Weekend Top 5 - Single Car Family

The Weekend Top 5 is back!!

Before I dive into my weekend reminiscing, let me just send out a warm thank you to everyone who read the first guest post that went up on Friday. We had almost 100 views, which is incredible. For anyone who was a first time reader, I hope you'll come back. For those of you who read somewhat regularly, I hope you enjoyed Jason's take on his favorite summertime song. We'll have more guest posts from Jason throughout the summer and I know that each of them will have just as good of a viewership.

Now, onto the TOP 5!

#5: One Car Family.
This really isn't a favorite thing about the weekend, but it's a big story for me nonetheless. A few weeks ago, Jason's car got hit. He wasn't in it. In fact, it was parked. But anyway, the door got messed up and so last Monday he took his car to the shop and was given a rental car. Friday, I took the rental car to work and was supposed to return it and pick up his car. Well, his car wasn't ready until the rental car place was closing, so I wasn't able to accomplish my task. So, Saturday morning I headed downtown and returned the rental car. I was worried I'd need some sort of paperwork or piece of info that I didn't have, but luckily the return went off without a hitch. Enterprise took me to the body shop and dropped me off. I was in my workout clothes and ready to pick up Dora the Explorer (yes, that's what I lovingly named Jason's car when we were dating), head to the gym, and get my Saturday-o-errands started. But guess what? The body shop was closed. So of course I called Jason crying my eyes out (I'm one of those awkward people who cries when I get really mad or frustrated), because I was stranded downtown at a deserted body shop. Poor Jason had to take his lunch break at 10:00 in the morning, rush downtown, and save me from the situation. So, on a weekend when Jason worked both Saturday and Sunday, we had one car. I drove The Summit a lot this weekend. There's always a silver lining, and this time it was the fact that I got to spend more time with Jason on a weekend that I wasn't going to get to spend much time with him.

#4: 24 Day Challenge Ends.
Today is the last day of the 24DC. I know that's not technically the weekend, but this was the last weekend doing the challenge. So far, I feel great. I'll measure tomorrow, but I do know that I've lost 6lbs, which is more than I've been able to lose in a month in a LONG time. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to jump start their weight loss. I'll continue eating the same, and I really like the Spark energy drinks and the meal replacement drinks. I'm planning on keeping those around.

#3: Flatbreads.
I'm obsessed with homemade flatbreads right now. I've basically got it down to an art.

Here's how I make them:

BBQ Chicken Flatbread

Yields: 1 Serving
Ingredients

• Flatout Spinach Flatbread
• BBQ Sauce
• 3 oz. cooked chicken, diced
• About 1/4 c. of shredded, reduced fat cheese

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray cooking spray on the foil.
3. Lay your flatbread on the foil and spray the top with a little bit of cookie spray.
4. Put 1-2 tbsp. of BBQ sauce on the flatbread and spread around.
5. Spread your chicken around on the flatbread. 
6. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You'll want the edges to almost look burned. That's how you know it's crispy. 
8. Enjoy! 

Sorry the picture is a little dark.

#2: House Hunters.
No, we're not going to be on the show, [yet] (I applied, although I really want to be on Property Brothers.).  Jason and I decided back in January that we're going to start looking for a house to buy in Birmingham around our one year anniversary. Well, Saturday marked our nine month anniversary, so that means only about three months until we get to start really house shopping!! I'm literally beside myself and my favorite pastime has become driving through neighborhoods to look at houses that are for sale. Yesterday, Jason and I drove around the Cahaba Heights area for about 45 minutes just looking. It's just really a lot of fun to dream together. We still have to figure out what kind of house we want and what part of town we want to live in, but the time to make all of these decisions is fast approaching and I couldn't be more excited!

#1: Welcome Home Lauren!
One of my best friends from college, Lauren, just moved back to Birmingham. I literally could not be more excited. Saturday night a group of us all met up at Jackson's to surprise her with a welcome home gathering (Jason was supposed to get a video of the surprise part on his phone but after the surprise ended, he realized he forgot to press record. Silly Jason). It was great to see her and other friends from college. We really have to get together like that more often. I am thrilled that Lauren is in Birmingham now and I can't wait to start getting together regularly...just like the ole days!

Pictures stolen used from Lauren's Instagram.

One last thing - 

If you're looking to make a delicious, healthy, cold treat this summer, look no further than right here. Saturday I made some chocolate strawberry popsicles at home.

Here's how:

Chocolate Strawberry Homemade Pops

Yields: 4 Popsicles
Ingredients

• 1 c. Light Chocolate Silk milk
• Handful of frozen sliced strawberries (make sure the buy the bag that has no sugar added)
• Popsicle molds (Target has them for $2.99 on the seasonal summer isle in the back)

Directions

1. Place strawberries in the molds.
2. Pour milk over strawberries.
3. Freeze overnight.
4. Enjoy!!!

Birthday Recap

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! I was so overwhelmed by the Facebook comments, Twitter @mentions, text messages, emails, and in-person friends who wished me a happy birthday. It was indeed a happy day. I'm so blessed.

Jason surprised me at work yesterday and took me to lunch. He showed up carrying pink impatiens and a birthday balloon.

Then, he whisked me away to Urban Cookhouse for lunch. While we were there, I reminded him that we ate there last year on my birthday too! I think it must become a tradition.

While we were at lunch, he went ahead and gave me my birthday present. He bought me beautiful diamond earrings from the same store that he bought my engagement ring. I'm telling you, that man needs a frequent buyer card at Helzberg Diamonds.

Best. Fiancé. Ever.

After lunch, we walked down to Savage's Bakery and Jason bought me a red velvet cupcake. It was the perfect amount of cake for my birthday. And it was magically delicious.

I went back to work and counted down the hours until I got to go to dinner. At 5:00, I battled the rain and Hwy. 280 traffic to get to Chuy's. Jason was already there so that he could get a table and we wouldn't have to wait.

We took full advantage of Chuy's nacho bar. For those of you who don't know, Chuy's offers a free nacho bar from 4:00-6:30 (or 7:00) on the weekdays. I could have honestly made a meal off of that...but of course I didn't. I ordered the Monday special, which was enchiladas blancas. Yummy...but I didn't even make a dent in my meal after the nacho-fest.

Friends started showing up around 6:00. I was so excited to celebrate with my friends. It's always fun when different groups come together and you get to fellowship with everyone. We ended up staying at Chuy's until almost 8:00. It was so fun just to sit and talk and laugh.

I can always count on Rachel to remember to take pictures on special occasions!

Again, I'm so blessed.

After dinner, Jason and I went back to my apartment just to hang out. My roommate and her fiancé are in grad school and they were busy writing papers. Props to them for sure...but Jason and I decided we don't miss college (or at least that part of college) one bit. To all of you in grad school: you are a more determined person than me...and smarter too!

This morning I decided it was time to get back on track. Time to stick to my rules and my plan. No more splurging in the name of birthday!

Breakfast: sliced strawberries and blueberries

Jason and I have small group tonight, so we'll have to eat a quick dinner before we head out the door this evening. I'm planning on making Caribbean chicken, so I'll have the recipe for that up tomorrow.

I am also going to try a recipe I saw on my favorite blog yesterday. Vanilla Avocado Soft Serve sounds like it would be right up my ally. I even sliced up and avocado this morning and put it into the freezer so that I come make this treat after small group tonight.

Well, until tomorrow, I'll press pause on my rambling.

Prayer focus of the day: Today I am praying for my sweet neighbor, Mr. Fritsch, who lives next door. His wife passed away this year after battling Alzheimer's disease for over three years. Will you join me in praying for him today?

Day 6: Downhill Slope ... & Cake

Well, here we are with just one day left of the modified GM's cleanse. I feel like it's been an uphill climb for the last six days, and now I'm on the downhill slope.

This morning I got up and cut up the biggest cucumber I've ever seen. I packed a snack box full of cucumbers, celery, and veggie hummus. With snacks and herbal tea in hand, I headed off to work.

Although I'm not a musician and I only sing sort of well in the shower, music is a big part of my life. It can honestly completely change my mood. It wakes me up on the five hour drive to Destin that I've recently been making frequently. It gives me strength to push through a good workout. It allows me to pour out my heart to God with words that I am not clever enough to come up with, but that I truly desire to express. It taps into emotions that I'm feeling, whether I'm mad or sad or hurt or excited. And honestly, it sets the tone for my day.

I'm a big fan of shuffle. There are very rare occasions when I select a specific artist or album that I want to listen to, especially on my drive to work. It's kind of like a little surprise every three or four minutes, and it just makes life more interesting. Whenever I get a "good shuffle" in the morning, I know I'm going to have a good day. This morning was one of those times.

Can you guess what time I have to be at work?

I have time for about four songs on my way to work. And these four songs just made my day brighter. Jason has been gone for eight days, and I really miss him. I was overly excited that our song (Goodnight Moon by Go Radio) came on right as I was turning onto the exit for work. I try not to listen to that song a lot because I don't want it to get it old, but today was definitely a day I decided to sing along!

When I got to work I headed downstairs to fix my water and prepare my cucumber for breakfast.

Nothing exciting...just cucumbers.

It's strange how I've always boxed in certain foods as "breakfast foods" and I get so upset when I'm out of boiled eggs, oats, cottage cheese, or yogurt (my usual rotation of breakfast options). Usually when this happens, I just throw in the towel and head to McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin. Now, due to these veggie days, I know that I can eat healthy at breakfast even I only have lunch/dinner foods around. Now the Egg McMuffin can be something I choose to get on a day that I'm wanting to treat myself to something a little less healthy, rather than get it out of "necessity".

Over the last six days, I've had to withstand a lot of temptation. There's been an invite to Pinkberry, which is probably my favorite yogurt shop. I've had 64 K-Cups delivered to my apartment. My roomie and her fiancé made chocolate chip cookies one night. My roomie and her fiancé made curry one night. My roomie and her fiancé made Mexican food one night (okay, basically I live with someone not doing a cleanse, which is okay, but it's been hard). We went to Rojo yesterday for lunch. Each of those things have come and gone though. If I just got through that meal, it was over and I'd made it through. Then, we had a wedding shower at work. The leftover cake has been sitting in the kitchen and it's literally torture. Today this happened: 

The first thing that went through my mind was Matthew 6:23.
Maybe a little dramatic, but it was such a temptation...all..day...long.

I've always identified with this little guy, but thanks to self-control that can literally only be from God, I have not even tasted the cake!

Source

I just love that. That literally describes my relationship with "dieting" and food perfectly.

Today for lunch I met up with two friends from the Children's Homes. We decided to go to Moe's because they have Thank You Thursday. I'd never heard of such a thing, but I quickly learned that it means you can buy one meal and get the second for $2.99 and you get two large drinks. Awesome deal! I opted for the Alfredo Garcia Streaker, which means a chicken fajita with no tortillas. I went without cheese and only got veggies. 

Fajita chicken + grilled onioins + green peppers + cucumbers +
pico de gallo + shredded lettuce + corn pico = delicious!

Needless to say, real food tastes amazing. But it was also super high in calories. Probably not the smartest idea for a cleanse, but I'd only had 25 calories so far today. I'd say with the taste, price, and fellowship, it was totally worth it! It's also awesome that I was able to meet friends for lunch without going off the cleanse.


As soon as I got home from work I hit the ground running heating up leftover chicken and squash and making my soup. Let's just say I had to run the dishwasher and our entire dish drying rack is now full. 

Here's my dinner:

Dinner:
About 6 oz. leftover crockpot chicken
About 4 c. leftover zucchini and yellow squash
Salsa

I also got tired of the Hunger Games cup and I found this lovely cup in the back of my cabinet. Roll Tide.

So, here are a few shots of the process of making the soup:

Cabbage, chopped onions, Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix, celery, diced tomatoes

And here's the finished product:

Soup Recipe:
1 Head of cabbage
1 Onions chopped
Celery chopped (I used my leftovers from veggie days)
2 Cans plain diced tomatoes, no salt added
2 Packets Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix
9 c. Water
Bring to a boil and stir frequently.

After dinner I headed to the Summit to meet a friend I was buying a Kindle from. I'm so excited to finally have some sort of digital reader.

Last, but certainly not least, it was time to pack! I'm leaving from work to go straight to Destin tomorrow. I had to store my soup and pack an ice chest to take fruit home.

Fruit on the left, soup on the right. What's up road trip?

I'm not used to packing food, so I hope this all goes well. It has to sit all day tomorrow at work and the 4.5 hour trip home.

As much as I'm ready for this cleanse to be over, I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about not having the strict food restrictions. I'm hoping and praying that I have an easy transition out of the cleanse and a seamless move into a healthier lifestyle.

Here is my calorie count for the day:

And now it's time to quit rambling and go pack my clothes...LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!