Lifestyle Makeover

Over the past couple of months I have been going to therapy. I have finally confronted my issues head on.   It has helped me so much to deal/cope with things that I just couldn't get over on my own. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to find closure and move on. I'm back to the new and improved old self and graduated from therapy a couple of weeks ago. I highly recommend therapy to anyone, even if your issues aren't that big.

So, the first thing that I have done is put a dent in my weight. I have lost roughly 15 lbs in the last couple of months. I gave up carbonated beverages of any kind. It was very hard in the beginning, due to my addiction to the caffeine. As the weeks have gone on, I haven't even had a craving for that. I have replaced the habit with lots of water and on occasion a little bit of low calorie lemonade. The difference that I have felt is huge. I am not on the caffeine roller coaster anymore.

The next thing that I started doing is making over my breakfast. Working from home can be a challenge, because the kitchen is accessible. So, I have a rule that I only go in the kitchen for breakfast, lunch, dinner or to get a healthy snack, ie...a piece of fruit or vegetables.

Pictured above is what I made this week. It consists of oatmeal, apple, a small handful of dried cranberries and cinnamon. It is quick and easy. Below is the recipe.


Add to the bowl:

1 cup water
1/2 cup oats
1/2 of an Apple

Microwave for 3 minutes

Top with a little bit of cranberries and sprinkle on the cinnamon.

It tastes delicious and very filling.

Enjoy!

Pinterest

What did we do before Pinterest?   For me, I had several notebooks filled with list upon list, magazines with pages torn out, handwritten recipes and printed off internet pages.

Over the past couple of months, I've been able to compile the items for the remodel of our home, gather recipes for fantastic food and get ideas for out of the ordinary gifts. Last Saturday, I made my first purchase of a gift for 2 of my friends. I can't tell you what it is yet, but in a future post, I will have pictures. I'm so excited to give it to them!!! I feel that there is endless creativity being poured into one place that I can organize just how I like it. Pinterest has made my life so much easier.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This is the only picture that I took while we were on vacation in Orange County. This was taken at Laguna Beach. We had so much fun celebrating our anniversary and Ben starting a new job. I took the entire week off and was able to workout, swim, go to the Irvine Museum, the beach, tour Ben's mission and just relax. It was so enjoyable. I can't wait for our next vacation....As for now, back to reality :(

A New Year, a New Day!

Happy 2012!   Wow 2011 was quite the year for us in the Allen household. As I a reflect on what transpired in 2011, it's quite over whelming and I can see how much we've grown. In March we moved thousands of miles away to the great state of Texas. I arrived on March 30th to a blazing 85 degrees. The next day I totalled my car returning home from the grocery store. What a welcome to Dallas. Ben was transferred here, but things went downhill fast, which left us wondering what we were going to do. We battled through one of the hottest summers on record and survived living in a 2 bedroom apartment for 6 months.

October came and we were wondering where we were going to live. Ben had been interviewing with several different companies around the US, but we felt like we should stay. While I was away on business, Ben found us a home to rent in Richardson, TX. We are thankful for a home with enough space for Ben and I to each have our own office and he doesn't have to use the living room anymore. After 7 interviews with Mimi's Cafe, Ben was offered the job as a Field Marketing Manager. He will be over the central states.  We could not be happier with this new opportunity.

A week from today, Ben and I will celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. On Saturday, we are headed out to L.A. and spending a few days, before Ben starts his training in Irvine, CA. I fortunately, have the entire week off and I'm looking forward to exploring the area while he's working.  I love Ben so much. He is my rock and my best friend. I look forward to many more years with the man I love.

OK, enough with the mushy stuff. I am excited for what 2012 will hold.  Even with all of the trials that have been thrown my way, I feel very blessed and excited for what is to come.

All Things Driving

Well folks, Ben and I are close to celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary and so I thought it is time to officially change my name on my driver's license. Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours at the DMV and got that all squared away.

When we went to sell our Ford Escape, we found out that the officer who filed the accident report, used the VIN number for the Escape, instead of the Focus to report the accident. The Focus was totalled, so we are unable to sell the car until we get this resolved, so Thursday we get to go to downtown Dallas and pick up a copy of the accident report and then I get to call the officer who did the report and have him change the VIN number. Then we will have to go through the whole process again  to get another accident report.

10 Year Anniversary of 9/11

On this day 10 years ago, I was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That morning we woke up and did our scripture study and got ready to meet the English speaking elders to teach a discussion to a single woman. Right before we started teaching the discussion, the Elders said that one of the members of their ward said that a plane hit the world trade center. I seriously laughed and said that could not be possible. We left the discussion and went to our next appointment. Our investigator opened the door. The TV was on and they were sitting there watching in disbelief. We sat there and watched the 2nd plane hit the tower and the tower collapse. Afterwards we asked them to mute the tv. We sang Nearer my God to Thee and said a prayer with them and left.

I must back track a little bit. I was serving in Freeport, TX, which is an island on the Gulf of Mexico, where the refineries are massive cities. We had to take a bridge in between the refinery to get to our apartment. We went home for lunch and had several messages from the rest of our appointments for the day saying they were evacuating the island. Panic started to set in and we called our mission president to see what we should do. He said to pack several items and if a mandatory evacuation was asked of us to head to Austin. Also, he told us to always have a full tank of gas.

We had no more appointments, so we decided to go tracting through the streets. As we got out and walked down the street there was not one person on the streets and it was eerily quiet.

After I came home from my mission in 2002, I had so many questions. I had to ask my dad who Bin Laden was. It was hard not being able to use the internet, tv or read newspaper, when such a huge event in American History took place. At college, I was part of a play that was written about the events of 9/11. We posted newspaper articles all over the building from the events of 9/11. I remember spending hours reading about the events that occurred, because I felt disconnected from that day.

I am so thankful for those who have sacrificed everything to defend our country.

I will never forget.

Back to the Grind

I can't believe it's Tuesday and that it's September. It was so nice to have a lonnng 4 day weekend. The weather was gorgeous. It was in the 80s on Saturday and we were able to open up the windows in the apartment for the first time since April.

Work was ok today, but I'm sure it will be even busier tomorrow, as quite a few people took today off. During my lunch, I went and worked out. After work, I went to get the oil changed, did a little shopping for an outfit for my mother in law's wedding. Now it's off to get gas and go grocery shopping. We went through the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks this weekend and picked out several recipes to try. We are opening up our repertoire of dinner menu items. I'm excited to make new things. I'll definitely take some pictures of the new menu items as I make them and post them on the blog.