57 Days and Counting

There is exactly 60 days till my 10 year High School Reunion but only 57 days that I can make the most of what I got. My lovely alums have decided to pick Thanksgiving weekend as our reunion date. I don’t mind the timing, I just wish there was more notice. All year I knew this reunion was quickly approaching and thankfully I have been able to shed 21 pounds till now. But I’m still nowhere near where I could have been had I stayed dedicated throughout the year. So I’ve decided I need a bit of a game plan to make the most of my 57 days.

First off, what a crappy day to start; I have one of my worst colds ever right now. Even my eyes are juicy and starting to crust over. I can’t taste food and have a lack of appetite. The lack of appetite isn’t bad but your body needs nutrition so it’s like force feeding myself right now, I hate it! Anyways, my first plan of attack is Wednesday weekly weigh ins, starting today and ending the day before Thanksgiving. This will keep me accountable. I’m also making weekly videos for youtube with Veronica. Sometimes though our schedules don’t work out and a week is missed and I can’t afford to not weigh in one week and play naïve. If you’re interested in our videos (trust me they aren’t anything special) go to youtube and search for Fatgirlslittlecoat.

I’m also going to follow weight watchers during this time. I have been very successful with weight watchers in the past and I know it can help now. Lately I’ve been just watching what I’m eating and it has kept me at status quo which is good to know that I can continue that when I reach my ideal weight but since I’m not at ideal I need to be more strict right now.

Next step, exercise goals. I’m actually ahead of the game here because I’m in a routine already. Right now I am skating twice a week. That’s four hours of fun exercise. It truly is awesome. I get the burn and pain from a workout but actually enjoy it. It’s my newest addiction and an absolute joy to do. But that’s not all. I also have a membership to my local park district that includes workout classes. On average I’ve been catching one Zumba class a week. So my new goal is to up the ante and make two weekend classes each week instead of one. That would bring my exercise total to about six hours per week. Not too shabby!

So here is today’s weigh in…drum roll please….

9/29: 218.4 (I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.)

My goal is to reach Onederland by the reunion. So to get to 199.9 in the next 8 weeks I’ll have to lose an average of 2.3lbs per week. Not unspeakable but definitely a challenge.

My biggest problem I find is that I can’t think outside the box with food. So if you’ve got a great food find or perhaps an amazing recipe, please share it with me. What keeps you thin?

True Blood Season Finale Suckage

**Warning: This contains spoilers for the season three finale of True Blood. You have been warned!**

What the heck happened? I swear last nights episode of True Blood felt completely out of place. My first concern is about Sookie…what did you do to her? Seriously, where did she go? I know I’m a reader of the books and that sways my opinions a lot about characters, but I think that even if you’re just a fan of the show you’ve seen that Sookie is not a mean or spiteful person. Her interactions with Russell felt completely out of character for me. The Sookie I have grown to love would protect herself for sure, but to purposely “torture” Russell by throwing the remains of his loved one down the garbage disposable, is just a step too far out of normal for her; I didn’t like it.

As for the “cliff hangers,” I hated those as well. Did Sam shoot and kill is brother? Does anyone even care!?! Is Tara gone for good? I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that would think that Tara’s departure would be a good riddance for the show anyways. Where did Sookie go in fairyland and why are these fairies so fraking lame? Am I the only person that cringes when Claudine appears? This fairy crap is just that…crap! Who will win the fight between the Queen and Bill? Again, who cares!?! And speaking of their fight, when did True Blood turn into the Matrix? I hope to never see the start of a fight mid-air ever again. That fight belongs and should stay in the Matrix only. What were you thinking Alan Ball?

I like the idea behind Eric’s choice to incase Russell in concrete so he could lament over the lose of Talbot but this just ensures that Russell is not gone yet. Yes, he’s being tortured for centuries and that is totally something Eric would do, but it leaves it open to Russell coming back and he’ll be madder than heck. I’m hoping and praying he stays put because I’ve had enough of Russell as well.

I was just overall disappointed with last nights episode; Finales usually have a wow factor. I kept waiting and waiting and it never happened. This was shocking to me because this season has been so fast paced, action packed and just truly bizarre from the start, that the finale had to have something special. Instead it felt like too much of a filler episode where they wanted to end certain storylines and set-up new ones. Had this episode been any other episode than the finale it would have been less disappointing.

Now, I hate being negative so let me focus on the few positives of the show. As a reader, I knew the witches were coming and I’m looking forward to seeing them. I like the foreshadowing they showed with that crazy-spooky doll in Hoyt and Jessica’s new place. You can tell something will happen there by the eerie music they played; they wanted you to notice that tore-up looking doll. I adore Lafayette so I’m glad to see them pulling him into witchcraft area. I also love Jesus but I’m predicting that he being a witch and Lafayette’s yet to be revealed history will start to clash.

My favorite moment though was short and sweet last night. Eric finally nailed the coffin shut for Bill and Sookie’s romance by revealing the secrets Bill had been keeping from her. Now, I realize there isn’t much in the show to make me Team Eric, it’s mostly based on the books, but I was internally screaming “YES!” because I can’t stand Bill and this is finally opening up the Eric reign. So I’ll end this here blog a little cryptically…bring on the amnesia!!!


And just because it's funny; here is the "rejected" Rolling Stone cover, lol.

Sprinkles Cupcakes - Food Diary of a Fat Girl

A few weeks ago I was driving home from work and I heard an interview on the radio discussing the grand opening of Sprinkles in downtown Chicago. I don’t remember the owners name but I do remember the way she was describing her Cinnamon Sugar cupcake…I was salivating! The next day, I googled Sprinkles and sent a list of cupcakes to my husband, who works downtown, that if he ever wanted to surprise me, here’s a bunch of cupcakes I would love to try. I almost forgot about this request, until last Friday my dear husband came home with a dozen cupcakes for me for our anniversary. (What a sweetie, huh?!)

So what’s my review??? It’s mixed. The current prices online are $3.25/cupcake or $36/dozen, which is not the current prices, they are a little higher now. So between the high price and the fact that Oprah raved about these cupcakes, my expectations were really high; They did not always meet those expectations.

The first cupcake I bit into was the Cinnamon Sugar. I am normally a vanilla or chocolate fan but I craved for this cupcake ever since I heard about it. The cupcake was light and moist. I enjoyed the actual cake part but the topping was too lightly sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It just didn’t have enough. It would have gotten an A+ had it had a bit more. It just ended up tasting a little plain. This is one of the few cupcakes I ate entirely to myself.

The majority of the cupcakes were spilt with my friends and family. One that sticks out was the Chai Latte. I normally would never order this one and I find out that is with good reason. After one bite of my half, I was not willing to finish the rest of the cupcake and neither was my friend. In my personal opinion this cupcake is a total waste of calories and I would be interested to talk to someone who likes it and hear why. It was just gross. First time I ever met a cupcake that I wouldn’t finish.

But things were looking up after that; the Pumpkin, Lemon Coconut, Red Velvet, Strawberry & Vanilla cupcakes were outstanding. I’m not surprised about the liking the Pumpkin. What’s not to love when you mix pumpkin and cream cheese? That’s hard to mess up. I was surprised about the Lemon Coconut though. I don’t like either of those flavors but their cake had just a hint of the lemon flavor and their coconut cream cheese frosting was also subtle. I liked the Red Velvet. This was actually my first time trying Red Velvet and between the moist cake and the cream cheese frosting it was a winner. The Strawberry had a really yummy frosting and I was sad that I had to spilt this one three ways. The vanilla was also enjoyable; their vanilla frosting is very creamy but the only down fall for this one was the sprinkles. I would prefer my cupcakes without and this delish frosting was coated with them.

I basically found that I REALLY liked their cream cheese and vanilla frosting and their vanilla or “spiced” cake. They were highly superior to all their chocolate counterparts. This seems to be a cupcake shop where the flavors aren’t too strong and in your face. This worked well for the vanilla or “spiced” cakes with vanilla or cream cheese frosting, but when I think of chocolate I think melt in your mouth, cocoa explosion and powerful flavor, so when I tasted these chocolate cupcakes it just wasn’t cutting it.

Overall, I think it was a cool experience to try these hyped up cupcakes but I won’t be running to the store to get more.

Love Letter to My Husband

(Then 1998 & Now 2010)

Michael,

It all started with a simple question, “What happened?” I am so very thankful that you hurt your knee 12 years ago. I realize you might have wanted to avoid tearing your muscle and you might have wanted to skip out of knee surgery, but seeing you hobble around on your crutches at bowling gave me the courage to approach my crush and ask “What happened?”

During the many years we were dating, I was anxious to marry you. I remember very clearly around year 7 when I would get upset after every time we went out because I was certain each time the proposal was coming. I remember my friends saying I should give you an ultimatum; I considered it. But would I really want to force you? Would I really leave you because you didn’t propose? Nope. Because even back then, I knew what a catch I had on my hands. I couldn’t willingly give up the one person that gives me comfort on a daily basis, that makes me feel beautiful and loves me for me. I realized that the ring wasn’t as important as you. (For those who might be curious he proposed just shy of our 9 year anniversary.)

Two years ago we got married and that day is the second happiest moment of my life. (First is welcoming Desmond to this world with you.) This past year has really showed me how much you love me. Being a new mom isn’t easy and I know I haven’t been the easiest person to be around now that my stress level and anxiety is triggered with just the smallest agitation. You are the ice that cools my fire.

I can’t imagine finding another man that will willingly dance with me at every wedding, looking like we are suffering from seizures. A man who attempts lyrical dancing during the opening song of Battlestar Galactica, a man who would still love and kiss me if I had no lips, a man who trims my snaggle toes, a man who makes all phone calls because I won’t and a man who makes me feel safe and gives me and Desmond all the loving we need and more.

And I just want to say that after 12 years I’m still madly in lesbians with you.

You’re the peach to my cream,

Mrs. Michelle Pack