What Time Is It?!

 
As many of you know or are just remembering as you're waking up, we got to turn our clocks back an hour this morning at 2am!  Or is that 1am?  And since I was up at 6am, (that's really 7am, right?) I didn't know what time it really was.  Thank goodness my iPhone and docking station turned back on their own, or else I wouldn't have a clue what time it is.  Of course, you're never more confused about what time it is until you start walking around your house and find that every clock you own is still an hour ahead.  Let's see, there was the one on the stove, the one on the wall in the kitchen, the microwave, the one next to me as I type.  The one in the bathroom and the one in the basement.  I think that should be it.  I think. 

I was all excited for my extra hour of sleep when I went to bed last night that I think I jinxed myself and was wide awake at 6.  Wait, 7.  No 6, it was defiantly 6.  New time.  I laid around and watched some Sex In The City and some Beverly Hills 90210 and then decided to get my lazy rear out of bed and do some laundry.  And change some clocks.  A lot of clocks.

So, here's my friendly PSA for the day, don't forget to fall back, change the batteries in your smoke detectors and enjoy your extra hour of the day, no matter what you're doing.

Until next time,

What's Your Secret?

Lately on Facebook, I've been seeing posts from some friends who have posted before and after pictures of their weight loss.  And it seems about every other comment says the same thing, "Congrats!  You look wonderful!  What's your secret?".  When I posted my 100 pounds lost pictures, I received the same comments and never thought a thing about it.  Until last night.

Someone I've known for a long time lost 100 pounds recently and they look AMAZING!  And as I'm looking at their pictures and making my comment of how fabulous they look, there they are.  The "Hey!  You look great!  How did you do it?!".  The "What's your secret?" and "Message me your diet plan!" comments.  And then it hit me.  Their secret is like every one else who has lost weight, HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION!  Those two words are the secret to any success.  There's no magic diet, no wonder food and there's surely no easy way out.  You have to WANT to lose weight, you have to WANT to better your life, you have to WANT to feel better.  So, basically what I'm saying is you have to WANT it.  It's kind of all or nothing, especially when it comes to weight loss surgery. 

Hard work and determination have been my secrets to my success.  My weight loss surgery was merely a tool to get me back on track and to keep me in check.  The rest has been up to me.  And it's up to you!  Whether you've had weight loss surgery or not, your success is YOURS!  So, the next time someone asks you what your secret is to weight loss, you tell them...HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION! 

 Until next time!

3 Years Ago...Yesterday

October 5 2010, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life.  To get control over my weight, my health and my life.  And that decision has been worth it!  All the pain, tears and smiles...worth it.  

I have lost friends along the way, gained inspiration in places I never thought possible and have become a stronger woman.  I have had struggles, disappointments and letdowns, but I didn't stop.  I still make bad food decisions and have diet soda when I should be having water, but I am only human.  But with the support of all of you, my family and friends I got thru it.

3 years and still going strong!

Yesterday was a nice sunny day (a little chilly, but hey, it's fall!) to have a surge-iversary (and yes, in the weight loss community that is a real word LOL) and it was a great night with a couple of close friends to celebrate my accomplishments.  

Today I'm just laying back and relaxing.  It's cloudy and cold out so that gives me a green light to sit around, right?  RIGHT?!  I'm all curled up in my heated blanket, have my dogs by my side and dinner is cooking in the crockpot.  I think I'm ready for the afternoon.

 Until next time!

Fall Is Finally Here!

Finally, Fall!

Fall, my favorite time of year, is finally here!  I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to show up, but with the rain last night and cooler temps today, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's here.  Along with Fall also comes one of my favorite holidays, Halloween!!!  I have been decorated outside for about 2 weeks now and am thinking I might do a little inside decorating this weekend.  I should have the time since I'm off work for 5 days.  Yep...5 days!  Not having to set the alarm clock for 4:45 is going to be so nice. 

Just a little bit of my outdoor decorations.

I think my biggest plan this weekend will be to get back on track and make Salads In A Jar.  This of course will require a trip to the grocery store, one of my most hated places to go *SIGH*  But it will be worth it in the end, I guess.  When it comes to grocery shopping, I can talk myself out of it in a heartbeat, but when it comes to Starbucks, I'm in the car headed East and I barely have my shoes on!  IF I end up going to the store, I'm also going to grab a couple of things to make Slow Cooker Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken.  

Last weekend when I was out and about with the best-neighbor-ever Beth, I found some really yummy pumpkin flavored stuff.  I found Thomas' Pumpkin Spice Bagels and pumpkin spice cream cheese. They are pure heaven together.  I couldn't wait to try them, so I skipped the toaster and just went to town  ♥  I also made Pumpkin Spice Cake and Pumpkin Bread (both from 50 Canned Pumpkin Recipes from The Food Network Magazine ), so that makes me officially ready for Fall, right? 


The weather tonight in Iowa is supposed to be bumpy with some really bad storms headed our way.  The local news stations are saying that some of the big wig storm spotters are headed to Iowa for this "event", so I think after I get my hair done (more blonde, here I come!) I'm going to come back home and just wait for it to hit.  I will have plenty of veggies to wash and dry to get ready for my salads and I found this beer interesting, so I will be set!

Another Sign of Fall!

Before I go, I want to share these "awesome" pictures with you.  About a month ago, my best friend Gina and I, were at the mall and we found this store that had all things...retro.  It was a blast!  Here are a couple of pictures of our adventure in that store.  Enjoy!

This is my "I think I can rock these" face.

These were 30% off, but covered 50% of my face!!!

Well kids, I'm off!  I hope you all have a great rest of the day.  If you're in Iowa, stay safe and check in later either here or on my Facebook Page, let me know you're okay!


Until next time!

Where Has Summer Gone?!

 
With Labor Day weekend, comes the unofficial end to summer.  However, in Iowa, that's anything but true right now.  All week we have been in the 90-100's, schools have been dismissing at 1:15 daily and this weekend doesn't look any different.  There could be a break in the heat on Labor Day itself, but I'm not getting my hopes up.  It's hard to believe that fall and cooler weather could be right around the corner.  

This weekend is also bringing the beginning of Iowa State Football!   And even though I've had weight loss surgery, that doesn't mean I have to miss out on tailgating food, thank goodness!  I love tailgating food and you all know how much I love my crockpots, so today I have the best of both worlds.  I have Baby Back Ribs in the big crockpot and am making cream corn in the smaller one later.  Also, for later are some baked beans.  The marinade for the ribs is pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I took some olive oil, black pepper, garlic salt, minced onion and a couple of squirts of Sriracha Sauce, combined it in a huge Ziplock bag and threw the ribs in.  I put them in the bag at about 4pm yesterday afternoon and kept them in there until I put the ribs in the crockpot at about 7:30am this morning.

If you like heat and spice, then you need to try Sriracha Sauce.  It has a kick, so be careful!  I picked mine up at World Market and it was very inexpensive.  Right next to the display of sauce was a cookbook full of nothing but Sriracha Sauce recipes.  Some of them looked good, some looked interesting. 

A little dab will do ya!

The cream corn is also over-the-top yummy!  And SO easy!  Ready?  Here you go...a bag of frozen corn, a brick of cream cheese, a stick of butter, couple splashes of milk, 5 sugar packets, salt and pepper.  That's it!  Throw it all in a crockpot and set it on low for a couple of hours.  DONE!  If you're running out of counter space you can make this in the oven (at 350) or even in the microwave, but no matter how you make it, it will always turn out creamy and wonderful. 

Other than cooking and baking this holiday weekend, I don't have any other plans and I'm okay with it.  With my shift change, I have learned to enjoy being home.  I don't miss going out all the time and always feeling like I was on the go.  I think people call this relaxing?

I have to work Monday, so for those of you that don't, enjoy the day off for me!  I hope you all have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!  Oh, and GO STATE!!!!!!

Until next time!