Home?

I must say that I miss my friends and family more than I thought I would. I thought that the excitement of a new job and new home would carry me through homesickness. I am excited and feel blessed to have the opportunity to teach, don't get me wrong, but the Ville does not feel like home yet (even though it is my birthplace). I catch myself looking for people I know and then realize the odds of that happening are slim to none. Hopefully once the boxes are all unpacked, the kitchen is done, schools starts, and I get into a routine Louisville will become more of our home than just the placed we moved to for jobs. I know this will take time, but that requires patience, which is something I don't always have.

On the bright side I was able to see some of my beautiful Northern Kentucky ladies today, oh and one very special little blue eyed boy :) Totally worth the trip of driving with crazy people, truck drivers racing each other at 70 mph, and then the out of town people who have no clue how to look at the speed limit signs, oh and construction. Gotta love construction.

Muah,
Alicia

Lessons from the Ville

I have learned some lessons my first week here in the Ville (if I offend anyone just know I was born here ;) )
1. It seems that a lot of Louisville drivers do not like to use turn signals when they cut you off, much less any other time.
2. Parking in one spot is optional.
3. "Excuse me" is not used when pretty much running someone over in an aisle or any other time.
4. Painting a ceiling without glasses is pretty dumb, plus you look like you have dandruff.
5.  Goetta has to be explained.
6. The Camry's GPS has issues. Good thing it's getting traded in and I get the Caddy :)
7. Gutting a kitchen is tiresome, but rewarding.
8. Soft Rabbit Brown has a purple tint to it. Who knew?
9. When there is a wildlife crossing sign they really mean it. Those geese take their time walking across the street. They are really cute though!
10. I miss my NKY peeps and am scared to do death to actually be teaching. Holy Cow!


-Ali

Next post should have some kitchen reno pics.

Progress!!! With Pics :)

The journey continues! So far I have been on this weight loss journey for over a year now. Although I am proud of myself for sticking to the logging, I know I need to step it up on the exercise end. I wanted to be under 200lbs by my birthday. My birthday is in 11 days and well, let's just say I revisited that goal. I've come to learn from all of this that what I want and what my body wants may be two different things. In the end I know that I will start this next decade way healthier than my last, or truly any decade I have lived through. Hope you all are eating and living a healthy and happy life!
-Ali
Beginning(Feb 2011)-April 2012

Water!

It's been a bit since I've posted. Life has been busy and hectic with my Mock Trial team competing at state. Rest assured though I have still been focusing on eating healthy. Recently I joined a challenge on www.myfitnesspal.com to lose 25 lbs by 6/17. The first week's challenge involved drinking water... and lots of it! So being the nerd I am, I downloaded a water tracking app on my phone. Not going to lie, it's pretty cool and makes it more of a game for me.
I am not a huge fan of water(and yes I know you need it to live) so at the beginning of this challenge it was really difficult for me. I am better during the week, but did give a great effort this weekend. After a week of this water challenge I lost weight! Yeah water! For now I am not bothered by drinking so much water and actually crave ice cold water-NO I AM NOT PREGNANT! ;)
-Ali

What a difference a year makes...

This week marks a year of my weight loss journey. At this time last year I was still reeling from the passing of my mother. Unfortunately my mother did not take care of herself. I did not want to be that person. Yes, she was thin, but not in a healthy way. Something snapped in me and I told myself that I had to do something about my health- my family, friends, and most importantly myself were worth it.
This journey from the beginning has been a rough one, but most weight loss journeys probably start out that way. My knees started to hurt, found out I had arthritis, then I developed bursitis and tendinitis in my right shoulder (some of the worst freaking pain I've ever had). Once that healed DJ and I were in a car accident. From this accident I gained a "lovely"(sarcasm) gynormous hematoma, which prevented me from working out for two weeks. Recently my right knee has been having a good ol time(again sarcasm) which prompted me to get a second opinion. Luckily I found out that I only have a little bit of arthritis and the cause of my pain is my kneecaps that are out of place due to my super tight Tbands. So off to PT I will go once more and if that doesn't work it may be time for surgery. Why do I tell you this? I tell you this because it should be a testament that no matter what is thrown your way you should not give up. Life is a b*tch sometimes, but how you handle yourself in times of sadness or pain reflects your true character. My old character would have given up a long time ago, but not the new me. I owe it to myself and others to be the best I can be. My health is a huge priority and so is yours. I wish I could say there is a magic pill to make the weight fall off, but alas there is not. You have to work hard, sacrifice, and make permanent changes. This not an easy task and I still struggle, but that's why it is a journey.
The beginning of this journey began with my weight at 254(highest at 265) and currently has me at 209.4(that .4 counts darn it!).Over this last year I have lost 45 pounds and gained a healthier me. I wish it were more, but I know that losing slowly is the best way to go(if you truly know me, you know patience is not always my thing). I still have about 44 pounds to go to get to my goal weight. Hopefully before this time next year I will be able to say that I am at my goal weight of 165 lbs. The pictures below show my journey from February 2011-February 2012. Thank you to everyone out there for their kind words of encouragement. Most of all I'd like to say thank you to my wonderful husband for all of your support.Much love!
-Ali

Almost a year...

I am coming up on a year of weight loss, among other losses. The spark that ignited my journey to be healthy was the death of my mother. My mother was beautiful, smart, and lovely, but she was not healthy. She was an alcoholic til the end and died due to stage four cirrhosis of the liver. Now, I do not drink much due to this factor, but I was still unhealthy. I was way overweight, my cholesterol out of control (partly due to the lovely genetics of my maternal side), and just unhappy with my health. Along the way my body has posed many daunting road blocks, arthritis in my knees, tendinitis and bursitis in my shoulder, a leg contusion from our recent car wreck (darn thing still won't go away), etc... Although all of these things and other smaller things like colds have happened, I have not stopped in my journey. I will not give up on my family, friends, and most importantly myself. Once I hit my goal weight of 165, this journey will not end but continue as it is important to stick with a healthy life style. The one year mark of this journey will officially be 2/23/12. I will post progress pics then and will have a much happier blog :) Thank you to all of those that have supported me and will continue to support me. Most of all I would like to say thank you to my soul mate and best friend, DJ. I love you will all of my heart and could not have survived this year without you.
-Ali

Birthday Challenge-Onederland!

So I have about 90 days until my birthday (it's my 30th...). Can you hear the scary music? I can! Anyway, I have had and will have many goals on this journey. In the beginning it was just to lose weight, then it was to be fit, buy clothes in a smaller size, etc... I had wanted to lose all of my weight by the first anniversary of my mom's death (2/7/12), but that quickly became clear to me that it was not going to happen. So... I reevaluated my goals and decided that I wanted to start my 30s under 200 lbs. I have 13 weeks to go and weigh 211.2lbs.This will be my birthday present to myself. I will need to focus and work even harder to make sure it happens. Let's see if I make it!
-Ali

Oh how times have changed...

So ever since my mother passed away I have began a transformation of myself that I never thought possible. I have since lost 41 pounds, but even more shocking is that I have begun to cook... and I enjoy it. Now, my mother was a beyond awesome cook and I am sure she would be shocked, but pleased to know I am in the kitchen making yummy things. Where my mom used butter and sugar, I use sugar free items, turkey, and veggies to make low cal scrumptious food. My favorite so far is Chocolate Raspberry Flan. I got the recipe off of Kraft's website(see recipe below). Garnish with cool whip and some yummy raspberries, plus a nice cup of hot cocoa.  I hope you enjoy and remember this is a no guilt dessert!
-Ali

what you need

1-1/2

cups boiling water

1

pkg. (0.3 oz.) JELL-O Raspberry Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin

1/2

square BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate

1/2

cup JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows

3/4

cup thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping

1/4

cup fresh raspberries

make it

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix. Stir 2 min. or until completely dissolved; set aside. Place chocolate, marshmallows and COOL WHIP in medium microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended when stirred. Gradually add gelatin, beating with whisk after each addition until well blended.

POUR into 4 dessert dishes. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

TOP with berries just before serving.

kraft kitchens tips

SPECIAL EXTRA

Melt additional BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate; drizzle over chilled flan. Or, dust the raspberries with powdered sugar before using to garnish flan.

HOW TO PREPARE USING FROZEN COOL WHIP SUGAR FREE WHIPPED TOPPING

If the COOL WHIP is not thawed, you can still make this dessert without waiting. Just remove the frozen COOL WHIP from the tub and cut it in half using a sharp knife and a cutting board. Cut one of the halves into quarters. Use one of the quarters in the recipe and return the rest of the COOL WHIP to the refrigerator for another use. Increase microwave time to 2 min.

Updated Progress Pics

Hope everyone had a great holiday! I know that this time of year is when people make fitness/health resolutions. As lame-o as this may sound, don't call them resolutions, call them goals and you may find you are more likely to succeed. Also, do not set yourself up for failure. You will not be perfect, you will have days you eat like crap, and there will be days you should work out and don't find the time/energy, blah blah (insert excuse). I have been there, will still have those days, we all do. This has been a long journey, with many bumps in the road, but I know that I am healthier than I have ever been. If you have any questions, need motivation, just send me a message and I will be happy to help in any way I can. Last soap box message, please use myfitnesspal.com. This website is an awesome resource. Good luck!
Progress Pics 02/2011-12/31/2011(40 pounds down, about 49 pounds to go)

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