Cold turkey on JUNK

From June 2011 to November 2012 I lost 30 pounds. In between that were a lot of ups and downs but I was happy with that loss. Maybe a little too happy.

After I hit that nice, low number on the scale just after Thanksgiving I kind of let go. At the time, I was working out 2-3 times a week and eating very well. I let that go by the wayside over the past few months and gained over half of that back. Bleck.

So, it's time to get back on the horse! I know I'm not the only one who let go of that healthy lifestyle for a bit, so I don't feel like a failure. It's just high time I get back to business. I will say this is not to fit in a bikini or weed my garden in a tube top. I feel beautiful no matter what that number on the scale says, and I have a husband who sees me the same way. However, I know what being overweight does to your body. The benefits of a healthy weight are astounding. It starts with my knees. Did you know that losing one pound is the equivelant of taking four pounds of pressure off your knees!? For someone with Patella Femoral syndrome I say, SIGN ME UP!

ANYWAY, back to that wagon I fell off. Here are some things I'm doing for the next month to get me back on the right track. For 30 days I'm going to follow these rules. NO exceptions! I'm trying to figure out a way to motivate me as I work well with a visual that I see every day. Perhaps a sticker for each day that I follow all of these? Maybe a checkmark for each rule I follow each day? What do you think I should do?

Here they are:

1. No candy. Goodbye Sour Patch Kids.

2. No cupcakes. I'll miss them, but I don't think Scratch will go out of business from this move.

3. No beer! Yes, that's right. I drink heavy, delicious, 9% alcohol beers. They have to go. I'm going to drink gin and tonics or something light as an alternative.

4. No (non-diet) pop. I'm doing to try to make this no pop in general, but a Coke Zero every now and then might occur. Pop is so, so, so bad for you. I once heard you can lose 10 pounds just from cutting pop out of your diet. Whether or not that's true, I just don't need it in my body in the first place.

5. No White Chocolate Mochas. Yea, so this blog post telling you my obsessions with Scratch and Starbucks. Yep, they go. Everything goes!

6. Work out at least 3 times a week. Whether that be running, biking, dancing, or whatever, I'll get moving somehow.

7. Count all of my calories. No matter how ugly they may be, every bite is going on MyfitnessPal.

I've heard of some similar lists like this that people live by to lose weight, or just stay healthy. I have one family member who has a note on her fridge that says, "No chips or fries. Drink lots of water before each meal. No eating after 8 p.m." There's one more but I don't remember it. You get the idea.

Today is actually day 3 of this endeavor and I'm doing great. I haven't had pop of any kind, I've taken my super healthy lunch and snacks to work each day, no candy, no cupcakes, no nothing. I've counted every calorie and on Monday night Ryan and I went for a run together. We also have a 72-mile bike ride planned for this weekend, weather pending.

What I need from you: Do you have anything to add to my magical list? Do you have any suggestions on how I can keep myself accountable?

Photos for Iowa State Fair 2013

I promised that I would post pictures of the photos that I submitted to the 2013 Iowa State Fair. Setting it as a goal this year put a fire under me to get some submitted this year because I hadn't submitted in five years or so. Out of the 6 or so photos that I submitted, I've had one displayed. You can only submit four photos each year. The ones they decide to display is the honor of it.

I wasn't completely in love with one in particular. I'm not being pessimistic, but I don't think any will be displayed. I DO think Ryan's will be... and it's a photo of me. So... in a way I will have made it, no? You review and tell me what you think. I was also pretty happy with the names so pay attention to those. Keep in mind they are NOT judged on their names or mats.

I named this picture of a tree on the top of Pike's Peak Cold and Coniferous.

This is a view from behind the clock at Musee D'Orsay in Paris. I named it Time Transfixed.

This was taken in the gardens of the castle in Schwetzingen, Germany, where my Oma grew up. I named this one simply Stag.

I LOVE what we decided to name this one: Martian Winter. Adorable.

Finally, the one you've heard so much about. This is Ryan's picture of me. He named it Cheshire.

I'll let you know if either of us have something displayed. Which one is your favorite?

I golfed!

If you're following along on this blog (and I can only assume no one is), then you must know about my 2013 goals, since I include them in every post. Well, today I golfed 9 rounds at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Johnston, completing my seventh of twelve goals for 2013. Woot!

I did pretty awful. But, like most things, I found a way to have fun. And, like most things I've ever tried, I simply left room for improvement. I've always been pretty terrible at things my first try. But, I get progressively better rather quickly. It makes learning things fun for me, actually.

I had 3-4 really good shots so I tried to focus on what made them good and repeat that. Most times I was trying too hard. Some times I took my rage out on the ball and turned out a good shot. I'll definitely golf with Ryan again, but definitely not every time. A friend today told me she plays Best Ball with her husband, and I think that's a GRAND idea! We'll try that next time.

Enough talk, more pictures to tell this story.

Proof. Probably the best shot of the day (that I will post, anyway) of me actually golfing

Holy moly, LOOK at hour RED my hair is. This is ryan trying to get an artsy shot.

Cool shot of Mr. Smith.

OH, and MAN was my day made when we rode home. I got pulled over (72 in a 55, eek) and did NOT get a ticket! I was more happy about that than anything else. Score! It's the little things.

obSeSSion

It's been a while since I've done a review blog of my favorite things. While the following items are my favorites, they are really more obsessions that I have right now. I titled this post with the "S"s capitalized because it turns out my three obsessions below all start with S. (I was never good at headline writing).

Starbucks Rewards card app: This is an app on my phone that I can use to purchase items at Starbucks. If you collect enough stars, which you earn with each purchase, you get certain rewards. What I REALLY like about the app are the free downloads. Each Tuesday they give you the code for a free download on itunes. They are more than often songs that I would purchase myself, like Stubborn Love by The Lumineers. They also give you game downloads. One week I got Star Wars Angry Birds for free. I also tried fun games I wouldn't have downloaded on my own like Heist.

I was recently upgraded to their highest level of rewards - the gold level. I was excited, but quickly realized this is a pretty ridiculous thing to show any excitement over. But, apparently you do get a pretty sweet personalized card. (see picture I grabbed online below). Maybe I'll post a picture when I get mine.

Song: Take it on faith, by Natalie Maines. This is a free song I got from the above obsession. It's a 5 minute song off her new solo (as in not with the Dixie Chicks) album Mother. Based off this song I just might buy the entire album.

Scratch: If you're an Iowan, I need say no more. This is a cupcake place in West Des Moines (and Waterloo and Cedar Falls) that has the best cupcakes in the world. No, I'm serious. On Saturdays, you have to stand in a 20-minute-long line to get a cupcake. And it's worth every minute. I get these as a surprise dessert for Ryan and I sometimes, a treat for coworkers, or just because I wanted it, damnit! My favorite is the Salty Dog. It's vanilla cake, salty peanuts and the most important part: buttercream frosting. I'm not sure what's in this amazing frosting other than peanut butter, but it's making Des Moines folk addicted. YUM!

The Salty Dog. Sorry it's not a full cupcake, but I couldn't resist..

Update on my goals for 2013:

-We are registered for one day (July 23) of RAGBRAI. Yes, I made us register and pay. After all, we might need to use the bandwagon.

-We are going for a round of golf next week. Next week! We borrowed my father-in-laws clubs for the occasion. I'll have to have Ryan take some pictures.

-We are two sessions away from completing our Alpha course at church. YAY! We actually miss our old life group from church, whom we left to do Alpha for a bit. We are excited to touch base with them in July.

-I submit my photos THIS WEEKEND for the Iowa State Fair. I'll be honest, I'm not confident about them, nor very excited about any in particular. I did convince Ryan to submit a picture that he took of me. I think out of all five (four from me), his is the only one that will be chosen to be displayed. So... in a way I'll still make it to the display, right? I'll post better pictures later, but for now I need you to help me name the last two pictures. Below is an awful shot of them I took with my phone.

Please help name! I was thinking for the one on the left calling it "Identity Crisis," because they are desert rocks covered in snow. Thoughts? (Please actually comment on blog this time).

KITTYS!!! (... and other reasons I'll never be able to run for office)

I always joke that if I ever run for office, an opponent simply needs to place a kitten in front of me during a debate. I would lose instantly due to the squeals that would explode out of me. I love cats. This XKCD comic does a pretty perfect job of explaining my reaction when a cat is around.

Here's the twist: I don't have a cat. That lovely man that I live with and happily vowed to spend the rest of my life with is deathly allergic to them. You honestly won't hear me whine and complaining about it because there was no "choice" about it. I wanted a cat, he's allergic, I love him more than anything in this world, I choose happiness. Case closed. But, I do long for a kitten snuggle every now and then, so I decided to fulfill that by volunteering at two different animal shelters each month (twice a month).

They both are very different, and both provide very fulfilling experiences for me.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is one of the shelters. Every other week I take pictures of the cats for adoption. Those pictures are used for posting ads online. They were at capacity for their cats when they rescued 50 cats from a hoarder this week. This means they need help, and have lowered their cat adoption price down to $25 a cat. That's a HUGE deal. If you're like me and cannot have a cat, consider donating to them. You get the newsletter if you donate $30 or more (and yours truly was in the newsletter last month). The other thing you can do is SUPER COOL! You can have cat food sent straight to their doors using this Amazon Wish List. OR get free shipping on Wag.com.

KCCI also did a story on it. The ARL Facebook page is following some of the adoptions, and telling some great stories along the way.

I feel bad now that I've talked so much about ARL, because it's this next shelter that really fills my heart. The Animal Lifeline of Iowa is a no kill, special needs animal shelter. I volunteer helping the cats every other week. Right now, they have FIVE litters of kittens. You'd think I'd be in heaven in a happy pile of kittens, but that room is stressful making sure each kitten has been fed and watered, had their litter cleaned, and had their medicine. The medicine is the craziest part because each kitten gets a gulp of medicine. Keeping track of that is quite the task, and usually takes three of us volunteers.

I've been taking a LOT of pictures at this shelter each week. Currently, this beautiful little girl is my favorite:

And here are some more adorable kittens up for adoption there:

AND, here are some alumni of the shelter.

This one is Cagney. She was my very first little favorite kitten. She came in skin and bones, and got snagged up pretty fast because she is quite loving.

And this one is Kringle. He's blind, but you wouldn't be able to tell when he plays. He is also very lovey, and was adopted quickly.



I thought this was an appropriate blog topic today due to the timely needs of the ARL. I have 5-6 rough drafts of blog posts sitting in the queue, so stand by for more exciting updates on the life of Mrs. S.

Summer plans

Holy moly who can believe that summer is almost here?! Frankly, I can. Here in Iowa, Mother Nature has had Tourette Syndrome. We had snow in May, 70 degree weather back in January and February, and 50 degree weather in June. As the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in Iowa, wait 20 minutes. It will change." Anyway, I'm ready for summer.

Do you have anything super fun or new planned for this summer? Here are some things on the list for the Smiths. Like my 2013 goals post, I'm hoping this can serve as motivation to actually do all of these things.

June
-LDDS (A driving school that our BMW club puts on each June. It's our first time to it)
-Trip to Kansas City for BBQ and Beer with our BFFs (the couple that inadvertently introduced Ryan and I)

July
-Earlham Freedom Fest (where I will run... walk... the annual 5K)
-80/35 music festival
-Annual Jobst Fishing Trip
-RAGBRAI. (We'll do the Tuesday bike ride from Perry to Des Moines).
-Wedding

August
-Iowa State Fair
-Start my Masters program at Drake (August 27 is my first class!!!!)

And of course, all summer we will be patiently tending to our garden. Here are some hashtags to keep up with our summer garden from planting to canning and/or eating (riveting stuff, I know):
#SmithSalad
#SmithTomatoes

Not that we need anything more to do, but do you have any suggestions for things we should do this summer? Have a book to recommend? Any date night ideas?