Spaghetti, Super Hubby & New Sheets

Hey loves!!

I hope you all had a great Monday and are getting ready & preparing your hearts for the Christmas season!!! I am loving it!!

I was really sick last week.  Tuesday night me and hubby went to watch the Hunger Games and eat Mexican.  My parents had given us a card with a bit of money for an anniversary present and so we went on the 5.00 movie night.  We had a great night and only paid 10 bucks out of pocket I believe!  And that is because we wanted popcorn and drinks, haha.

Well that night I realized I was feeling a bit froggy in my throat and then the next morning I woke up pretty congested.  Then fever followed with lots of sneezing, running nose, and now just a bit of coughing with a congested voice.  I feel MUCH better compared to last week. 

This weekend I stayed at home and watched Christmas movies all day.  I couldn't go to church Sunday so I watched it on tv & then the internet live.  I love my church!

Hubby has been so sweet.  He has cooked and cleaned and took care of me and grocery shopped and picked up Chinese.  He even wrapped all the rest of the presents for me Sunday.  And if you ever get a pretty wrapped present from us you can thank Jacob because I suck at wrapping presents.  :)

But tonight I came home and the floors were cleaned.  The house was cleaned. Laundry was done and he had spaghetti, garlic bread & salad all ready.  Complete with an ice cold diet coke. 

 

He is the bestest.  Ever.

 

It was so good. 

 

But today I went to Target and got us flannel plaid Christmas sheets!!!

 

I came home and decorated our bedroom a little bit and plugged in a new winter scented febreeze.  They smell the best the longest!

 

 

I hope yall are doing good, I wanted to check in and let you know what I have been up to!

 

Babies....

Hey loves!!

Sorry I didnt post last night, I was busy cuddling this little sweet baby!!!

 

If anything at all makes me want kids...its tht moment when I am holding a newborn !

Ah, seriously yall he is EDIBLE!!!!

This is my cousin April's baby, by the way...I know I have mentioned his shower and such on the blog...

 

He is just the sweetest thing ever and his nursery is beautiful!! 

 

He was born on the day we left for vacation last week :( So this is the first I have gotten to see him!

 

I took Mommy and Daddy some KFC and got myself a chicken little and it was all downhill from there.  I suck at dieting.  But I am going to spare you those details and show what I had from lunch and breakfast!

 

 

 Pretty sure I didnt eat that banana, but the oatmeal and one egg I did eat!

I had this sweet and sour chicken Healthy Choice meal and it had one really piece of burnt chicken in it, other than that it was SO good!!

So, I contacted Healthy Choice and a few hours later they sent me an email appologizing over the burnt piece but saying they would send me some coupons in the mail so I could give them another try!  So sweet of them!  It was relly delicious despite the burnt piece I had to throw away LOL.

Later on I had one of these Kashi bars which are really good!  I love the chocolate chips in them!

 

Well today is Hubbys company Christmas party and I am excited to meet him over there for lunch.  They always have a delicious spread, I will try to snap a pic!
Happy Friday Everyone!  What are your plans today?

 

The People Have Spoken...

Have I told you lately that I love you....?

Haha, I love you all!  Thank you so much for the sweet comments on yesterdays post!

It seems like everyone enjoys the food pictures so I decided to take them today!

Hubby is finally home tonight and about to fall asleep watching Christmas Vacation.  I feel like I really need to do some more online shopping too!  Are you guys done Christmas shopping?  I feel so behind this year!

Well breakfast was a good one.  I had two hard boiled eggs and Baked Apple Oatmeal.

Then for lunch I had a Healthy Choice meatloaf meal, it was really good!  I am loving the Healthy Choice meals lately they have really stepped up their game!

I had some red grapes with it too, they are so good and sweet!

 

Later on I made some coffee and had a serving of Whales ( dollar store gold fish )

 

 

I also had a banana!  Dang it I forgot about the banana!

 

Not pictured. 

 

And then if you follow me on Instagram you probably already saw the bottle of Carolina mustard bbq sauce that I posted earlier.  This is made by a local winery and it is SO GOOD!!!

 

It went perfect on this chicken!  I baked the chicken tenderloins in the oven and had a cup of rice and broccoli with some spray butter and also put a sprinkle of cheese on there. 

 

 

 

 

Today was a great day!!! 

 

You guys really motivate me and I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions!! 

 

Love,

 

Lauryn

 

 

I Just Dont Know...

I don't really know what to blog about. 

I kind of miss the old format where I took pictures of my food but apparently I got to a point where I was too busy or burnt out on it. 

I was doing pretty good with my diet and exercise until a few weeks ago and this past week when we were on vacation.  I still tried to be mindful though and my eating was way different from vacations in the past. 

Sometimes I look in the mirror and think, am I ever going to like what I see?

Or will there honestly be no stopping point?

Will I always love food and laziness more than health and skinniness? 

Have I just got to the point where I honestly cannot change my diet anymore because it would really just make me that unhappy?

I love my Mexican lunch Sundays and date night Fridays with the hubby.  I love cooking something delicious for us on the stove or in the crockpot on Saturdays.  I can eat healthy about 4 days out of the week pretty effortless but the three other days I usually mess up at least one meal. 

Why is it so difficult to stay on track and within my calories?  Calorie counting is pretty much the easiest thing ever.  Especially with apps like my fitness pal, I have no excuse. 

Of course there is no giving up.  I cant see my self ever going back to getting biscuits in the morning or eating fries with lunch everyday, it is just not who I am anymore.  Sure I have fries once in a while but it is very rare. 

Just this past Sunday on the way home from vacation we stopped at a burger king and I told Jacob it had been so long since I had been to one I barely knew what they had anymore!

Every month I think, this is MY month! I have got this!  Then my hormones throw me for a loop, or family drama makes me crazy or work has my stomach in a knot or whatever else excuse falls in my lap!  I feel like I will NEVER make it out of the 170s. 

But my question is, if I do have any readers left out there, what do you want to read on this blog?  I always try to do pictures of some kind.  More of a day to day random health related update?  Or food pics or what?  Let me know what you enjoy reading.  It will help make up my mind how to start blogging again.  I really miss it.  I love hearing from you all and comments make me immensely happy!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are getting ready for Christmas, I know we are!

Love,

Lauryn

Flowers, New Food, & pile of gym junk

Hey loves this must be quick because I have to get in bed but I wanted to tell yall I had a great day today!

My "real" dad came and took me out to lunch.  Havent seen him since my wedding almost 7 years ago.  He brought me flowers.

 

It was very sweet.

 

Then tonight I had a great sesame chicken lean cuisine that my brother had ate the other day so I wanted to try it.

 

 

It was so good!! I had a salad too.

 

Oh and I wanted to show yall how I lay out my clothes for the gym/work in the morning. 

 

 

My gym bag is on the other side of the couch.

 

Totally got to the gym this morning and had forgotten my hair brush. 

 

FUN.

 

Luckilly I had a comb.

 

Anyways I hope yall had a great Monday!!!

 

xoxo Lauryn

 

What have I been up to? LONG over due post!

Hey LOVES!!!

I hope you are all doing great!!!

I wanted to update you all on what I have been up to lately!!

I am sorry I left you hanging last Sunday but this week has been on point!!!

I had been talking to my brother about how I cant loose this weight.  I keep re-losing the same 5 or so pounds over and over and I'm sick of it!

He was giving me some tips because he is a Marine and its his JOB to stay within a certain weight.  Not only is it part of his job, but to even JOIN the Marines he had to lose weight and I want to say he lost around 40 lbs.  He looks amazing now and its insane what his body can do.  I mean, 10 mile hikes with 70lbs of gear?  When one year ago he was just trying to get down running and push ups!?  So, I listen to him, lol! 

Anyways he was trying to motivate me and told me that me and him should set a little goal.  Mine is to loose 20 lbs by Christmas and his is to get a six pack by Christmas. LOL.  So that is my goal.  So far, since last sunday I have lost 3.6 lbs and this morning I weighed in at 174.4. 

Ok so what have I been doing?

1.  NO MORE SODA.  Yall know I love me some Diet Coke.  I have completely cut that out.  No regular soda, no diet.  No juice.  Which I never drink juice really anyway.  I have drank only coffee, water and unsweet tea all week.  My brother told me to do this and he ALWAYS drinks water.  I saw him order maybe one soda the whole time he was down last month. 

2.  LEMON WATER.  He told me first thing in the morning to add a fresh lemon's juice to my water.  There are tons of benefits to this that you can research and he told me some. I bought lemons and did it for like two days but I tried to do it and workout and on the second day it made me really thirsty!!  He got on me today for not doing it lol so I might try it again. 

3.  WORKOUT MONDAY-FRIDAY.  You read that right.  Five days a week.  I did this all of this week.  I picked something I like doing (elliptical) and then kind of mixed up the rest after that with other random cardio things (treadmill/bike).  All I am doing right now is cardio.  I am trying to keep it simple starting out. Plus I am the cardio queeeeeeen.  I loves it.

4. GET UP EARLY.  I set my alarm to 6:05 M-F and tried to be at the gym by 7am.  I tried to be in the shower at the gym by 8am and then at work by 9am.  Some mornings I snoozed a little longer and didn't get to the gym till a bit after 7 BUT this was a first week trial and I am happy to get to the gym period at this point lol.

5. GET STUFF READY.  This week I tried to get unplugged by 9pm.  At that time I would go and make sure I have my gym bag packed, an outfit picked out, shoes packed, gym clothes laid out and a lunch planned, roughly.  After a few days it got way easy because most of my stuff to get ready with, stayed put in the gym bag!  Its so much easier than taking random rest days.  I had all Saturday as a rest day and today I went for a beautiful run outside just because I wanted to and needed more calories to eat haha!  I also try to be in bed ready to sleep by 10:30-11pm.  That way I get around 7 hours.

6. MY FITNESS PAL.  I'm back at it guys.  You can check out my food diary and friend me, it's lauryn86.  Please tell me if you are a blog reader!  I love connecting with you guys, you all feel like some of my closest friends, especially those who have been with me since DAY ONE!  I am tracking all food and trying to stick to 1400 calories. 

7. MAKING GOOD CHOICES.  Friday night we went to Captain D's.  Errrbody and their mama got fried fish, including my naughty husband but I got the delicious broiled white fish with rice, broccoli, salad and a breadstick.  I LOVE THIS MEAL!  Saturday I had no breakfast because I was rushing at work and I had a hair appointment...more on that later.  I went by chick fila and got 8pc nugget meal and unsweet tea.  Ate my fries, that was my treat this week.  Then for dinner hubby wanted mcdonalds so I got a salad and ate half a little hamburger.  I stole a couple of his fries too haha.  Then today we went to Cracker Barrel and I got the grilled chicken tenderloins and carrots, green beans and pintos.  I had one biscuit and a half a corn muffin.  YALL those used to be like crack to me!!  Tonight I had delicious low fat Amys black bean soup at home for dinner. Try to keep dinner light.

 

8.  NSV.  I dug out some old jeans that I haven't tried on in years because they didn't fit anymore.  I had gained so much weight but I LOVED those jeans and wore them on my honeymoon.  I just could NOT part with them. I tried them on tonight and they are LOOSE people!!!! Not only do they fit but they fit comfortably like they should!!!! I am SOOOOOO happy!!!!!

I feel amazing in them!!! SOOOO glad that I kept them after all these years!!!

So I mean, that is pretty much it guys!! I have been trying to stay on track and I think I have done pretty good this week so far.  Ok so I wanted to update you on my hair appointment.  I haven't had my hair done since MAY yall!!!!  It was lookin cray!!

She didn't flat iron it, so it looks a little rough in this pic, but I wanted to show you the color in natural light.  I got low lights and high lights and a trim! 

 This was after I straightened it at home. I am starting to really like it I think! 

 

 

Anyways! I hope you are all having a great weekend and now I need to go get everything packed for tomorrow.  I love you all!!!!

 

xoxo Lauryn

Birthday Girl !!!

Happy Birthday to my BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING mother, I love you so much!!!!

She is so totally wonderful and I am so blessed to have her :)

Ok so today we got up and went to church together because my dad and Jacob had to work, well we ended up meeting them for lunch while visiting my aunt Debbie at the hospital.  I don't think I have updated here since she got admitted Friday.  I would love it if you would say a prayer for her, she has a lot of health problems. 

We ended up in Charlotte eating near the hospital at the Viva Chicken which is a Peruvian rotisserie chicken place and it was soooo cute and delicious! 

I got something called a Tacu Bowl?  It had rice on the bottom and then beans that reminded me of pintos.  I also paid extra to add chicken and avocado.  It had tomatoes and red onions too and a good green sauce.  It really filled me up!!  I had water and lemon.  My brother is trying to get me to quit drinking sodas and I haven't had any today!  After lunch I was really missing my caffeine though and Mom wanted to go to Amelie's which is a really cute French bakery in downtown Charlotte. 

 

Its so cute inside and they are open 24/7!!! 

 

The coffee was delicious and I got a pettifor (however you spell it).  In case you don't know, its a very teeny tiny piece of cake.  I got the strawberry shortcake flavor.  Hubby got a cream puff.  LOL.  Which is kinda funny because one time I had a dog named Cream Puff. One time Dad got to looking for his wallet and we came home and Cream Puff had been chewing it up on the front porch.  LOL. 

 

 

Mom and Dad at lunch today.  Aren't they the cutest?

More on my diet plan tomorrow.....I have canceled weight watchers and I am switching things up a bit!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!!!! I love you all!!!!

Bang Bang Shrimp!

Yesterday was my first time in all my 27 years of trying Bang Bang Shrimp!

My plans yesterday was to leave work, go pick up my Mom something for her birthday and go to the gym.  However, Hubby was comming into town the same time and didnt have his gym clothes so instead somehows I ended up shopping and eating Red Bowl at the Mall.

Hm.

Anyways. 

I stared at the menu until I felt like a crazy person and the waitress decided to give me more time.  I wanted the shrimp and broccoli but they didnt have a smaller portion and I wasnt hungry enough to justify 13.00 on it.  So I got a bento box and decided to try the bang bang shrimp.  It was OK.  I loved the sauce but it was a little tooooo breaddy for me.  I ate about 3 pieces and then shared the rest with hubby.  He let me have some of his healthy chicken and broccoli which was awesome.  That is what I SHOULD have got. LOL.  I also got a spring roll and some white rice.  That sushi on my plate was for him. I do NOT like sushi.

Sorry that all the food was almost gone before i rememebed to take a pic. LOL.

Oh this would have been up last night but I was too lazy and decided to relive the 90's and watch I Know What You Did Last Summer.  LOVE me some Freddie Prince and Sarah Michelle!  I wanted hair just like hers when I was 13.  How weird that that movie is like 16 years old?!  CRAY I TELL YOU!!!

Ok so anyways for breakfast yesterday I had a weird montage.  I was running out the door and decided i would take crackers and I had some peanut butter at work.  I also had part of a banana. 

Oh and I was so happy that my candles finally came in from Bath and Body works. 

I go tthe Leaves and Pumpkin Cupcake.  PUMPKIN CUPCAKE SMELLS SO GOOD!!!!

Yall. I am for reals.  I burned a lil one in my office and it smells good enough to eat.  I also have the air freshner for my car.  SO YUMMY!!!

Lunch was kung poa chicken by healthy choice cafe steamers and some veggies from the night before.  I also got come carrot chips and about one tbsp of blue cheese on the side. 

Loving my pears with cinnamon however really mad that the whole can is like 200 cals.

My favorite yogurt right now!!! Its like a desert, so good!


Anyways I hope yall have a great day...and in honor of National Cat day yesterday, here is a hello from Noel!

Good Lookin Hubby Cookin!

Hello loves!

Well, it was a Monday! Glad that is over haha. 

Hubby had the day off today...it was a cold, rainy, and dreary morning, nice to be inside!  I had to leave for work though so he made me an English muffin with egg, turkey sausage and a bit of cheese.  I had part of a really old banana.  He made me some pumpkin spice coffee too.  He is the best. 

 

Then for lunch I had a Healthy Choice Bake, the turkey one.  It is really good and only 190 calories!

 

I had a salad with a tiny bit of cheese and real bacon on top and some light thousand island dressing. 

 

 

Then for a "desert" I had some canned pears with cinnamon on top.

 

 

That was probably a bit too much cinnamon.

 

I also had to make a stop at target today for some things for work and I got an iced coffee.

 

My sweet hubby also cooked dinner tonight!  It was ready when I walked in the door! 

 

Orange chicken, mixed veggies, rice, egg roll.  It was so good!

 

I had a bit of candy corn and one dark chocolate Hershey kiss.

 

I also had one 100 calorie pack of the dole dippers.

 

 

Anyways, now we are watching tv and relaxing.  I am so tired.  I am trying to decide whether or not to work out in the morning or tomorrow evening.  When do you do your workouts?

 

I'm a Mighty Kid.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Hubby said when he went to work this morning it was 34 degrees! Wowzers.

I went to work and then to the dollar store for a few items.  After that Walmart, for what felt like three years. Walmart is very similar to a black hole.

I came home and started a potato soup in the crockpot and started cleaning.  I still need to finish laundry before I go to bed but I wanted to share my eats! 

Breakfast was a Yoplait light raspberry cheesecake yogurt (MY FAVE) with a banana and coffee.

For lunch I had McDonalds because I was hungry and there is one inside Walmart.

I got the Mighty Kids Meal Chicken nuggets.  It comes with a small fry and apples.  I had BBQ sauce.

I love the buckets, they used to do ones like these when I was a kid!

Then right before dinner I had another yogurt, which was really good too! 

Dinner was a crockpot copy cat Outback Steakhouse Potato Soup recipe that I found on pinterest!

 

It was so easy and SO good and only 151 calories per cup the way I made it.  It made 11 cups for me.

 

I used green onions, cheese and real bacon bits for toppings. 

 

Poor hubby ate dinner and fell right asleep on the couch.

 

Well I better finish the laundry and get my butt in bed!  Night!!!

A Sundae on a Friday

Wow.

Today was cray cray.

Ok for one, hubby got me four new tires and an alignment on the car and then discovered we apparently need to replace the starter. Ayeeee.

Oh well, I prayed and prayed and by the grace of God it hopefully wont cost much.  One of the perks of working at a dealership I guess. But still, no fun.

Anyways.  Breakfast was good.  We went by one of our favorite coffee shops for the "Zombie" blend this morning! I loved it.  Hubby then brought me an egg mcmuffin and apple slices from McDonalds.

DANG it my pic didn't upload and I don't feel like getting up to get my phone.  I am so relaxed on the couch right now.  Aunt Flowe has been visiting for about two solid days now and my tummy has been a bit cramped.  So I have  heating pad, blanket and a nice warm hubby beside me.  Oh and a new Pumpkin Pecan Waffle candle burning, SMELLS SO GOOD!!

Ok so lunch was a smart ones chicken fajita which I totally forgot to take a pic of. :(

But then me and hubs shared a butterfinger in the midst of our car problems.

I had about half, maybe a lil less.  But we will go with half.

Then I had 522 cals left for dinner.  Oh I had a banana with lunch.

We went to Red Bowl and got potstickers because they had half price apps. 

 

I had three.

 

Then I got the special Honey Chicken and it was basically sweet and sour chicken pieces but covered in honey instead.  It was kinda weird and a bit strong on the honey.  Would not order it again.

 

 

I asked for some sauces to dip with it. 

 

Ok so then after we went walking around the mall we got our free cookie sundaes from Chick fila.  It is part of the calendar they sell at Christmas time every year.  Every month has something free and this month it was a sundae.  Pretty sure I missed out on the last two freebies because I ran out of time/and forgot. LOL.

 

 

It was good but I got full and let hubby eat the rest of the cookies at the bottom.  It was pretty little so that is a good thing LOL. 

 

Anyways, yall it wasn't a great day but it could have been worse because by the end of the day I really wanted to face plant in some chips and queso. 

 

Happy Friday!!

 

 

Ta Da!!!!

I'm Backkkk!!!!

I missed you all terribly I just have been insanely busy!! And when I am not busy I am tired. 

So, part of the busyness was due to this guy...

 

The Little Brother actually got to come home for about two weeks before he left for San Diego, his new home :(

 

And yes, I am totally jealous, especially after seeing all his cool pics he posted today!!!

 

So anyways...weight loss...well lets just say I have been scared to weigh!

 

I have spent a lot of time with family and any time my brother is home it feels like a holiday!

 

I am not going to lie yall..this year has been ROUGH. 

 

But I am back and really ready to get back on track. 

 

I honestly hate feeling gross and eating crap. 

 

Anyways I want to kinda get back to basics so I decided I would take food pics today because I think yall like those??  Give me some feed back on what you would like to see on the blog...if anyone is still here! LOL.

 

Ok so breakfast was a yogurt and banana and coffee.

 

 

Then lunch was a smart ones pepperoni pizza with a side salad.

 

 

No more snacking!

 

Then I got home and I had some fun mail! I love fun mail!

 

 

And I came in from the cold to a warm house with beef stew simmering away in the crockpot.

 

SO GOOD!!!

 

 

I made some rice to go with it.

 

 

I had about a half a cup of rice and maybe 3 cups of beef stew!

I could NOT stop eating it. BAD!!

 

Then I made some pumpkin fluff and had a lick of that before I put it in the fridge. 

 

Then a cherry poptart.  ONE poptart and not the whole pack.

 

And a small glass of milk.

 

Well, its a start!

 

I hope yall are doing great and I am going to try to record my food daily again. 

 

Is it cold where you are? It has gotten SO cold lately and I love it!