FitBloggin' Recap Part 2 & Joel Does the Cookin'

Yesterday was a great On Plan day for me.  I think what worked yesterday was just constantly keeping busy.  I had my second A&P exam last night and I spent most of the day studying.  <span style="color: #999999;">{I ended up with a 'B', which is fine, but I was striving for an 'A'.  Still, given my extremely busy social life these days, that 'B' is great!}  <span style="color: black;">Once I got home from taking the exam, I spent the entire evening playing with my new iPhone 5!   It feels so good to finally have an awesome phone.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">I talked yesterday about the abundance of new bloggers I met while at FitBloggin', and those I cannot wait to start following along with.  I've updated my Blog Roll on the left to showcase those newbies.</span></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIyx-yHkUiO5_RsNEDW3_wpFsc2bv7-fGDcvaG1gyS_OHb983LQPw9ewS_wMwrsxUMqopDOsFWlZVkRLwDjucD_qL6jfaUj93w7pHhO14P5s557yAbTqzHV_jhJg7E9oxclzw2hDk2ss/s1600/lauren,+kelly,+me,+ashley+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIyx-yHkUiO5_RsNEDW3_wpFsc2bv7-fGDcvaG1gyS_OHb983LQPw9ewS_wMwrsxUMqopDOsFWlZVkRLwDjucD_qL6jfaUj93w7pHhO14P5s557yAbTqzHV_jhJg7E9oxclzw2hDk2ss/s400/lauren,+kelly,+me,+ashley+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://oatmealafterspinning.com/" target="_blank">Lauren</a> @ Oatmeal After Spinning, <a href="http://www.nothankstocake.com/" target="_blank">Kelly</a> @ No Thanks to Cake,  <br /><a href="http://www.coffeecakeandcardio.com/" target="_blank">Ashley</a> @ Coffee Cake & Cardio</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgua7V70RsZLilA-ROJDalRNzNgHFTncQUCExZCBur7BSUqU83AoMSpmvLZ9Btc2C8dOTKxZyJ-MVtfsZK8jXiDLPjH8RU5gam_K1zXIb5GkZlC-RvUW94bZdCiUthHGym5oP4rAjmyM/s1600/me+and+kenlie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgua7V70RsZLilA-ROJDalRNzNgHFTncQUCExZCBur7BSUqU83AoMSpmvLZ9Btc2C8dOTKxZyJ-MVtfsZK8jXiDLPjH8RU5gam_K1zXIb5GkZlC-RvUW94bZdCiUthHGym5oP4rAjmyM/s400/me+and+kenlie.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenlie @ <a href="http://alltheweigh.com/" target="_blank">All The Weigh</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKwRaLDIGNaAmOquRKKX9QYNEUjO4bewcVCoC0tgdSkCLbNUmTlYFQV8oIRcFfX8mEsxRYPOCP3BOXpnaCf4IImaB81z4cCVq487acdBrFUDtq_He8pSiBG-y95RYUipbH8_0wtl30WA/s1600/me,+danielle,+kelly+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKwRaLDIGNaAmOquRKKX9QYNEUjO4bewcVCoC0tgdSkCLbNUmTlYFQV8oIRcFfX8mEsxRYPOCP3BOXpnaCf4IImaB81z4cCVq487acdBrFUDtq_He8pSiBG-y95RYUipbH8_0wtl30WA/s400/me,+danielle,+kelly+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danielle @ <a href="http://elleyexposed.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elley Exposed</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9sHjecINoDWDDdH4lg5kq4aFfFIrePf0PWGNrK2-nsXbdqCuYaIKOHdSgmp4_ux749rnhDGbHCVrozfmpP_thS3NxaZ11q8HmRjMf8VlMoZdZJUAMXLRH7fP60H2QKZplba-jhytC5M/s1600/lauren+and+me+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9sHjecINoDWDDdH4lg5kq4aFfFIrePf0PWGNrK2-nsXbdqCuYaIKOHdSgmp4_ux749rnhDGbHCVrozfmpP_thS3NxaZ11q8HmRjMf8VlMoZdZJUAMXLRH7fP60H2QKZplba-jhytC5M/s400/lauren+and+me+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren @ Oatmeal After Spinning</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">Since this week will be far less stressful in terms of school and my social life, I know that I am on track to weigh in with a nice loss this week.   The last 2 days have been rather easy for me on WW - no stress eating and just keeping busy.  Eating out of boredom/emotion gets me every time.  </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">Something else that has helped extraordinarily this week is handing over the cooking reigns to Joel in it's entirety and letting him do all of the meal planning/cooking.  Oh, how the stress that has melted away is a remarkable feeling.  I love cooking.  I take pride in being able to "do it all", but I'm going to welcome this offer of help from him.  Joel's meals are always simple and delicious, and he never ceases to abide by my WW needs.  One of his awesome meals this week was a Zatarain's Reduced Sodium New Orleans Style Jambalaya (3 PointsPlus!!) combined with 3 Shady Brook Farms Hot Italian Turkey Sausage links.  Amazing!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">I'm moving in the right direction for a loss!  </span></span>I already have all of my breakfasts planned out for the week and added to eTools.  </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">Thank you God for giving me such a loving husband! </span></span><br /><br /><br />

fitbloggin FitBloggin' Recap Part 2 & Joel Does the Cookin'

Yesterday was a great On Plan day for me.  I think what worked yesterday was just constantly keeping busy.  I had my second A&P exam las...

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FitBloggin Reflections

From Thursday through Sunday of this past week, I attended my first ever blogging conference in Baltimore, MD.  The name of the conference is <a href="http://fitbloggin.com/" target="_blank">FitBloggin'</a> and it brings people together who care about being healthy.  I learned a lot about the business of blogging, social media strategies and other morsels of the blogging lifestyle. <br /><br />I also met a ton of amazing bloggers - those who I have followed for years and those who are brand new to me.  The whole thing was rather surreal.  Never in a million years did I think I would ever meet some of the bloggers I read daily, including <a href="http://www.sherylyvette.com/" target="_blank">Bitch Cakes</a>, <a href="http://ronisweigh.com/" target="_blank">Roni</a>, and <a href="http://skinnytaste.com/" target="_blank">Gina</a>.   On top of meeting some of my long time favorites, I also got to meet one of my new favorites, <a href="http://www.nothankstocake.com/" target="_blank">Kelly @ No Thanks to Cake</a>.  Still, there are so many others I cannot wait to add to my reader who seem to have such amazing stories that I know I can truly benefit from.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUengaiPvBlV8OcRfLCcUWTD-bIbaTBz8xknJ8eenJgei4pLtQeK9ltNFc3p3YhoI68tFxW1m7j13o0BxQxNBwQA0GmHuM6P-xWSb9MHmE62pPp82xZzMDsp9STZg9nClQ09R4L1QYhvI/s1600/hil+&+bitch+cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUengaiPvBlV8OcRfLCcUWTD-bIbaTBz8xknJ8eenJgei4pLtQeK9ltNFc3p3YhoI68tFxW1m7j13o0BxQxNBwQA0GmHuM6P-xWSb9MHmE62pPp82xZzMDsp9STZg9nClQ09R4L1QYhvI/s320/hil+&+bitch+cakes.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitch Cakes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR6EJeLPbEZpHtCOnnQ0HElZZ0jIMno4cn-rEykxDRIf9L69T2fIbFsELID1-hRcePbQ91cEzV-5RcaAbk-Yy7t933beHVvJCx1bPnrUl0MTblTaDVckkmxl9hLInaUX4I3YUQjerWtE/s1600/hil+&+gina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR6EJeLPbEZpHtCOnnQ0HElZZ0jIMno4cn-rEykxDRIf9L69T2fIbFsELID1-hRcePbQ91cEzV-5RcaAbk-Yy7t933beHVvJCx1bPnrUl0MTblTaDVckkmxl9hLInaUX4I3YUQjerWtE/s320/hil+&+gina.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gina from Skinny Taste</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKy-J6FDS-4RiCmfHPDzuOnLpckd0EcTSLFb4dh4mI9qjqvykYWrUaTt1OvgQz4SmcaUEWsM1JqQub8lcX6A45XKG9OGun8irotzQ5BVE8y903mR9DOkrnLh38bIc0vLiyLPq8ledkQQ/s1600/kelly+%2526+hil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKy-J6FDS-4RiCmfHPDzuOnLpckd0EcTSLFb4dh4mI9qjqvykYWrUaTt1OvgQz4SmcaUEWsM1JqQub8lcX6A45XKG9OGun8irotzQ5BVE8y903mR9DOkrnLh38bIc0vLiyLPq8ledkQQ/s320/kelly+%2526+hil.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One thing that became very apparent to me during this conference is that I need to bring The Big Weight back to what it's initial intent was: <i>documenting my journey purely for my own benefit</i>.  While FitBloggin had so many informative sessions on the entire business surrounding a blog, I quickly realized that my intention for TBW (at this time, at least), is not to make a business out of her.  I'm not writing for statistical purposes, i.e. gaining an insane number of webpage hits or being a Twitter/Facebook superstar.  I started TBW so that I could document my weight loss journey to provide a way to reflect on what worked and what didn't. <br /><br />I think that sometimes I've gotten caught up in wanting to write what "my readers" want to read and forgetting about the true purpose of TBW.  I don't ever want what I write to lack authenticity.   It's not about how many people are reading each post/tweet.  It's about me finally losing The Big Weight and being able to have a way to reflect on this journey. <br /><br />In the meantime, if I am able to inspire someone along the way - fabulous! - but my goal is to stay true to myself and true to the goal of TBW: lose the weight while learning more about myself each day!

fitbloggin FitBloggin Reflections

From Thursday through Sunday of this past week, I attended my first ever blogging conference in Baltimore, MD.  The name of the conference i...

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FitBloggin & SCM's!

It's FitBloggin' week!!!  I'm finally starting to get excited.  Since school started, I live week to week in terms of my schedule, and while I knew this event was coming up, it is only <i>now </i>that I am genuinely thrilled to see what this blogger conference has to offer.  It is my hope that I walk away from FitBloggin' rejuvenated in my weight loss journey so that I can continue down a path of nice and steady losses toward my goal.  I'm also looking forward to meeting/making new friends! :)<br /><br /><br />My <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/240315642310217980?size=business&media=pearl&front=business_front_vert&back=business_back_horz&mode=fill" target="_blank">blogger business cards</a> came in today from <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/" target="_blank">Zazzle</a>.  Holy crap!  They turned out so much better in person than I expected!  <i>(Please let me know if that link does/doesn't work since that is a direct link to the card.)</i>  They have a pretty pearlized finish to them with shades of purple, naturally.  Can you tell that purple is my favorite color?  Maybe not if you read TBW through a reader.  I LOVE purple!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl02Qt0lBN7twTAznL9iN1S4fWgjqWUsXaM6zkJS4ND6cDIZs6PBJMmDucEZ5nfCVE1bEhfJf_sfLxUdGxoGxcdmsZo-G68dRX41OAuLwBAFpMHWc7X5rtKULN015K5QXy_RnUuk1viQ/s1600/blog+business+card+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl02Qt0lBN7twTAznL9iN1S4fWgjqWUsXaM6zkJS4ND6cDIZs6PBJMmDucEZ5nfCVE1bEhfJf_sfLxUdGxoGxcdmsZo-G68dRX41OAuLwBAFpMHWc7X5rtKULN015K5QXy_RnUuk1viQ/s320/blog+business+card+1.JPG" width="188" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WtmwiO_Ae-hI3TTVnI35B0E9l0qsP1oc74Vj03QUhqCRcu0PL-hUMqiIp9VxwIMpRW8MM29Y0SnOzYvjFstqtfkb4cLjl5zOQWy0IvxnsWpPmoja0LvX8jZsowWtYwp3Xo1DUYvNByQ/s1600/blog+business+card+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WtmwiO_Ae-hI3TTVnI35B0E9l0qsP1oc74Vj03QUhqCRcu0PL-hUMqiIp9VxwIMpRW8MM29Y0SnOzYvjFstqtfkb4cLjl5zOQWy0IvxnsWpPmoja0LvX8jZsowWtYwp3Xo1DUYvNByQ/s320/blog+business+card+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />And last but not least, I gave a good shot to making my own salted caramel mocha today.  <a href="http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2011/10/12/homemade-salted-caramel-mocha/" target="_blank">This</a> was my inspiration.   I altered it a little, using 1 Tbsp of Smucker's Caramel Sauce (ice cream topping) and a packet of <a href="http://www.realhotchocolate.com/Flavors.aspx" target="_blank">Cold Stone Smooth Cravings 70 calorie hot chocolate</a>.  I didn't add whipped cream either.  My calculated version came out to 5 PointsPlus!  Uhhhh... I'll definitely take a Starbucks version over mine any day :).  Still, I'd like to perfect this drink so when Starbucks says adios to theirs, I can still enjoy mine.  I found that my version was a little too chocolatey and could have used more milk. <br /><br /> <span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Do you have a great recipe for salted caramel mochas?  Are you attending FitBloggin?</b></span><br />

fitbloggin salted caramel mocha zazzle FitBloggin & SCM's!

It's FitBloggin' week!!!  I'm finally starting to get excited.  Since school started, I live week to week in terms of my schedul...

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