The new blog!

It is up and supposed to be private. It is still in the works. If you still can't see it, leave a comment with your blogger e-mail address so I can send you an invite. Eventually it won't be private but for now I need it to be.

http://spoonfulsofsugar-ashley.blogspot.com/

HELP for my new blog

I have my new blog but since it has been so long and blogger has completely changed everything around on me, I am so lost as far as the design. I am not able to pay anyone right now but if any of you design savvy people could help me out, I would appreciate it SO much. Right now I just have a template that I am using for the background and header. The background is chopping itself up and the header is off to one side. Yes, I am having some MAJOR issues. ;)

Changes

So much has changed in the last few months and I don't even know where to begin.
I have not posted because of several reasons. I always want to use discernment and discretion in what I post. I love the blogging world but there are many things that DO NOT need to be put on on the world wide web for anyone and their mother to read.
Some of my few readers may know what is going on with me but for the rest of you, just know that I am OK. I have gone through the storm and come out on the other side, much healthier, happier and safer than I have felt in a long time. While some may be overly willing to share their opinion on my personal life, just know that I have made the best decision for myself spiritually, mentally and emotionally. I have an absolute peace about my decision but the road to healing is long and bumpy. It's going to be an interesting ride but I am game for this road trip.
I will be coming out with a new blog and most likely will be making it private to start out with. If you would like to read it, just leave a comment and let me know.

My Dinner Creation (which needs a recipe title)

Thanks to my migraine on Sunday, nothing sounded REALLY good. And the one thing that I wanted was something that I had never cooked before and was just a concoction that I came up with based off of a dish from a local restaurant. But it turned out delicious! By the way, this dish needs a name. Help?!

2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp of Italian dressing on each piece of chicken
Red bell peppers, sliced
Green bell peppers, sliced
Cheese (I used what we had on hand, a mozzarella/cheddar blend)
onions, sliced
Olive Oil
Mashed potatoes - I used red potatoes and made it from scratch. I have no recipe, I just make it. I am sure that is no help to you. ;)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on aluminum foil, add italian dressing and peppers. Cook for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Heat up olive oil and caramelize the onion slices.
Top chicken with onions and cheese. Leave the chicken in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Prepare mashed potatoes as you wish. I added lots of butter and a touch of cheese.
Serve the chicken on top of the mashed potatoes. Delicious!

Dear Shirley Temple

My Keeping It Off status for this week: -4lbs

I still haven't exercised any out of the norm. Horrible, I know. Still little to no red meat in my diet. And I ate a lot of food the 24 hours that I was at my family reunion. It's probably a good thing that I wasn't able to go for the whole week. ;)

My goals for this week:
- Walk 4 days at least 1 mile
- Eat more vegetables
- Replace one meal a day with my protein shake. This is going to require me actually eating more than 2 meals a day. I haven't been eating breakfast. I have been eating lunch and dinner in smaller proportions with 1-2 snacks of fruits or something low cal.

Saturday I came home from my family reunion with a headache which turned into a full fledged migraine yesterday morning. I spent most of the day being way too lazy and watching movies or reading. I pulled out some of my Shirley Temple DVDs and watched these.

 and I started watching this one before heading to my parent's house for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, my laziness yesterday made sleeping last night next to impossible. I didn't fall asleep until after 4am. Thankfully, my head is feeling better today and all I seem to have is a lingering dull ache.
Did you watch Shirley Temple growing up? What are some of your favorite Shirley Temple movies? If you didn't what movies did you watch over and over again?

Weight Loss

In the 5ish weeks that I was working in Alabama, I went from weighing 172lbs to 150 on the dot. I wasn't trying to lose weight, nor was I expecting the number to be that large. Here is what I am assuming assisted that weight loss.
- The days were beyond hot and in order to not pass out, I consumed way more water than I normally would. I don't like water. At all. Crystal Light is my hero.
- While the first week or so I was in the office, the last few weeks I was out in the warehouse working on the line. My body actually produced sweat. Ha. For those of you who don't know me well, when I was struggling with my migraines I was put on topomax. While it worked wonders for the migraines, it messed up my body's ability to produce sweat properly. My neurologist took me off of the medicine thinking that I would start sweating again. But 5 or so years later, I still struggle to break a sweat. Not so much in that warehouse. Never thought you'd see someone happy about sweating, right? ;) Sweating mixed in with remaining physically active at work seemed to help a lot.
- I cut red meat out of my diet about a month ago. I am not super strict about it and it is something I just ended up doing without any real intentions. I prefer chicken and fish anyway. I am a fan of seafood of all sorts. Ok, maybe not oysters. So it really wasn't that big of a deal. But it cut a lot of fatty meat out of my diet. And eliminated the urge to just "drive thru" and grab a burger. Works for me!
- I usually had a light breakfast, a snack at break at 9, a decent sized lunch, a snack on break at 3 and IF I ate dinner, then it would be a light dinner. A lot of days I came home exhausted and went straight to sleep after showering. But if I did eat dinner, I made sure that I had something light and it usually consisted of lots of veggies.

Losing weight is great but obviously doesn't serve a purpose if I can't keep it off. I have some ideas for keeping the weight off and hopefully losing more, but I would love some suggestions and ideas. What is your "ideal" weight? I thought I would like to get down to 125-130 but honestly, I feel SO good health wise. And for the first time in a long time I actually feel confident in myself and comfortable with my body. So my new goal may just be toning up and keep it at this weight.

Moving, Massages, and My Heart

Moving

Rachel and Heather are moved into their apartment for the most part. Yes, Rachel and Heather. I have moved back home to Jackson. I have waited a week to decided what I wanted to reveal on here. While still using discretion, I feel comfortable enough sharing the basics of what happened. I was fired from Patriot Environmental. Yes, I know how awful that sounds but I can honestly say that I did nothing wrong and I was released unjustly. A couple of weeks ago there was a sexual harassment issue at work. I was the victim and the man who was causing the problem was fired. Unfortunately, the management felt that in order to "avoid future performance issues among the crew" that I could not be a part of their team. I was given no warning and no opportunity to switch to another position (where I wouldn't be the only female). So last Tuesday I was "released" from Patriot. I have struggled with the situation. I feel cheated and hate how unfairness of the whole situation. But I am resting in the fact that I, personally, didn't do anything to justify being fired and that God has a plan for me.
I just hate the limbo phase that I am in, with no potential jobs. At the same time, I am exhausted from working 5 weeks of 12 hours days with only 3 days off. God's timing is not my own.

Massages

My days off were originally scheduled for yesterday and today. As soon as I found out what my days off would be, my mom set up a one hour massage and an adjustment at the chiropractor for me. After losing my job, I thought I would cancel my appointments. Thankfully, we still had the money set aside for the appointments and T told me to keep the appointments. I honestly needed them. Not only physically but emotionally and mentally. It was a little bit of heaven and I feel rejuvenated and ready to face whatever comes next. I have only had one other massage before and it was a 30 minute free massage. The hour was SO worth it! I had no idea. But I definitely won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

My Heart

The one good side I have seen out of being "sent" home is that I get some much needed time with the hubby. :) Yesterday we had a date day and just spent time enjoying each others company. After my appointments we ran some errands. Before it would have just felt monotonous and part of the everyday routine but it was good. He even took me to the fruit stand, checked for cut open watermelon before I got out of the car and did not complain about fruits and veggies for a single second. It was a miracle. ;) We ate dinner at Soul Shine Pizza and created our own pizza. Wheat crust, marinara sauce, crawfish, sauteed onions, and green bell peppers. We created a crawfish etouffee pizza. SO delicious! We had planned on going to see the movie Killers but we still had a few hours to kill before it started. We talked about going home but I knew that if I went home I wouldn't want to get back out to go to the movie, so T suggested that we go to the Renaissance shopping center. He took me to Barnes and Noble and let me sit and read for almost an hour. It was so sweet and relaxing. He went and looked at car books. Of course. ;) We walked around window shopping a bit, got a waffle bowl of ice cream to share then headed to the movie. The movie was pretty cute. I love Katherine Heigl and I definitely liked Ashton Kutcher in this movie. Usually his characters get on my nerves. Just keeping it real!
It is nice to sleep in and not set an alarm clock but I wake up between 4:30-5 every morning like clockwork.I am usually able to fall back asleep around 6 and can sleep for a couple hours longer. It also never fails that I am ready for bed when the sun goes down.

Later this week: Weight loss, keeping it off and good eats!

Has it really been a month?

I've been working in Alabama for a month now. Time seems to have flown by but I am sure that has to do with the fact that I am working 12 hours a day and have only had 3 full days off since I got here.
I miss blogging so much! I try to at least read some blogs but I have not commented faithfully at all. Thankfully, Honey(Heather) brought her laptop down here with her and she is sweet enough to share it with me. That's right. 3 Clegg girls all working down in Mobile together. :) Our town home will be ready this coming Friday and I am SO beyond excited about not living in a hotel.
T has been able to come down here to visit twice and I am so thankful that on his days off that he is willing to drive 4 hours to be with me, even when I still have to work. Those are precious moments that I absolutely cherish. I asked to have this upcoming weekend off so that I could go home and move some things back for our apartment but it was not approved. I haven't been able to go home since I got here and I am having withdrawals. I miss T, my family and my friends but I know that this is temporary(even though it is a long term temporary). Hopefully there will be some normalcy in my schedule and routine once we move into the apartment.
Some things I appreciate:
- T. He is so sweet and so supportive. This is by no means easy but we both know it is necessary. He is forever patient. He had about an hour to teach me to drive Heather's standard car and, though I am by no means good at it, I did it!
- My job and work family. This job has and will enable us to not struggle so much financially. If you have been around this blog for any amount of time, with both of us in college and working average paying jobs while in school, money has been a serious issue. My first paycheck was for a week and a half and, basically, equalled what T and I were making together in a month at home. I still can't even wrap my mind around it. But I am very grateful and blessed.
- My parents and siblings. My whole family was together on the 4th of July since I was graced with having the day off thanks to watermelon. :o) Then my mom came back and spent some time with us "big girls". More moments I cherish. My sisters, Rachel and Honey, are an ultimate support system. Rachel and I work the same shift but on completely different areas of the site and she is still living with family friends while I am at a hotel. Heather is working night shift so we only catch little moments together every once in a while. Despite not seeing them consistently, I am so grateful to have them here with me.
- Jade. After working 12 hours with all men, it is SO nice to have a female to hang out with after work. I met Jade through her brother, who works with me in the Boom Repair Shop, and we instantly hit it off. She works in the office for one of the subcontractors and she is basically the only female with that company. We are both starved for female companionship. ;) 

Some things I am looking forward to:
- Moving into our apartment
- A trip home, whenever that may be.
- Getting into a routine.
- Cooking, blogging, and making the most of my evenings.
- Getting a DVR. :) I have cable in the hotel but with our crazy schedules we can't really watch any shows consistently. I look forward to being spoiled and having it on hand again.
- Buying a brand new mattress and bedroom furniture for the bedroom that Honey and I will share.
- Having my dog Lady here with us once we're in the apartment. T and I decided that Lady should come stay with me so I can have some "company". He will be keeping Coach with him in Mississippi. Coach doesn't adapt to new surroundings as easily as Lady does and he enjoys the yard and being able to run free. So even though Coach is "my" baby, he will be staying at home with T and Lady will be coming here.
- Mani and Pedi with Jade sometime this week.

In case you hadn't heard...

I got a full-time job. Wednesday afternoon I got a phone call asking me to be in Mobile, AL ready to work at 6am Thursday morning. I packed up a suitcase and started the 3.5 hour trip. Since then I have worked 3 12 hour days. Basically all I have done in the evenings is come home and sleep. It is exhausting but I really love my job. The only thing that would make it better is if Trevor was here. I hate being away from him.

I am working for Patriot Environmental Services as an Administrative Assistant/Data Entry Specialist. It is not a job working in drafting like I had wanted but the pay is excellent with lots of overtime. It is not permanent but could last up to 2 years, depending on how long it takes to stop the oil spill in the gulf and get it cleaned up.

Right now, my sister, Rachel, and I are staying with a family but after my first paycheck I will probably move into an extended stay hotel. We thought about renting and apartment but since I don't know how long I will be here and there is a possibility of transfer, I didn't want to commit to a lease.

The last few days at work have been a bunch of red tape and preparation for the President to come here on Monday. The Secret Service have been canvasing the Theodore Staging Areas(where the cleanup is being based from) and changing things around. Tomorrow will be filled with a lot of last minute details to get things fully prepped for his visit. Monday should be interesting. I get paid to hang out with the President of the United States. Nice, huh? :)

One of the Boom Repairmen that work in my department brought a watermelon into work. I didn't realize it until I walked out of my office and saw several of the guys eating. Not good. I had an instant reaction. The parametics hooked me up with a double dose of benadryl shot into my upper left arm. Needless to say, I was very sleepy. Patriot had paid for a room at the Holiday Inn that was empty so they took me there and let me sleep for 4 hours and then I went right back to work. I feel fine now. Seeing as how this is summer in the south, I will probably have a few more encounters before summer is over. The main parametic said that since this allergy has progressively gotten worse and it isn't just an injestion allergy(I don't have to eat it. If I am around it or within smelling range, my throat swells up, I start shaking and my face starts itching), it will probably get to a point where it will be life threatening to be around watermelon.  Lovely. He said that I should consider getting an epi pen in a few years but for now benadryl should work.

I am sorry that I didn't get to finish the Disney Blog Carnival but I will probably put up the posts and link up later once I am home and have my laptop/access to pictures. Right now I am on Rachel's desktop.

It's almost 9pm and way past bedtime. 4am comes awfully early. Hopefully I can finish catching up on blogs soon. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Disney Blog Carnival: Food

Thanks for doing this blog hop Jaci - I am loving it!
It's Day 3 of the Disney Blog Carnival and we are talking about FOOD!
Considering it is one of my favorite things, Disney or not, I can't believe how few pictures I have. That is definitely something I will work on for future trips.

Here is a picture of T and I on our trip February 2010. Please ignore all of the empty dishes in front of us. This picture was taken at Tony's Town Square Restaurant. It was our last day of our trip and our first time to eat at this restaurant. Lots of good memories!

The next restaurant is one of our favorites - the 50s Prime Time Cafe.  We love this restaurant and have gone many, many times. The theming is amazing, the service is great(especially if you like sarcastic "aunts" and "uncles" telling you to mind your Ps and Qs at the dinner table) and the food is excellent. These pictures were taken on our honeymoon, March 2008.

We had our own personal tour guide for parts of our honeymoon in the form of one of my dearest friends and sorority sister, Ila.

When my family came to visit October 2008, we went to the Hoop De Due Revue on the Dining Plan. It was loved by all of us and we plan to go back. The entertainment is great for all ages and the food was delicious and all you can eat.

The only character meal I have ever done was the Chrystal Palace with my family(October 2008). It was buffet style so we all got our fill of food and the characters came around multiple times so we never missed a shot with any of them.Unfortunately all of those pictures are on my mom's computer.


Here is an part of an interview I did with Mommy Mouseketeer, a great source for all things Disney, regarding Disney Dining.

Name your favorite restaurants:

I am going to list both Quick Service(QS) and Table Service(TS) because I know that few people can afford all table service meals on their magical vacation. :)

Magic Kingdom: QS - Pinocchio's Village Haus (great theming, variety of food for any tastes), TS - Liberty Tree Tavern or Chrystal Palace (amazing buffet!)
Disney Hollywood Studios: QS - Sunset Market Ranch (ok, I might be slightly biased since I worked here part of the time I was at WDW - but it has a nice variety of food) or ABC Commissary (indoor quick service), TS - 50's Prime Time Cafe (I adore the theming here and the food was always delicious!)
Epcot: QS – Sunshine Seasons (great alternative to typical QS fair such as salads, rotisserie chicken, salmon and pork chops as well as vegetable sides), TS - Teppan Edo (marvelous Japanese food served hibachi style and sushi)
Animal Kingdom: QS - Flame Tree Barbeque, QS and TS - Yak and Yeti (this restaurant is divided into 2 parts, outdoor QS and indoor TS. Delicious Asian food)

Disney Blog Carnival: Rides

It's day 2 of Jaci's Disney Blog Carnival over at Me and My SoldierMan.
If you are just stopping in, check out my Day 1 post on the Disney Parks.

Disney Blog Carnival: Rides

I really wish I had the time to dig in my Disney treasure box and scan in some of our ride pictures. I guess that is a post for another day. We love the rides at Disney and have ridden almost every single one of them multiple times. One of the best things about the attractions at Disney - theming. I love going through the different queue lines and seeing all the time and effort that was put into the design. One of my favorites is one of the newer rides at Disney - Toy Story Midway Mania. If you haven't ridden it yet, it is a must! Everything is oversized so that you feel like you are a toy yourself. :)

Hollywood Tower of Terror - another great queue leading up a classic ride.

T's favorite ride: Rock N' Roller Coaster. Good queue line but I don't have many good pictures of it.

One of my favorite rides: The Great Movie Ride. I'm telling you, I seriously was born in the wrong time period.

A dying part of Disney is the Backlot Tour. Correct me if I am wrong but last I heard, when we were there in February, they said it would be closing and possibly reopening as a new attraction. Maybe Radiator Springs? If this ends up being true, I will miss Backlot but I am excited to see what they would replace it with.

Backlot Tour starts out with guests re-enacting some scenes from the movie Pearl Harbor. Yep, that is T and his buddy James. ;)

The tour runs through the back part of Hollywood Studios, which can only be accessed by guests through the Backlot Tour. Throughout the tram ride, you will see movie props(cars, planes, etc) and an interior view of the costuming department.

Near the end of the tour is Catastrophe Canyon. In this part of the tour they show you how they create special effects in "disaster" scenes.

The last "prop" that you see is Walt Disney's private plane. This is the plane that Walt and his team used to fly back and forth from California to Florida during the planning of Walt Disney World.

There are SO many great rides and attractions at Disney. It would take a post for each one to encompass everything about them. Perhaps that is a post series in and of itself. ;)

Disney Blog Carnival: Parks

Sweet Jaci over at Me and My Soldier Man is holding a Disney Blog Carnival this week. If you have been around here for any time you already know that is is easily one of my favorite subjects. I have entirely too many park pictures from Disney so for now I am sticking to honeymoon pictures. Don't ask me how but I don't think I have any pictures from Animal Kingdom from our honeymoon. We really didn't spend a whole lot of time there.

Entrance to Magic Kingdom on our first day in the parks. I don't even have to get into the square before I get goose bumps and giddy. =)

Me and my love

We didn't buy the bride and groom hats but we have the stereotypical picture...

But we also decided to change it up a bit. Ha, this picture is actually one of my all-time favorites.

Yes, Christmas all year round. :)

Parade time

Ferry ride back to the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Center)

I adore him!

Day Two was spent at Hollywood Studios

Strangely enough, most of the pictures we have of the two of us were taken during a little photoshoot on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset.

Us in a nutshell. Ha

T sticking his hand in the dog's nose.

Me inside of the dog's nose

Day Three - Epcot, Fantasmic and the Grand Floridian

This is my own personal picture of the pink monorail going through Epcot. It honestly gives me goosebumps. For those who are Disney Geeks, the pink and purple monorails were retired and parts were used to create a teal monorail after the July 5th, 2009 crash that killed Austin Wuennenberg, a 21 year old cast member who was piloting one of the monorails.

Lights, Motors, Action

LMA is one of T's favorite attractions and his buddy James is a trainer for cast members that work at LMA.

When T started working at Studios, he asked the security guard if he remember "arresting" someone a few months before. He remembered and teased T every time he saw him back stage.

Tram ride back to the parking lot.

That's all for Monday. Tune in Tuesday for Disney Blog Carnival: Rides!