Portfolios, Photographs, and Pant Sizes - OH MY!

After my second weigh in with DPT, I'm happy to report that I'm down a total of 15 pounds and several inches off of my waist!  I haven't seen much change in myself, but I can tell when I put on my clothes.  I was holding up my pants with a safety pin, and I knew that had to change when I was folding over more than the safety pin could hold!  Even my work out clothes were too big.  When DPT tells you that you look like Santa Claus by tucking in your shirt (so your pants won't fall off), then you know it's time to upgrade the wardrobe.  As of my most recent shopping trip, I've gone from a size 28 women's plus size clothing to a size 22 women's plus size clothing!  I <3 RESULTS!

So, one of my earlier excuses was that school work was kicking my tail.  Well, um it really is!  This is, hopefully, my final semester at WVU for my RBA degree with an emphasis in Communication Studies.  In the final weeks of September, I diligently worked on my portfolio to qualify for graduation.  My portfolio consisted of a narrative detailing my skills and information regarding my work experience in relationship to college courses, samples of my work, and letters of recommendation from past and present supervisors.  I was super nervous after submitting it, and I am waiting on pins and needles until I get confirmation about graduation.  I actually got a fabulous email from the RBA Academic advisor regarding the organization of my portfolio yesterday.  She stated that it was the "best one so far" and "that they would like to use my work for reference for future students" and "that I should have nothing to worry about" (in regards to credits for graduation)!  More updates on graduation will come as I know them! :)

Graduation is 10 years in the making for me!  I started my journey at WVU in 1999, directly after high school, and life events got in the way of finishing my degree sooner.  This journey has made me stronger, because I know that it really takes hard work and determination to reach your goals.  Being an independent student is a blessing and a curse in itself - a blessing because it allows me the freedom to complete my work on my schedule, and a curse because it allows me to put other things before school work and procrastinate to get certain items done.  I'm really going to value this degree when I get it and I can't wait to start the next journey in to graduate school.

I wanted to celebrate this milestone in my life with some new pictures.  I haven't had professional pictures taken since our wedding over 8 years ago, and pictures by myself since my senior year in high school.  I've been following (read: stalking) a local photographer, Amanda Reed Photography, and I just had to have her take some fantastic pictures for me.  And she did not disappoint!  I had an idea in mind for the perfect picture to fit my personality, and she completely delivered my vision.

I hand-made the tutu, and the colors are like cotton candy.  I wanted the picture to be fun, flirty, carefree, and innocent, and she captured that image straight from my thoughts.  We may have ruined a pair of white leggings in the process, but it's all for a good shot!  I had the best time shooting with her.  It didn't feel staged or posed.  It felt like an old friend was talking with me, and I felt more comfortable than I ever thought I could taking photographs.  In addition to the tutu pictures, she took pictures of the hubs and I sporting our WVU gear and another single of me showcasing my best feature - my eyes!  My parents thought these were the best pictures of me EVER.  Amanda really knows how to pull out the natural beauty of her subject and the environment around them.  I can't wait to see the rest of the photographs, and I know who my go-to photographer will be from now on!

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."  Until recently, I didn't carry my beautiful with me.  I didn't see that in myself.  But now I know that beauty is not only on the outside, but on the inside as well.  I know my inside beauty shines out, and I'm finding my outer beauty on this lifestyle journey.  We are all beautiful and unique, and this is what makes us special!

Mardi Gras, Football, and Laryngitis...

Ok, so I’ve been a total blog slacker lately, but it’s not like I don’t have a ton of excuses why.  I could say that I was sick, or that we’ve traveled a lot, or that schoolwork is really intense this semester, but none of those excuses are good enough.  I just haven’t made time for my blog or myself much lately.  So, this may be a long-winded blog (or blogs), but at least I’m updating.

Since my last blog, we have traveled to our first WVU game of the season.  In case you didn’t know, in this family we bleed gold and blue.  We traveled to Huntington, WV to see the Mountaineers take on the Thundering Herd, and I have to say that the last m8 minutes of the game were great!  (The other minutes – not so much!)  Here is a picture of me supporting the ‘Eers!

The best part of the trip was the little mini vacation we had at the new Mardi Gras Resort and Casino in Cross Lanes.  The hotel is pretty fabulous, and we got a really great rate for the football game.  The bed was like a cloud and you just melted in to it.  It was so hard to get up in the morning, so we just lounged all day.  The room was large and had some great amenities.

The lobby is pristine, beautiful, and full of bright colors.  This hotel is completely brand new, so it still had the new, clean smell associated with it.  OH, AND IT’S COMPLETELY NON-SMOKING – EVEN THE CASINO.  In case you can’t tell, I LOVE this aspect of the property.  There was a salt-water pool and hot tub, and the padded loungers were great to relax the day away.

I’m gonna let you know that I am no good at the gambling.  In fact, my allotted $5 gambling money went faster than I could read this blog.  And I even played penny slots!  I’m horrible with those things, but it was a fun experience.

During our stay, I will say that we fell off of the diet and exercise bandwagon.  We ate very unhealthy, and I definitely could tell a huge difference in the way I felt.   I felt very lazy and lethargic, and I could feel how heavy the food was.  Although it was extremely tasty, I couldn’t eat any more than half of any meal we consumed.  I know that my body was adjusting to the new diet and exercise plan, and this trip set us back on our progress.

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from David Viscott: “You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.”

Another week DOWN...

So, I wanted to start this post off with a picture showing some progress.  Those of you that are my FaceBook friends will have already seen this picture, but I'm too happy not to share it on my blog.  This past Friday was "Show Your Colors Day" to show support for your favorite football team.  So I donned my favorite WVU shirt and comfy denim capris to show my love for my team.  When I put on my capris, I noticed that they weren't as snug as they used to be - actually they weren't snug at all.  I was so excited that I woke my hubby up on his day off just to show him!  Here is how big these capris actually were (sorry for the crappy mirror pic):

Oh yes, I was so very excited.  So the next day, I decide to try a pair of capris that hadn't fit in over TWO YEARS!  And they fit perfectly fine, even with a little wiggle room.  (Sorry, no pictures of these pants)  So I knew I might be trying my luck, but yesterday I decided to try on a pair of capris that I bought a couple of years ago.  This was a pair of capris that I purchased with the attitude of "I'll be able to wear these next summer", but next summer never came.  I knew that they weren't going to fit - they hadn't fit since I purchased them, and I knew that it would be another summer before I could really get in to them.  BUT OH NO, I proved myself wrong.  They fit perfectly fine - not tight, not loose - just right!  These pants were TWO SIZES SMALLER than I normally wear.  I'm getting closer to the non-plus size clothing selections by the day!  Although, I know it will take a while before I actually reach that goal.

Last night, I decided that I was going to measure my waist and compare it to my Transform Your Body Challenge waist measurement.  So I gather up my tape measure and wrap it around.  WAIT, what is that?!?  A three inch deficit in just one week?!?  I just couldn't believe this, so I ask for expert advice - a consult with the hubby.  YES, it's confirmed - 3 inches LOST!  Oh what a small victory so far!

Exciting, I know!  So now I'm going to share two recipes that I created out of one meat purchase.  We are meat-a-vores, so this recipe uses beef.  However, you could recreate the same recipe with chicken or pork.

I started out by making a pot roast in the crock pot.  I cut off all the outside fat pieces and seasoned it up using Salt-Free Mrs. Dash, fresh minced garlic, and fresh cracked black pepper.  I cut up onions, celery, and carrots to place below and on the sides of the roast.  I sprinkled the vegetables with fresh minced garlic and fresh cracked black pepper.  I added half a cup of water to the bottom just to ensure moistness of the meat.  The pot roast will cook low and slow for 10 hours - with a check halfway through.  At the halfway point, the roast had created a lot of juices around the meat and veggies.  I cut up 2 red potatoes and placed it around the meat.  The potatoes will soak up some of those juices, so add a half/whole cup of water to ensure the meal stays moist for the remainder of the cooking process.  I think I should have taken a picture of the hubby's plate, since he eats the veggies from the roast.  At the end of the cooking process, this is what my plate looked like:

So, the old me would have had that plate loaded up.  But the new me knows about portion control, and I was actually quite full after this meal.  So there was some pot roast leftover, so I saved it for a tasty leftover recipe - Beef enchiladas!  Basically this meal contains several leftover ingredients.

In a pan, I added some olive oil to start sauteeing black beans and leftover brown rice.  I chopped up the leftover pot roast and added it to the bean and rice mixture.  Once the contents were warmed through, I added 1 packed of reduced sodium taco seasoning and the recommended water.  One the seasoning and water were cooked in to the mixture, I took it off the heat to cool down.  (This was a meal I prepped before we went to the gym, and heated up once we got home).  So the meat mixture looks like this:

So after the meat mixture cools, I spoon it in to whole wheat tortilla shells.  I made 6 beef enchiladas, because we are usually very hungry after a workout - but I knew we would have leftovers for lunch the next day.  There was enough of the meat mixture left for probably 2 or 3 more enchiladas, so you could always save the leftovers for another quick lunch.  So this is what the meal looked like before I put it in the fridge - fully prepped!  (The enchiladas with toothpicks have some leftover onions - from the roast - for the hubby)

Once we returned from the gym, starved as always, I put the sauce and cheese on top of the enchiladas and put them in the oven - 400 degrees for 20 minutes just to heat through.  Just enough time to shower and prepare for bed!  So this is the finished product:

This meal was very filling - one enchilada is a very satisfying serving.  I couldn't eat any more after that.  The leftovers were great for lunch the next day too!

Until next time, I leave you with a quote from an unknown author: "If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution."  Man, I wish I would have found this years ago!  It really gives you a new take on the term "comfort food".