A through Z of Mi Casa


I was over at the ever-so-adorable Miss Carrie's Blog and decided to play along...

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A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: 76
B- My BEDROOM theme is: un-themed (to put it nicely)
C- The CAR in the driveway is: Lexus IS250
D- My DESK looks: tidy and organized like an ocd desk should be
E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: 6am
F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my hair
G- My GARAGE is filled with: car, rhino, holiday storage, freezer, camping stuff, yard stuff, tools
H- My HOME is: dirrrty (right now) and needs a good washin'
I- If you peeked INSIDE my bedroom you'd see: laundry piles and an unmade bed
J- My favorite JUICE is: cranberry, fo sho
K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: the fridge
L- The LAST person who visited my home was: my Dad
M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: my credit card bill, ugh.
N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: fun, silly, young
O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: water bottles, yogurt, jello, cottage cheese, leftovers, apples, spinach, peppers, tortillas, eggs, beer, butter, liquid vitamins, salad dressings, salsa 
P- My last house PARTY was: in April when my SoCal friends came to visit
Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheeses Sandwhiches
R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: the Family Room
S- The SHAMPOO brand I use is: John Frieda and Garnier
T- My largest TELEVISION is: 52 inch
U- UNDER my bed you will find: a stereo (that I saved up for when I was a teenager) and (at nighttime) my dog
V- The last time I VACUUMED was: Wednesday (I pulled out the couch and the end tables to vacuum under them... it had been a while. ick!)
W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: well, looking out the back window is my backyard down below, beautiful AZ mountains, in the distance the I-17 freeway, and at night, city lights far far away
X- I wish I had X-TRA: oooh, tough one... gonna go with kitchen. mine is too small for me.
Y- My YARD is: beautifully landscaped by the hubs and enjoyed by the kids and the dog
Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: usually 10ish, but lately it's been more like 830-9pm. weird.

ice cream social

When I was a little girl... Barbie Ice Cream Shoppe was my favorite thing to play with!

It made REAL Ice Cream!

The table and seats were cups to hold your ice cream. And the spoons were 'barstool seats'!

I guess it's always been a secret dream of mine to own an 'ice cream shoppe'...
it would have THIS bench...


and serve these yummies...
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images from weheartit.com


And before I go... a few more 'ice cream' inspired lovies...
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my friday. 5.21.10

6am

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630am
image courtesy of ellipticalequipment.org
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9am

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1230pm

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3pm

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4pm

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6pm

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8pm
Watching Movies at Night by ramyo.
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What does your friday look like?

shrinking saturday (inspired by jamie)

Okay, so I've totally shied away from making this post. But those of you who know me in real (every-day) life know that this new year (2010) has been all about health and fitness for me. And it's pretty much taken on a huge part of my life (this is where I say I'm sorry to the friends and family I don't see quite as much, since I'm always in the gym).  

This is the hubs and I (at my parents home) on New Years Eve.
12.31.2009 ... I am 29 years 4 months and 10 days old ... I am ((deep breath)) 198 pounds.
(Note to self, might delete that later)

THIS POST should explain my reasonings for making the decision to slim down. The cliff-notes really are this:
---> I'm turning 30 (in August) and I want to look good and feel good
---> Being this large is not healty, for any body, but especially for mine. Someone with scoliosis. Between 2008 and 2009 I had so many 'medical issues' that in one way or another could be linked to my disproportionate body weight. 
---> The constant eating (and drinking) was me NOT dealing with emotional issues. Not gaining control of my decisions and in turn being sad and depressed for a) being so large and b) being so passive. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that getting bigger was something that was 'happening to me' instead of taking the responsibility of 'doing it to myself'.

I decided to take control, and take responsibility. 

It wasn't easy. By no means was it easy.
I first consulted a nutritionist. We ran tests on what foods and how foods affected me. The first 6 weeks were rough. No carbs (like pastas and breads). No sugars (yeah, like chocolate and candy... Valentines Day sucked. lol) And for a period of time I had to limit my dairy, yikes! Lots of chicken. And even more vegetables (spinach, sweet and bell peppers, celery, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, etc.) Worst of all... I had  to give up my coffee creamer (filled with sugars) and drink coffee BLACK!! I know, yikes, right! (Funny enough, now I actually like it black. lol) But above all this... absolutely under no circumstances was I allowed to have 'fast food'. I became a hermit, not even allowed to go to a nice dinner. 
I know... it all sounds awful, right?
Here's the good news about it... I began cooking. Like, really cooking meals. I prepared meals ahead of time, I made my lunch every day. I proportioned my food as to not over-eat. Here is what was even better... the kids really enjoyed it. They actually helped prep dinner... and we sat down every night, together, at the table to eat dinner. The ever-so-picky hubs actually tried foods that he wouldn't because they were 'healthy which equals cardboard' to him. It was awesome! It still IS awesome!!

Along with eating right, I joined a Gym (well, both the hubs and I did). In the beginning, I really only focused on cardio (getting in 30-45 minutes a day, or sometimes only 3 days a week). Because my body was literally being 'shocked' with all this 'good clean food', I was tired, and sometimes emotional (and I didn't want to take on much more and burn myself out). Slowly, I started doing other things, like taking a Zumba class. 

Okay, drumroll.
After the initial 6 weeks I lost 30 pounds!!

After that, I signed up with a personal trainer (mister Dustin, 2 times a week)...
And I've lost an additional 7 pounds since then.
(sorrry, this is me this morn... i didn't get all foo-foo'ed for ya. lol)
I still have 21 pounds to go. 

Now, I'm in the gym 5-6 times a week. My self-esteem feels better, my confidence level, and my energy level... wow! Overall, I just feel better... I once read a book that said 'strengthen the body and the mind will follow'... it's super true. I feel well-balanced. That such a great feeling... and so far from the low and depressing place I was in being so heavy.

The suuuuuper-inspiring Danielle recommended The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
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and no joke... it is like the nutrition bible! It explains all the scientific schtuff about food (and how if affects and breaks down in your body)... it's all the stuff I've always wanted to know, and understand. Thankfully, it's not written in geek and I can totally follow it... it's my new bbff (book best friend foreva. hehe) Seriously, amazing stuff! It has changed the way my Entire Family looks at food. My little science dude is so interested in how foods are grown (the right and the wrong way) and how the foods that we 'think' are good for us aren't always (don't always believe the labels). But more importantly, this isn't a diet (I know, it says diet, but it's not)... it is a lifestyle change for the waaay better. And it just makes sense. It's easy and it's soooo good for you!!

Speaking of inspiring... my beautiful friend Jamie has begun a wonderful motivational program

See, Jamie has MS and you can read about her story HERE. It is so important to take care of our bodies (these are the only ones we get). Jamie's strength and determination has really inspired me and motivated me. Please consider donating to my lovely friend's cause...
and follow along with her Shrinking Saturdays (she is the originator, I just borrowed the name).

And please, feel free to ask any questions. I'd be more than happy to answer. I didn't expect to write this post. And I didn't expect it would be this long, or this personal, so please be considerate. 
Thank you to every one who has been supportive. Without it, I would not have come this far!
Love to you all!

JC = Jen Coen = Jimmy Choo ... right??


I think I've died and gone to shoe heaven!
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Mendez
Quito
Detroit
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I don't know how... exactly... I ended up at the Jimmy Choo website (it might have something to do with the ever-so-addicting Polyvore)... 
anywho...
I went to search one little pair of cute shoes and WHAM! 
I got sucked right in! Yep, mouth open, drooling on my desk, ready to max the cc. lol
I don't know what it is... about shoes... for me...
it's like a guilty pleasure, a dream and a reality, a wish and a want...
I love and lust after shoes... cute shoes... is that a bad thing?? hehe
Check out these celeb shoe closets (my dream... their reality)...
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And some great 'shoe'-inspired movies...





So what's your guilty pleasure??
hehe
Happy Friday!!
© something Big is coming...
Maira Gall