Fitnessss

Is probably going to be the topic of my next several posts, so... Yep.

My fitness story starts off with a 18 year old girl who goes from eating like her metabolism just don't care, to eating like a pregnant lady (who ends up giving birth to a near 10 pound healthy baby girl) to then still eating like her metabolism don't care, then finds out that her metabolism in fact, do care. 

Pre baby I was around around 135 Ish and keep in mind I'm a 5' 3 1/2' pear with large hips anyway, more so post baby, so I wasn't "twiggy" to begin with.

Post baby and working a full time job I was around 140

Then I quit to stay home and went up to

145

Then 150

Then 155 (I know, I know)

Then I hit my breaking point at 158

I couldn't take it anymore, I was depressed at how I looked, I was always tired and lethargic, I had a horrible diet, and I thought, "if I don't do something about this now it's just going to get harder the older I get!" Plus who knows how much more weight I would have gained!

So I began exercising, trying to work myself up to the full 30 minutes of my aerobics video from hell, eating better, and keeping track of my daily intake.

I did well for a while, lost about 5 lbs and then.... Backslid and gained all five back...

Then after about a month, my dear hubby decided he wanted to make a change as well, so for about a week we have been eating healthy(er) and walking 3 miles every night except Sunday on our local bike path. 

Sadly, I'm going to have to give that up until the sun starts going down earlier or until its cooler during the day, we've been going from 8-9 pm and my in laws watch my daughter but with school starting she's going to be in bed by 8pm, so he can go but I have to switch my method for a while.

My neighborhood is neither safe or pleasant on the eye enough for me to walk early in the morning so for now it's yoga and aerobics. (Learned my lesson about doing 40 min yoga instead of 20, there's only so many sun salutations I can handle in a row)

I hate aerobics. I did 17 minutes this morning before my legs were going to give out, and it only burned a third of the calories walking for an hour does. Ugh I'd rather walk an hour!

I did do a no no last night and had some unhealthy late night (early morning) snacking do I'm trying to work that all off today.

I can do it! I have to keep telling myself that or nothing will change.

Ramoooonaaaaa on my mind...

Sorry, just watching Scott pilgrim while typing this. Awesome manga series by the way. Ok point of this post is... I made sushi!!!! Woooooo! California roll to be precise :) had to use imitation crab since Hubby is allergic to the real deal. Mmmmm tasty. Oh regular vinegar can be substituted for rice vinegar, just add more sugar. Post end! The movie is still on.

Getting back on (the wagon won't leave without you)

Ok, as I'm sure most (or none) of you (you being mainly my mother ) know, I've been trying (trying being used very loosely) to lose the 20 Ish pounds I've gained since being inducted into the wonderful club of motherhood for the past 6 years.. Pretty sad. 

I actually managed to lose about 5 pounds last month via eating healthier and trying to exercise but I wavered there at the end and now I've gained all five back, boo! 

Well as they say, when it comes to a lifestyle change and living a healthier life, it's never too late, you fall off the wagon/horse/any mode of transportation , you get back on! And that's exactly what I'm doing. 

Thanks to my husband who also is wanting to get healthier, we are now walking our bike path nightly (except Sundays) and I've already lost 2 pounds since we started Wednesday, yaaay!

 I know most of the beginning weight is just water but it still feels good to know its working.

I have soo many screenshots of healthy food from Instagram on my iPod its scary, I feel like a bit of a weirdo for semi-stalking these ladies.

So my goal I'm setting myself is to lost 5-6 pounds by the end of August, I figure that's doable seeing as how I've pretty much done it already. 

Hopefully this time I won't fall, cause that's just embarrassing... 

Don't eat coffee and yogurt together.

Just don't. Trust me. Dire consequences.

Feeling better from yesterday, there were a few hard hours in there but then it improved. (Thanks fable 3, bringing people together since...whenever you came out..)

Also, I learned that old pinto beans take much longer than 2 hours to cook, thanks for ruining dinner beans. I will eat you tonight instead. Also somehow my daughter makes great corn muffins.

This post brought to you by the letter "B"

Guess why! (And no mom, it's not for baby)

Hit and miss

Story of my life! 

Haha just kidding, sort of..

But really, I'm very much a hit and miss housewife. 

For example, tonight I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and improvised red beans and rice, and they turned out great. My attempt at home baked corn chips did not fare so well, they burned to a inedible crisp. (For the second time, I might mention, but In my defense I followed the recipe to a "T"! Where did that expression even come from?)

Plants are another area in which I typically fail, with the sole exception of an orchid my mother bought me a few years ago, and an African violet that is hanging in there. But other than that, I have a black thumb.

Next is my wonderfully selective memory, I can't remember conversations that occurred the day before, (or even why I went into a particular room) but I can recall my moms cat having kittens in a yellow laundry basket on its side in our apartment when I was around 4-5 years old. It had square shaped holes. Yeah.. 

Ok well this was going to be longer but I'm tired. Night! Well, technically morning (it's 2:32 am, my sleep schedule is soo off!)

How goeth thy butternut squash soup?

Well, it goeth quite bland to be precise. I had to addeth several more spices and ingredients then thy original recipe called forth. I realize henceforth that I shall compare multiple recipes afore choosing only one. Without further ado, the soup!

Well, it doth look quite pleasing to the eye, at least. On the morrow I shall be adding sautéed onion and garlic, and carrots and potatoes, and possibly some heavy cream, and more spices.

And here is my "petit dejeuner"

Greek strawberry yogurt with banana and granola, mmmmm.

Now, put the clean dishes away I musteth!

The great gatsby and food

Gosh this blogger app drives me nuts, I already had a paragraph typed out and I click over to safari, come back, and I have to start all over. It's poop.  

Anyways, here's the Great Gatsby review I promised a few weeks ago.

The Great Gatsby,

Based on the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald , directed by Baz Luhrman, starting Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan. (Aaand some other people)

The plot centers on young nick carroway who relocates to New York in the summer of 1922, amidst the loose morals, loaded bootleggers, and rising stocks of the era.

Nick moves into a home across the bay from his rich and shallow cousin, daisy Buchanon, and her lecherous husband Tom.

His next door neighbor happens to be the mysterious socialite Jay Gatsby who throws lavish, over the top parties on a nightly basis. Jay just happens to be acquainted with Mrs. Buchanon..

Aaand ill leave it there ;)

*********

To be frank, if you read the book and liked it, go see the movie.

If you didn't read the book but you love baz Luhrman's films, go see the movie.

Obviously if you like neither, don't go see it, because then I'd have to hear you complain about it.

Also, if you can't stand movies with tragic endings, don't see it. Yes I just gave something away but hey, I might have just saved you 2 hours.

Me personally, I HATE movies that end tragically, with a few exceptions, two of those being Baz's telling of Romeo and Juliet, and Moulin Rouge. 

That, plus my love of "period set" films, equalled a must watch. 

Plus it was one if the few required AP English summer reading books 

I actually liked. 

* never again grapes of wrath or lord of the flies!

So if you like modern retellings old literature, gorgeous 

Sparkling worlds set to a catchy addictive musical backdrop 

Leo Dicaprio, and the 20's, this is the movie for you!

 Ok second topic: 

"MEAL PREP MONDAY!"

(Imagine the narrator for spongebob saying it)

A day I recently discovered, the idea behind

Meal prep Monday is that you cut and cook and prepare

all your meals for the next week/ few days however long 

and put them all in Tupperware in your fridge ready 

to be consumed in days to follow, thereby saving you

the hassle of the " crap-I-didn't-take-the-meat-out-

of-the-freezer-now-what-are-we-going-to-eat"-

Tuesdays.

I am absolutely horrid about meals. 

I always get writers block when making my meal plan

for the week, (on the rare occasion I do make a plan) 

so naturally MPM sounds absolutely fantastic to me!

Now my only problem will be whether I have enough 

Tupperware.

That, and trying to get healthy foods, which is of

course, it's own battle, but at least this will make it 

a lot easier.

Any MPM noobie suggestions or recipes? We eat 

Salmon, chicken, tilapia, dairy, fruits, veggies, dairy, and

Whole grains and legumes. Not a lot of red meat, aside from 

Occasional pork chops, bacon, and ground beef.

A random mango that I had no idea how to cut so I just

Peeled the skin off and ate it, nom nom 

Star Trek: Into Darkness review

Star Trek : Into Darkness

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Carl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg.

Ok, before I get started, let me just note that I am not a die hard Trekkie, nor a Trekkie of any sort. Rather I am a huge Sylar fan which is mainly why I decided I wanted to watch the first one, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it.

(I'm currently watching wrath of Kahn as I write this, for the purpose of educating myself)

Ok, before I get into it, let me first start by saying, just go watch it. By no means did I feel it was a waste if time, nor money. 

Alright, now ill get into it. 

The movie starts off  hitting the ground running...and running..and running some more... In fact it pretty much goes full ahead in terms of plot and action, and doesn't really slow down for the duration of the movie.

The performances are all very solid, with the exception of (just in my personal opinion folks) the blonde newcomer whom I'm assuming is to act as kirks foremost love interest in films to come. ( if in fact there are any) Her performance felt very forced to me, she didn't really have any onscreen charisma with the rest of the cast. Newcomer to the series, Benedict Cumberbatch, performed the role of the antagonist excellently,  being both cold and formidable. (and it made me want to watch Sherlock Holmes)

Like its predecessor, there was no shortage of humor, emotion, and allusions to the original series, and the action scenes and cinematography were beautifully executed. 

Overall, I loved about 90% of this movie. Lets discuss the 10% that fell short.

For me, the pace of the plot went from 100 miles an hour, to BOOM end of movie. I was left a bit shocked and confused. You feel like its going in one direction, then it just....stops.  I wasn't necessarily disappointed,  just confused.  

****added note; I like to look at other reviews after I write my own to see if anyone else felt the same  way, and sadly they do, some not so nice as mine, but if there's one thing I hate, it's a movie being picked apart. 

I read some undeservedly critical reviews of Thor, but I lived that movie in its entirety. I mean, who cares if he only wore his iconic costume for a part of the movie, he still wore it! Note over***

But by all means, don't let that deter you from seeing it. The performances were solid, the action scenes were exciting, it was emotional, funny, overall still worth a watch. 

I mean, c'mon, it's Benedict Cumberbatch and Zachary Quinto, you can't say no to them.

I also decided to change my opinion on Chris Pine, his blue eyes have won me, despite being a blonde.

Next review will be:...  The great gatsby!

 Baz Luhrman hasn't disappointed me yet, even despite moulin rouge's tragic ending, I still love that movie to death.

Lizzy out.

Set phasers to stun.

KAHHHHN!!! 

An introduction; and a monster in Paris

Ok, so originally I typed up a massive intro that basically said every little interesting fact about me, buuut, safari crashed on my ipod so I said never mind! There's no way I'm typing all that again, besides it was way too long.

So, instead I decided to make my first post a movie review! Yay for movies!

Ok, so this review will be for...

 

 A Monster in Paris

or, en Francais, Un Monstre A Paris

 

 

This movie kind of just popped up out of he blue, In fact I don't even remember how we heard about it but it turned out to be a real gem.

 

 

The story is about Franceur, a giant flea, who becomes friends with a singer named lucille. The Voice cast Only has a few names I really recognised, like Danny Houston, Catherine O'Hara, and Sean Lennon as the flea, but all the characters are very well done and likable (the antagonist being the exception, of course.) The few songs in it are so catchy even my husband said they were stuck in his head!

 

Here is one;

 

 

As far as aspects to consider for conservative families, there was no language, I think the word "idiot" was as foul as it got, no adult innuendos, (although one minor character has a voice that would definitely be considered, "alternative", if you get my drift, nothing else suggests otherwise.) There is a chase scene but no blood or anything, overall it was very clean.

 

 

I think the general message for the film would be " Don't judge a book by it's cover", which also applies to the movie itself. It did very well in French cinemas but for some reason the US. decided not to release it in theaters here, it went straight to DVD, such a shame!

 

Overall a really cute and light movie, great for a kids Friday night, Bug loved it so much she watched it 3 more times the following week. I'm telling you, those songs are catchy.

 

moms' rating: 10/10

bugs' rating: 10/10

dads' rating: 10/10

 

Next Movie review will be (drum roll please..........)

 

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS

Because who doesn't love Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch?

 

(Chris pine is ..ok, I'm just not a huge fan of blonde men, that and zach can do a irish accent and benedict is english so that earns them extra points)

 

 

 

 

Honestly, I just love saying his name, Benedict Cumberbatch.

 

 

 

"Francisco, Francis-co, Fran-cisco," -name that movie!

 

Til next time,

 

Lizzy