Dear Nintendo DS

After being inspired by Alison’s “Dear …” facebook statuses…I wanted to write my own

Dear Nintendo DS,

We’ve come such a long way since the GameBoy of my youth. Even though I know you are not the latest model (DSi right Amanda?), I am in awe of your tiny little color screen and your semi-sophisticated video game graphics. You are far superior to the green screen with dark blue pictures that the GameBoy produced way back when I thought playing Tiny Toon Adventures was a good time.

You apparently offer me endless possibilities ….such as learning the Japanese language from the palm of my hand. Should I ever decide to go to Japan this could be super useful. I can learn to cook from master chefs (maybe), I can play bejeweled (this alone is reason to own you Nintendo DS), I can do crossword puzzles and word searches (which would save us money on newspapers and puzzle books), and I can play some game called BrainAge which apparently challenges my brain with memory and logic challenges to…well…tell me my BrainAge and prove to me how smart (or not smart) I am.

I think you would fit perfectly in the following places:
1. My desk drawer at work (you know – for”break time”)
2. My dash (seriously I would only play if I were the passenger – not while driving)
3. My nitestand (just in case I wake up at 2am jonesin to play a quick game of tetris – yeah that’s right tetris)
4. My purse (for when I’m most likely sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room or waiting for my husband to pump gas)

Nintendo DS, I don’t even know you but I think I love you.

In conclusion, you come in pink. You’re like perfect for me. Need I really say any more.

Love,
Nikki

PS If I get you – I will take such good care of you and not neglect you like most other new things I get and don’t care about a month later. Seriously. I promise.

Turkey Day Challenge

So I asked my husband for a topic suggestion for the blog since I haven't posted in over a month. Have you even noticed my absence? :)

He said - why don't you talk about the holidays and that big turkey you are going to cook -and then he then laughed... hahahaha...

Oh really? Is the thought of me cooking that funny? Who says I can't make a big turkey. I mean it's not like its the most talked about, stressed about, over contemplated dish of the all-American holiday we all love to celebrate. Oh wait. It is.

I realize some of you are scratching your heads and asking yourselves...has she really not ever cooked a turkey? You guys should talk to those of you that know me...who are like yeah...she's never gonna be able to cook a turkey.

I wouldn't say that I'm a terrible cook. I'm just not a very much into handling the carcass of a dead animal that you can see at a petting zoo. This sort of limits my cooking to vegetables (pour can of peas into pot - turn on med/high) and/or baked goods. I'm more into baking...cute cupcakes, yummy brownies, delish cakes - using sugar and spice and everything nice... and more often than not those little treats turn out not only edible but sometimes even magically delicious.
Sadly, I just don't have the experience or instinct it takes to be a good cook - but I can follow a recipe. I think. There are turkey recipes right?

Oh and I do have a cell phone, and that cell phone has a little feature I like to call Speed Dial Mom. I use this feature quite often when faced with urgent grocery/food/recipe questions I may have such as what aisle is canned pumpkin on and how do you pick out a tomato?

I'm also pretty confident in the fact that Butterball has a Butterball Hotline that allows consumers to call in with with turkey questions of all sorts and they are answered by seasoned turkey professionals all over America.

So give me a roll of tin foil and a stick of butter cause Ms Paula Deen can make anything taste good with a stick of butter and I'm sure I'm ready to go.

Are y'all ready for this? Eddie are you ready for this?

I just told Ed that I'm going to cook a turkey and he's going to take pictures of the process - you know for blogging purposes. He laughed and said "What are we going to do with the turkey" I responded "You're going to eat it, and then I'm going to eat it the next day if you make it."
Then he said, "What about it kills me?" to which I replied, "Well one of us has to live to blog about it." :)

You're my cuppycake

Diet update:
I’m down 15 lbs (mainly due to sickness – but hey I’ll take it however I can get it).

FIVE MORE and I have a reward date with this hot thing:

Yup…me and my cupcake… from Cupcake Couture....that my loving husband will bring home to me once I reach that magic number of -20.

I’m pretty much willing to starve myself for however long it takes to drop five just so I can have this reward. Losing weight is certainly great motivation to keep going…new clothes are greater motivation – but come on – the added incentive of such a delicious treat is the greatest motivation of all.

I mean really you have to reward yourself from time to time so you’ll stay on the program…stay on the weight loss track. At the beginning I was totally committed to this little diet plan we’re on. I smiled as I existed on much green vegetables, salads, wheat bread (ugh), foods filled with fiber (ugh) and drank gallons and gallons of tasty water (slight diet food exaggeration for dramatic effect), but now I’m sort of over that.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m still committed to see it through. Failure is not an option. If you know me you know that (Hi, my name is Nikki and I graduated Summa Cum Laude from college - there’s no room for failure when you are a Summa Cum Laude grad – there’s also no room for sleep now that I think back on it).

So we’re adding new elements to our workout. Next on the list is going to my parents house to take home the Ab Lounger (new still in box since 2003)! From what I remember when I first bought this – it’s a way to develop 6 pack abs while pretty much sitting in a recliner sort of seat. I’m all about this and will keep you updated on my abs (if I ever see them again).

There's good news and there's bad news... then there's good news

Two part post:
Part one was written two weeks ago :)

Well I’ve made it to Week 3 of the diet. Week 1 produced stellar results for me and the hubby. 4.5 lbs for me and 6 for him. Week 2 not so stellar (for me anyways) – just a measly pound. All that work, all of that sacrifice and for what? A pound? Seriously? Yeah. He lost like 5 more I think. I love losing weight but I HATE LOSING in the game. We’re both so competitive. He’ll probably drop yet another 5 this week and I’ll be lucky not to gain back the 5.5 I’ve lost.

So now I’m in week 3. This may not seem very impressive, but when you consider my diet past – I’ve only rarely made it past Week 2 before deciding that I’m not really that fat and give up the game. I’ll stick with it (if for no other reason to envision myself in that cute madras skirt next spring) because I’m a supportive wife. :)

I’ll be honest with you though. There are times when I find myself day dreaming about Chicken McNuggets and chocolate cake. I long for my birthday, when I feel it will be ok to indulge in multiple pieces of such delights. It’s like my brain has been hijacked by thoughts of foods that I can’t really have. Wee little pirates are holding my mind hostage at gunpoint (bayonet? Sword? I don’t know what weaponry pirates use these days)…but they are demanding that I chug a 20 oz bottle of Coke and scarf down a 6 pack of nuggets (with bbq sauce and fries). Oh how I would love to walk that plank! Enough with the pirate metaphor though.

There is actually another point I want to make. We are remarkably better at tennis now. Seriously – week 1 was tennis camp for beginners. Now we’re practically Andre and Steffi (Agassi & Graf – look it up if you don’t know). We have successfully played a game with each other and with our doubles partners Cheryl & Patti (otherwise known as Venus & Serena). And by successfully, I mean no one quit and only a few balls flew over the high fence. Now that’s what I call progress!

Part two:
I wrote the above at the beginning of week 3 – I don’t remember much about Week 3 anymore other than the fact that by the end I had reached a total of 10 pounds lost which meant – ICE CREAM REWARD (good news)! Ed had lost EVEN MORE weight so we both decided to treat ourselves in TN. Week 4 was vacation week with his family in the mountains.

We did really super good those first couple of days – still eating pretty good – drinking water – walking at the water park etc. Then it sort of all came apart. At Wonderworks – I had a pepsi. I don’t even like pepsi – but it wasn’t water – so it tasted heavenly. We also split a piece of pizza (oh and a pretzel with cheese). That was the beginning of the end. Dollywood came and went – along with a coke and a funnel cake.

Then there was the Krispy Kreme incident where I totally gave in to the rich goodness of a hot-n-now. It didn’t stop there. We still made sure to get our ice cream rewards for reaching our small goals of weight loss. I had cake batter ice cream (with pieces of yellow cake in it – um can you say mmmmmmmmmm). After we got home though, I got on the scale and to my dismay had gained back some weight (bad news).

However once I got those few pounds off – I get the ice cream reward again (good news)! Atleast that’s how I’m playing this game.

I'm Not Dead Yet

Day 4
I'm still alive, and let me tell you this. If I haven't lost any weight this week - I'm going to be mad. I realize its more about being healthy - but for me it is also about the decrease in poundage and the super cute madras skirt from JCrew's spring line that I'd like to be wearing in a few months. If there is no change on the scale (or dare I say an addition of lbs) - somebody is going to get a serious talking to - and that person is me.

I realize I've skipped ahead here - so let me take you back to Day 2 - or Day I Thought I Would Die day. Took the tennis rackets with us on our walk...you know just in case we felt like catching a quick match in the middle of our walking workout. After days of no one being there, of course there are now people on the court. And not just people I might add. People who know how to actually play tennis.

After begging Eddie for us to just keep walking - we end up on the court next to them. We - two people - who haven't played tennis in years - other than that day I played on the Wii - but that doesn't count. Let me just go ahead and be honest. I was already tired from the walk. Combine that with the stress of playing in front of two semi professionals on the court next to us and you have one really exhausted (physically and mentally) girl. After chasing many, many, many balls I actually managed to make contact in what I imagined would be a sweet backhand.

Needless to say my sweet backhand soared right into Venus and Serena's court (MID GAME). I really thought that Eddie would let us go home - but no - we had to keep playing. Now I've moved from stressed and tired to completely nauseous and embarrassed. Nauseous and embarrassed usually leads to throwing up for me. After maybe ten more grueling minutes of watching ball after ball soar past me and bending over and picking up ball after ball that soared past me Eddie finally gave in and let us go home.

Oh guess what? We walked to the park. That meant there is no car to drive us home. Great - I'm practically to the point of passing out from the heat and exercise (seriously I'm out of shape - no kidding) and here we have to walk home. By some miracle of God I made it back to the house - where I went straight to the bathroom in the hopes of getting a shower before I passed out for the evening. I could barely move my legs - they felt like jello. I managed to lift my arms enough to wash and somewhat rinse out my hair before just giving up.

Day 2 was going to be the end. Especially when I woke up on Day 3 and couldn't move any of my extremities. Luckily God heard my cries and made it rain yesterday afternoon, which gave my sore, aching muscles and the blisters on my heels (from those so cute shoes) some time to heal.
Day 4 was pretty good. Less being hungry - more feeling like I wouldn't pass out from exercise. So I won't quit afterall (yet).

But PS if anyone has some good dessert recipes that are low cal/low fat and don't taste like they are low cal/low fat - please send them my way. Sweets are my weakness!

Day One

Diet Day 1

Yesterday was day one of our new diet/exercise plan. There’s good news and there’s bad news. Actually there’s mostly bad news. Diets suck. Ever since committing to eating more healthy, I have wanted nothing more than to have nachos and cheese, deep dish pepperoni pizza, movie theater popcorn, and Hershey bars. These comfort foods of mine are apparently not a part of most diet plans (I know! I'm as shocked as you are). I’ve given up the Coke as well. It’s like everything I love is gone and lost forever (not really – but I’m going for melodramatic).

Yesterday I had Subway for lunch with Amanda (which I’m classifying as diet food because Jared lost like hundreds of pounds eating those subs). Not too bad. I made it thru the day and went home where I found Eddie ready to go walk. What? Right now? So I changed into my yoga pants (which consequently have never been used for yoga), tshirt, and tennis shoes (which were brand new and very cute) and we set out to walk around the neighborhood with Puppy.

Puppy is totally against the diet and exercise. He protested multiple times by running circles around Eddie and even completely stopping and sitting on the road (which is his only trick to date other than that trick where he has learned how to bark really loud when I'm trying to sleep). There were other wayward animals that distracted him, so we had to take him back home after the short walk around the block. Eddie and I continued on sans canine to the park near our house, which if you’re in a car seems really super close. When walking though it felt like a trek to a city miles away.

I realized how out of shape I was when I had to stop talking to Eddie (because you know me … talk talk talk talk talk) to catch my breath. Tragic. Honestly. I managed not to die, so I figure that’s a good sign. It was only 1.5 miles total, but for someone who hasn’t seen the inside of a gym in a couple of years, it felt like I ran a marathon. I have a whole new level of respect for you Laura!!

I’m guessing with time it will get easier (yay) and we’ll walk longer (ugh). They have turned the skate park into tennis courts so we’re going to try our hand at that next. I figure if all else fails I’ll just run circles around Eddie and stop and sit down and he’ll take me back home :)

Die...it

So on Monday we started our diet. Eddie is playing Biggest Loser at work (cash incentive!) and since I’m not going to let him get skinnier than me (oh and for my overall health and well-being) I decided to be an “at home” player and do the whole eat less move more thing with him. Talk about a supportive wife!

So on Monday we also ended our diet. Eddie came home after work and informed me that the game didn’t start until NEXT Monday. Thank God!! Monday was terrible. The healthy eating I did at lunch was such a downer. So we had Reese’s Cups and soda and felt much better about how the day went. So this week is now “no diet week” and we’re making the most of our last meals, because you know once next Monday rolls around it’s back to being a downer.

No seriously – yes seriously – we do plan on making it work. I mean honestly I put on some pants that I hadn’t worn since before we got engaged and they were tight on me. I assumed that they had shrunk from the really high humidity level in our laundry room, but in my head I know that wasn’t true.

I’ve thought about buying Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred dvd– which “helps you lose big – up to 20 pounds in 30 days.” Sounds good to me. According to that calculation I will be lighter than air in just a few months!

I kept reading and found out that the training video includes “ three 20 minute circuit-training workouts that burn mega calories and build strong, lean muscle.” Sweet!

Then I read a review that said “you want easy? Don’t get this dvd! You want to sweat and really workout? Get this dvd!”
Uh – yeah I do want easy and I also don’t want to sweat and really workout so I’m kinda pondering the whole Shred thing.

I am not so much looking for a workout that is painful and/or torturous. I also hate being out of breath. Oh and I don’t dig sweating. But part of me longs for a skinnier, toned bod that will fit ever so cutely into a miniskirt and boots (which I know is so passe now – but give me a break and let me have my dreams even if they are too many years past the trend date).

The thing that really sucks about diets is the whole everything I love to eat I can’t anymore and the whole you should probably exercise part. The only weekly exercise I’m currently getting is finger cardio (keyboarding and moving the mouse at work), and some light weights (lifting the laundry basket). So far those haven’t proven to be effective in a quest for weight loss success (of course neither has Hamburger Helper or Funfetti Cake).

Anyways – so here’s to us and our diet adventure. I was going to post a before photo of myself, but then I was like nah.
I’ll let you know the status of our joyless … I mean healthy…eating progress as time goes by (and if I can move enough to post after doing the Shred).