What's in a Name

I happened to catch part of The Royal Wedding this morning...and I do mean happened upon it during my regular hour of GMA viewing (every morning between 7 and whenever I leave the house). I had two thoughts about the whole shebang; one Kate Middleton looked stunning. Her dress was perfect; timeless, modern, and so very very Princess Grace.
My second thought, and the more prevailing one, is that she is no longer Kate Middleton; she is now Catherine Windsor. And you could tell that going by Kate isn't a decision that she made in college or to reinvent herself; everyone GMA interviewed from her hometown said something along the lines of "Well Kate...or well Katherine..." and then they paused awkwardly and then sort of stumbled to start again. So they've called her one thing her whole life and now they have to call her something different.
This has actually bothered me since I heard on the radio several weeks ago that she would never be referred to as Kate again after she married William. Because obviously our situations are vastly different, but I too am a Kathryn that does not use my full name. Ever. It's on my name badge and business cards at work, but no one actually calls me that. In fact I can't remember that last time someone called me Kathryn. I guess I'm just sort of bothered that she can't go by the name of her choosing and I wonder how I'd feel if I suddenly had to go from Katie to Kathryn.

Oh and I did have one more though...When did Harry become the hot one?
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I Hate Headaches!

Things I Love Thursday is not happening tonight. I'm on day two of a wicked bad headache. I'm headed to be early and hoping it goes away.

Water for Elephants- The Movie

I went with a few of the ladies from my book club to see Water for Elephants this evening. I thought it was quite good. It wasn't an exact recreation of the book (I'm sure things got cut for times-sake), but it the story the movie told was equally captivating and compelling. The highlights of the movie for me were the gorgeous costuming, Cristoph Waltz's performance as the very charming but highly abusive August, and Robert Pattinson with a tan looking super cute.
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Tuesday: Weight Watchers Day

Starting Weight: 247.4
Weight Last Week: 228
Weight This Week: 229.4

I gained this week, not a lot...but more than I expected. I lost a lot last week, but this week was a food-filled mine field. It was BFFMandy's birthday, then a wedding, and Easter with my family. On one hand, I know that these are all just excuses for not staying on plan. On the other hand, it's really hard to bake cake or cupcakes for someone and then say "I'm not having any, it's not part of my lifesytle change." I mean really...so I'm never supposed to celebrate again?
As soon as I read that I wonder if maybe that mind set is part of the problem. I do my nest to be truthful when I write here. So I write how think, what I think (usually as I think it). If it's in my head and I type it... I don't delete and I rarely re-write, because I feel like that keeps me the most truthful. So I'm spilling my thoughts out and when I read them I back, I wonder...is that thought process-equating food and eating with celebration- is that one of my fundamental issues. Is that why these "diets" and "life-style changes" don't stick? Because if I'm honest there is a holiday, birthday, or other celebration every month of the year. So I try and track everything, even the chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes, and hope for no gain.
Any advice? How do you navigate a food-filled holiday in a healthy way?

The Monday Blues

It's always hard to get back to my usual weekly schedule following the weekends. I'm super sleepy, but I made a fabulous shirmp salad for dinner. Yummy!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a very happy holiday filled with family, friends, and food. I know I did. BFFMandy and I went to dinner at my parents; my Aunt Ellen, Uncle Dave, cousin Christine and her husband Michael were all also there. We had enough food to feed an army; smoked ham and turkey, whiskey sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, asparagus and mushroom tart, fruit salad, candied bacon and smokies, roasted beet and goat cheese salad, chocolate cupcakes, homemade cadbury eggs, cherry fluff dessert. It was so so so good and I have lots of pictures...which I will upload when I find my camera cord.
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Celebrations!

Today was my friend Christy's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and she looked absolutely stunning. I wish nothing but happiness and joy to Christy and her new husband Dan.
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Pumpkin Oatmeal

I always feel rushed in the mornings. This is partially due to my complete inability to drag myself from my warm cozy bed and partially it's due to the fact that there actually is not enough time in the morning. I love having hot breakfast in the morning, but usually due to the time crunch I just grab a banana or a string cheese or something else equally unfulfilling. Due to all my lack or time morning drama I am all about things that I can make in advance and re-heat. That's one of the reasons I love love love this oatmeal; it's warm and soft and pumpkin-y. I love it!

Pumpkin Oatmeal
Adapted from Aarti Party
1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin puree (not Pumpkin Pie filling)
2 cups water
2 cups unsweetened almond milk, or water

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal (I like Bob's Red Mill-Thick Rolled Oats)

1. In a large pot, combine the pumpkin puree, water, milk, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Bring to a boil.
2. Add the oatmeal. Turn the heat down and cook according to the instructions; mine usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Stir often...like really often...otherwise the pumpkin will burn. When the oatmeal is cooked remove from the heat.
3. Divide oatmeal between 5 containers and refrigerate.
4. Reheat in the microwave for 1:30 to 2:00 minutes. Add milk or cream (I love fat-free half & half) and sweetener (I use Splenda, but you could use sugar, honey, or maple syrup) to taste.
5. Enjoy a steaming bowl of yummy pumpkin-y oatmeal.

WW PointsPlus: 4 when plain, 5 with 3Tbsps fat free half and half. 
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Things I love Thursday

It's Things I love Thursday! Woohoo! My favorite thing about writing this post every week is that it means tomorrow is Friday and I am totally on board with that. Here's a smattering of things I'm really enjoying this week:

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I love this necklace. I probably wouldn't wear it cause I hate having stuff around my neck, but I think it's gorgeous and totally timely what with Earth Day being tomorrow.

How adorable is this coffee mug? I seem to have a collection of coffee mugs, I'm pretty sure that I even have one from the original Starbucks that is still in the box.

I am loving the trailer for the movie based on The Help. I loved the book, like really...stop reading what you're reading and go read this book instead...it's better...I promise. I also think the cast choices are perfect. I can't wait.



That's all for this evening. Goodnight
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Birthday Celebrations

Today was BFFMandy's birthday. I hope you had a fantabulous birthday, PIC.
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Tuesday: Weight Watchers Day

Last Week: 232.4
This Week: 228.0

Goodbye 230s! I lost 4.4 pounds this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know that's a ridiculous amount of exclamation points, but I'm so happy I could jump out of my skin. I felt a little disappointed when I gained last week, despite working out waaay more than usual, and then this week I didn't really work-out at all because of my knee. I wasn't really sure how my weigh-in would go, but I could not be happier. In other positive news, I am also down a dress size :0). And and and I made cupcakes tonight to celebrate BFFMandy's birthday tomorrow.
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Aches and Pains

My knee has been bothering me a lot lately (in case you missed the first 90,000 times I complained about it.) I finally went back to the running store where I got fitted for my shoes and asked them to check it out. They re-tested my gait in mt running shows and poked and prodded at my knee for a while. They finally surmised that it is an  issue with a muscle in my inner knee/upper thigh that is tight/bunching and causing the pain. The prescription: The Stick.

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This is an odd bendy little stick with what appear to be rubber shower curtain rings wrapped around it. The idea is to run it along the too tight/sore muscle to help massage it out. Also suggest were continued regular icing and ice massages. I'll try all of this and hopefully get back on track with C25K soon.

Relaxing Day

Today was another of those sort-of lazy Sundays. I went to the Central Florida Home Show with my family, it was very interesting...lots of interesting backyard and home decor ideas. Then I spent the afternoon napping and watching FoodTV with my Mom. Back to the daily grind tomorrow.
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Shopping Success!

The dress search has ended. I found a dress for my friend's upcoming wedding and a super cute fun girl's night party dress, at the mall today while shopping with my Mom and Aunt. I got shoes too; they're awesome and I have just enough time to break them in!
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About Today

I'm so glad it's officially the weekend! This week seemed super long and it was sort of a rough work week. I don't have anything earth-shattering to share (when do I ever), but I figured I'd just post a few of the things that got me through the day today:

I live near (as in located in the same city as) Busch Gardens. In the news today was this story of a cheetah cub abandoned by it's mother and a labrador puppy that are now BFFs. There were pictures in the paper today and my heart melted a little...ok a lot. It's a freaking adorable puppy and a baby cheetah! Check out the story at TBO.com

My first e-library book is in! Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I've heard fabulous things about this book. Now I just have to figure out how to get it loaded on to my Nook and I'll be good to go.

I have totally punked out on my runs the past couple of nights. I pulled/stretch/seriously jacked up the muscles/tendons/ligaments in my knee during my non-running workout on Monday. So to avoid further injury, I've been being super zloth like. I am going to get up and run tomorrow morning though.

That's all I got for tonight. See y'all on the flip side.
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So frustrating.

I don't know why I'm so tired. ARGH! I want to have more energy damn it! I refuse to be one of those people who's always bitching about how tired they are. I refuse! And I'm not even sure what that problem is become I'm sleeping all the freaking time, like at least seven hours a night so I just don't get it...

Book Club: Water for Elephants

I had my monthly book club meeting tonight. We were discussing Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This is the story of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth; and one of the greatest circus tragedies of all time.The story is told by ninety (or possibly ninety-three, he can't remember) year old, Jacob Jankowski who begins to recount the tale of his time with the show when a circus shows up down the street from his nursing home. The story that follows is fun, adventurous, romantic, sad, and even frightening.
I really enjoyed this book. It's incredibly visual and descriptive. I felt drawn into the story by Gruen's beautiful, yet not overly lengthy, descriptions of life surrounding the circus, traveling on the trains, working with the animals, the show itself. The descriptions are so vivid that they pull you further into the fantasy of the story and make the whole thing more realistic at the same time. 
I'd definitely recommend reading this book. In fact I'll probably read it again.
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Tuesday: Weight Watchers Day

Last Week: 231.2
This Week: 232.4

I'm sort of a grumpy Weight Watcher. I had a bit of a gain this week despite going to the gym all the days I was supposed to and even trying a few new things. I'm icing my knee and going to bed early; I have to get up and run in the morning.

After the Gym

I had a super long workout at the gym today. I am sort of starting to really like that loose sleepy totally relaxed feeling that sets in after a run or a tough work out.
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Busy Busy

Today was pretty jam packed. I went with a few friends to the Songkarn Festival 2011 at Wat Mongjolrata Temple, the festival celebrates the Thai New Year. It was very fun and ther was a lot of really good (but exceedingly spicy) foor. Also, some very weird food.
Then a trip to Wiregrass for continued errands and the grocery store. Now I'm working on finishing up my laundry. Back to the daily grind tomorrow.
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A Mostly Successful Day

BFFMandy and I ran errands I got around to our regular hijinks today. It was a good day, here's the break down:
Dress Shopping: I don't think I've mentioned that one of my work friends is getting married two weeks from today. I'm looking for a pretty party dress (it's cocktail-esque attire). We went to Nordstrom Rack where I had a dress for about five minutes. It was pretty; purple-y and sort of Grecian inspired, but it was too big so I guess that's a plus. I'm still sans party dress.
Whole Foods: Anytime I get to go to Whole Foods I consider it a success. I also consider it a success that I did nearly a weeks worth of grocery shopping (I still have some processed food buying to do) and I spent waay less than I anticipated.
Painting with a Twist: Super Fun Times! The painting is really pretty, but it was hard to follow the instructor tonight. I was pretty much 15 steps behind the whooole time, but the owners were really nice and let BFFMandy and I stay the extra little bit I needed to get finished.
Yogurtology: Trying out a new Froyo place. It was pretty good. I had Red Velvet and Chocolate Frosty, both were excellent.
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Dancing the Night Away...

Tonight was Girls Night Out. We went to Byblos Cafe for dinner (The food was an A-, the service was a D). Then we went gallivanting in South Tampa. We stopped in at MacDinton's to grab drinks, then went to the Dubliner for a hot minute, then wound up the night at Drynk which was fun and clubby then rowdy and over the top.

SideNote: I know this is going to post as 4/9, but I'm considering it my post for 4/8 beacause I haven't been to sleep yet.
Goodnight
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Things I love Thursday

Running was an epic fail tonight. It was my first try running outside and it didn't go well; I was having some pain in my arch/ankle before I even left the house and by the time I finished my "warm-up" walk I was starting to hurt in my knee, hip, and hamstring as well. I definitely need stick with the gym for a while longer before I attempt outside. The treadmill (as much as I hate it) keeps me honest and keeps me from giving up when the running gets difficult or I get winded. On a positive note, I was able to walk all 3.1 miles and I didn't keel over or die. so Yay me!
Here are some of the things I'm loving this week:

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For a person who doesn't like eggs very much, I'm really like egg-cessories lately. I'm sorry, I couldn't leave the lame pun alone. Anyway, how seriously cute is this egg holder? My refrigerator is definitely not organized enough to have something like this without all the eggs getting broken, but I can always dream that I'll have a fridge like Giada or Bobby Flay.

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I sort of have this fascination with office supplies. I was that weird kid who loved shopping for back-to-school supplies. I think this stapler is AWESOME. It's fun and kitschy and quirky, I adore it.

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It's Disney, but not. Mostly I just think it would be a cute decoration for Halloween.

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How much fun is this calendar? It's Legos people! Legos! Probably not real actual Lego-Brand Legos, but still super cute and fun.
Hope y'all are having a good week. Happy Friday Eve!
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Weight Watchers Day

Starting Weight: 247.4
Last Week: 233.4
This Week: 231.2

Y'all already know I'm a lazy blogger. I actually weighed in on Monday. I'm down 2.2 pounds this week! I feel like I'm getting better at living on WW. I'm having less trouble going out to eat and planning my meals is getting a lot easier. I'm also having some moderate success with C25K; as in I don't absolutely hate it just pretty much. I also tried out rock climbing this week and it was super fun.
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Falling Asleep

I'm writing this with my eyes half open. Tonight was indoor rock climbing; it was incredibly fun and difficult. And now I can barely keep my eyes open.

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My head feels like it's about to effing split open. On the bright side, I finished Water for Elephants today.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

I am officially counting today as a success. Despite the fact that I'm feeling sort of under the weather, I managed to get my errands done, plan this weeks menu, make Baked Oatmeal version 2, and make pancakes for dinner (I love breakfast for dinner!). Now I'm doing laundry and waiting for the Chopped Champions: Grand Finale. You always knew I was a whirlwind of mystery and excitement...right?

Adventures in Baking

I feel like I've been baking more than usual lately. I'm pretty sure it's partly due to stress and partly due to my innate need to feed people. I figured rather than a recipe tonight I'd tell y'all what's coming up soon:
1. Irish Carbomb Cupcake. Oh my God, y'all. These were so good. A triple dose of alcohol, some chocolate, and birthday candles.
2. Irish Soda Bread. (Are we sensing that I'm very behind?) The traditional recipe from my Mom.
3. Pistachio Cake. See that post here.
4. Banana Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Buttercream. Double Fail, not good.
5. Baked Oatmeal. Still tweaking the recipe, hopefully by the time I get around to posting this one it will be both super tasty and WW friendly.

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April Fool's!

I don't actually have a hoke or a prank, but I hope everyone had a good Friday!
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