest, it didn’t torpedo my lifestyle. And it is about lifestyle change not a crash diet. I am hoping for a pound loss for next week. This weekend will be hard.  I am taking my granddaughter to the zoo, and then have a party with my girlfriends celebrating my birthday. Drinks will be flowing. But again as I have mentioned, life is all about celebrations! Life is not about denying oneself life’s pleasures.  What I really need to get in the mix is exercise. I do some, but not enough and not steadily…..maybe that will improve, here’s hoping.

As always, Breathe Chic

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

The results for Inherent Health’s DNA test came back. According to the test and my genes the best diet for me is the Fat Trimmer.  I don’t know why but I never thought this was me.  I honestly thought I would be the Carb Reducer. I was wrong, and I am glad.  I thought probably since I love my carbs, fruit especially, they would be forbidden to me (okay so I am melodramatic too not forbidden just limited.  Perusing the diet plan, too me seems it would be pretty easy.  I get to eat more of the foods I love and less of the foods that I really don’t care about anyway.  I have never been a condiment girl. For me, I have always ordered dressing on the side of my salad. The reason was I feel that the food preparers always put on too much dressing.  I want to taste my vegetables. Usually when they pick up my plate I am told they didn’t have to give me dressing, I did use it I just don’t use a lot. Same with butter or mayonnaise on my bread I do not need it to make a height difference. I just need a little bit on it.  I have been this way since I was a kid, I wonder if that has anything to do with my genes?

Walt’s test came back as Carb Reducer.  Which is funny to think about it because, it was until adult life that he really started to eat the carb filled vegetables, he can do without them.  Walt likes a noticeable amount of dressings and condiments, which is the exact opposite of me.  Are our preferences in food actually predetermined by our genes? However, even though this test came back to Walt with suggesting the Carb Reducer would be the easier way for him to lose weight, his doctor suggested because of his readings in other areas in regard to his health he needs to be on a Fat Trimmer diet. As I have stated before you need to check with your doctor before doing any diet. So Walt has decided to do the Fat Trimmer diet with me.

We will not be starting these for a week. Finish up some of the Switch to Slim as it’s easier to do when traveling and with being a short week for us, between Memorial Weekend and next weekend traveling to do my birthday bash with the girls and some fashionable shopping too. I wouldn’t be focused or have time to do the planning and preparing.

Happy Memorial Weekend and remember to give Thanks to those that allow our Freedoms!

As Always Breathe Chic

Week 1 Completed!

We have completed Week 1!  My weight is down 2.5 pounds.  Walt’s weight is down almost 6.5 pounds. He gets to eat twice as much as me, and loses almost three times as much.  Where is the equity?  Yeah, I know, I do not have to lose as much as he does.  Yeah, I know, he is taller than me. Yeah, I know, he is a man. Like I said, where is the equity?  Okay, so I look better in heels! For me, however, I have been doing “diets” for so long it really doesn’t affect me like it use to.  Again, it’s the basic math, calories in and calories out. Sunday we went to brunch at a great Cajun restaurant in Boulder. Lucille’s. They make a Great chicory coffee and mouth watering beignets this side of New Orleans. But no, I didn’t stop there why should I? Life is also about enjoying things. I also tried their Pontchartrain. It was trout, eggs and a Bearnaise sauce, oh and let’s not forget the cheesy grits. Now I could have done without the cheese on them, I tend to be a purist with my grits, had I done that I could have saved myself 100 calories and would have enjoyed it more, too. But I enjoyed the food and my family and that is what really counts. So I knew I had to eat a little less the rest of the day.  I was so full from that I didn’t really want to eat much anyway and didn’t.  I created a better log in the loss log, it will show you a little more of the calories in calories out. In my excel spreadsheet it will do the entire math. Unfortunately, it will not allow me to convert, but if anybody would like one personalized for them let me know and I can get one to you.  I cannot take all the credit on it, however, my husband is the math mind and he did the actual creation after I directed him to what I wanted.  What never ceases to amaze me, is with only losing 2.5 pounds I was able to get into a skirt that just a few weeks ago I wasn’t able to. It doesn’t take much to see some results.  I love Colorado. I love the change in the weather patterns. I would really love Colorado if the weather patterns would start changing.  It seems we have been stuck in a rain cycle. I enjoy the rain, makes everything fresh. Flowers are blooming. But where I live, it is so muddy. Hard to get out there and hike or even walk. I am hoping for a nice 3 day weekend, we would love to go up Hanging Lake Trail or somewhere that we can take in nice views and get in some exercise. Calories in, calories out. Just think how much weight I could have lost if I had walked a short walk every day.

D Day!!!

Diet Day.  But maybe it should be HL Day. Healthy Lifestyle Day. Changing bad habits to good habits. To do a “diet” is just a temporary fix.  But a diet is only the beginning to learning what your body needs are and, in turn, to living life to its fullest potential.  We have to decide between the following:  do we want to eat to live? or live to eat?  I have mentioned before that I really love to cook and to create things in the kitchen.  I can still do this while incorporating some healthier choices.  I will still cook with the “finer” ingredients (i.e.  Irish butter and whole cream) but the key to anything is moderation.  Not my husband’s motto: “some is good, more is better, and too much is just perfect”.  Hence, the extra 50 pounds he now needs to work off.

So Walt and I weighed in this morning. You can see our numbers posted under the “loss log” tab.  I am creating a better format for the log, so bare with me while I get my blog fully functional. 

Today we started the “switch to slim” plan, which you can read under the “health tab” for details.  Any diet comes down to simple math. Calories in and calories out.  Typically (for women) to maintain your weight, multiply your weight by 11; If you are a man multiply by 12.  This is the amount of calories needed just to maintain your current weight.  Any calories you burn through exercise would need to be added back into food intake.  For example, I need 1842 calories to maintain my weight, if I walk for an hour and burn 350 calories, I would need to increase my calories to 2192 to maintain my current weight.  But I want to lose weight!  Each pound of fat is 3600 calories.  So in order for me to lose 2 pounds a week, I need to deficit 7200 calories (or work out enough to lose those calories).  Basically, this means that without any form of exercise I need to only intake 800 calories a day. Walt on the other hand (being a guy and being much taller than me) will get to eat 1400 calories a day!  The inequities of life! Seriously, though, for any healthy lifestyle, you need exercise. Even a half hour of walking a day is a good start.  Again, I insist, if you are looking to  change your lifestyle and doing a jumpstart diet, please, please, please check with your physician first.

As always, Breathe Chic

Relationships

Relationships; there are many kinds. Today I choose to talk about my relationships with food, water and clothing.
My relationship with all of the above is a love/hate one. With food, I love trying new things and being creative in the kitchen. I hate giving up any part of it! So, with the knowledge that I will be starting phase 1 of my new weight loss journey, I decided that I needed Arby's just one last time.  I love the Jamocha shakes (it has probably been 2 years since I have had one). Now...do I stop with just a shake? Nope, not me! I also ordered a sandwich with extra horsey sauce, oh and curly fries...(it was a tough decision between the potato cakes (with more horsey sauce) or nicely seasoned curly fries). My reward? I felt miserable, but it tasted good going down! But I am sure it will be awhile until I crave it again, so I suppose mission accomplished! 
On to water: I love water, I really do!  I am one of many who forgets to drink it throughout the day. Did you know that we need to drink half our body weight in ounces of water? So for instance: I weigh roughly 170 pounds. That means that I need to drink 85 ounces of water a day. If you want a fast weight loss (and I'm talking 3-5 pounds in a week) and you don't typically drink enough water every day, don't change your typical eating habits! Just drink your recommended daily water for a full week. That, my friend, is what losing water weight means.
Thursday is D-Day. Diet day. Walt and I will weigh in and keep a log of how we are doing. Wish us luck!
My relationship with clothing.  I love clothes and accessories. What can I say, I'm a girly-girl! The hardest part for me is not being able to buy new clothing because of dieting. If I'm changing sizes, shopping doesn't make sense. But I make up for abstaining from shopping for clothing by buying accessories! The best thing about accessories like purses and shoes is that they're good pieces to invest in and weight fluctuations don't affect their use in your wardrobe. Check out my fashion tab to see some great recent purchases that are must-have staples this spring and summer season.
As always, Breathe Chic

My Life, My Thoughts, My Dreams

Hello! I don't know who you are that decided to check out my blog, but I am glad you did! I wanted to do something a little more accountable than journaling.  There are things in my life I want to do, that I have started, or haven't quite started that I figured this would push me.  I also love to share my ideas or fashion beauty finds...what woman doesn't, right.  One of the the things I have started but not finished is a novel, I figured this would help my writing and creative skills.  Also, weight loss...an ongoing battle....this will keep me accountable, plus many others that will grow as I journey through this new to me technology of blogging. Check out my tabs of those that interest you and please share your constructive criticism.
And as always Breathe Chic