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!