Favorite exercise songs!

What's your favorite song to exercise to?

For years now, I've always had Move Along by All-American Rejects on my playlist. It's fast, has a great beat, and the song is awesome!



More recently, I have Good Life by One Republic on my playlist. I first heard it in a movie theater and I've been hooked ever since!



Please, share your favorite exercise song! I need to build up my playlist :)

Peanut butter squares, anyone?

I fell asleep trying to think of a topic for tonight's blog. I don't think that's a good sign!

It's been a long week and it's FINALLY FRIDAY! What better way to celebrate than with CHOCOLATE and PEANUT BUTTER!!!

One of my all-time favorites. Super simple and tastes just like Reese's. This is for you, Tiffanie!

2 sticks butter, softened
2 c peanut butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 package graham crackers (one of the wrapped inner packages, not the whole box)
12 oz milk chocolate chips

Mix together the first 4 ingredients and spread evenly on a cookie sheet.

Melt the chocolate and spread over mixture.

Cut the squares while the chocolate is still melted (very important!) and refrigerate.

Now, if I only had any peanut butter...

Phoenix Children's Hospital Give-a-thon!

I had the pleasure of volunteering to take pledges for the Phoenix Children's Hospital tonight for their annual Give-a-thon. I can sum up my experience with one word:

AMAZING!


Before we set foot in the hospital, we came across a man and his son who had been going to the hospital for 4 years because of his daughter's illness. On the way in, he passed a nurse who knew him by name and I heard him say they're back because his daughter had another seizure. So sad :(


I wish I had a video of the TV broadcast, but I don't think they share them. I did take a few pics, though!

View from the phones of the camera

View when the lights and camera were on

Annmarie cleaning up when we finished

Last year, the TV anchor Mark Curtis said if a pledge came in for $12,000 he'd shave off his life-long mustache. Lo and behold, a call came in, and he did it! They tried to do it again this year, but I don't think anyone called in with the full amount. Here's the volunteer's spoof of the mustache prank :)

I'm so glad I went to this event! It was nice to get away from my troubles and take time to give back to people who truly make difference. I'll definitely be going back next year! Maybe even before.

Total raised: $210,000!

Final 6!

Welcome back to another week of American Idol judged by a girl who has absolutely no credibility or really even cares, but nothing better is on TV :)

Here we go! Shania Twain! I love her!

Lee -- Ohmygoodnessgracioushe'ssogoodlooking!!! Whoa. Focus. Ouch. Very out of tune. Come on Lee! Energy-8/10, vocals 2/10, looks (duh) 12.3/10, total: 6. Hopefully it's not his last performance. Sorely disappointed :(

Mike -- Ever notice how he sings only soul songs? Sure, that's his style, but it's getting horribly boring. I stopped listening halfway through to stare at Beesley gnawing on his rawhide. It was slightly more entertaining than Mike's performance. Sorry. Next!

Casey -- Amazing. Slow, which I usually don't like, but he was actually in tune the whole time! I could fall asleep his singing this song to me--in a good way! Would definitely like to see him back next week.

Crystal -- One of my favorite Shania songs! I love the personal connection she shared before she started :) I bet he proposes when she's done...
A bit too folky for me. A little too slow, too. It's an upbeat song, no? Hey, at least she was in tune!

Aaron -- Meh. He's so young!! He was horribly out of tune tonight (what's new...) but the chorus was good, once it got faster paced. I predict he's a gonner tomorrow.

Shioban -- Another one of my favorite Shania songs :) The first half was great, but I think she kind of tuckered out for the rest. It was out of tune, lagged, and was just...odd. 6/10.

Stay tuned next week when we take on the top 5! As long as I get to see sexy Lee, I'm fine :)

P.S. If you're in Arizona, make sure you watch channel 12 (KPNX, NBC) tomorrow night at 10. I'm going to be on the news! I'm taking pledges for the Phoenix Children's Hospital and the news is being broadcast live there. Whooohoo!

Day one. Sort of.

I almost died tonight.

My friend gave me his used manual treadmill about a year ago. Of course I've never used it. Since I'm interested in the Couch to 5K program and am dreading the coming 100+ degree days here, I brought it out for a little test drive.

A big girl and a small manual treadmill do not mix. It's a good thing I was holding on to the side bars when I stepped on it. The fixed incline is so high I immediately slipped. Stupidly, I broke out into a run right when it first moved, and next thing I know, I'm running 10 MPH on an unstable piece of cheap plastic.

Needless to say, if I'm truly going to succeed on this ever-so-enticing journey, I'm going to need better equipment.

I'm not quite ready for humanity to see me run, so for the first few weeks, at least, I'm keeping the exercise to the inside of my home. It's better for everyone. Trust me ;)

Thanks for all your immense support! Anaise, I'm counting on you to keep me updated on your own progress!

I see the girl I want to be, riding bareback, carefree along the shore

A few years ago, Katee introduced me to a song by Natasha Bedingfield called "Wild Horses". In that song, there is a line:
I see the girl I wanna be
Riding bareback, carefree along the shore
If only that someone was me
Jumpin' head first headlong without a fall
To act and damn the consequence
How I wish it could be that easy
But fear surrounds me like a fence
I wanna break free



On that note, I'm introducing my next journey! The couch to 5k program.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Can I do it? Of course I can.

How? That's where you come in.

All motivation and good intentions aside, can I really do it? Being that I'm not in any shape to be a runner and I live in the hottest state in the US, is it feasable?

I'm sick of sitting by and watching my life pass me by. I want to be that runner that I envision myself as nearly every single day. Just as the song says, I want to break free. It's time to push myself out of my comfort zone and make real, tangible progress.

What are your thoughts?

Sometimes, you just need a little pick-me-up :)

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

What's your favorite motivational song?

Lemon Love

I love anything lemon. I'm addicted. I can't get enough! From the sheer smell of them to the way they tickle your tongue--I'm hooked!

I'm on a quest to find the best lemon recipes. Whether they're your Grandma's famous lemon bars or your homemade lemon candles, I want your tips and recipes!

Help a girl out here...please? :)

(I'm currently drinking homemade lemonade. The sickness is THAT bad!)

I love to cook!

I got up early, worked 10 hours, and still had time to make a magnificent meal for dinner!

Big thanks to Liz for her asparagus recipe. They were rockin'!

Tonights menu:

Oven roasted asparagus and asian-style salmon filets :) YUM!

I drizzled the asparagus with olive oil and tossed them with fresh ground pepper and a little salt. The salmon, I drizzled light soy sauce, olive oil, fresh ground pepper and ground garlic. Baked both at 375 for about 20 minutes, tossing both halfway through.

Looking at these pictures makes me want seconds....yum!!!

Biggest Loser, credit union style

For the last 12 weeks, myself a group of my coworkers have been participating in a biggest loser contest. It's something I've done with different groups at different branches, and it really helps me get a jumpstart on my personal goals. The first time we had the contest, I lost around 35 pounds.

The winner, Michelle, lost a total of 9% of her body weight! She won the contest by far, and looks amazing! All in all, our group lost about 50 pounds. Not too shabby (or should I say flabby?) ;)

The best part about all of this is they want to keep going! Even after 12 weeks, we've all agreed to keep holding our weekly motivational meetings and weigh-ins. I love when we all work together for one common goal :)

I challenged the group to lose 10% of their starting weight, a lofty goal, for sure, but one that will prove beneficial for ALL of us. I have about 7% more to go.

Thank you all for your kind words and picking me up when I was down. I know I'm not a failure at all, I just need to keep my spirits high. Writing helps me accomplish that :)

Part 2: American Idol, according to Malena

Another week, another set of mediocre singers.

I feel a sad Andrew absence. When all 7 remaining contestants walked out on stage when the show started, I shead a hypothetical tear. Oh well, he had his chance!

Casey - He had no stage presence tonight. I want to see him walking around on stage, jamming! He stood in one spot the whole time and tried to be animated doing only that. It doesn't work that way! The song was good, no complaints there. Maybe a liiiiitle bit more UMPH?

Lee - I love how when he looks at the camera, it's like he's looking through your SOUL. I love it! He looked specially handsome tonight. He's just...mmm! OK, focus Malena. Interesting song choice. Mixed feelings? I give it a 7 out of 10. He was horribly out of tune at the end, but good chorus.

Tim - I'm writing this as he's talking about the song he's about to sing. Thing is, I LOVE THIS SONG. He'd better not mess it up. I'll keel him. 30 seconds later: Keel me. He butchered it. Out of tune, BORING, and no soul. Send him HOOOOOOME! Next.

Aaron - Again, writing this before I hear the performance. It's a great song and he's sounding great in the practice...
Best performance EVER, and I don't even like him! I was very impressed. A couple out of tune spots, but overall very nice. I'll keep him another week!

Siobhan - Meh. She tried WAY too hard. Watching her face contort was actually kind of painful. The high, long note was the only good part about the performance.

Michael - Not quite sure how this song qualifies as an inspirational song. Just because it has the word Hero in it doesn't mean it's a positive song. Odd. Anyway, very weird performance. I didn't really like it! He does a really good job with soulful songs, but everything else falls short, in my opinion. Not a good night for him.

Crystal - I got temporarily distracted during her performance by stalking a TV personality online. Whoops!
Very good performance. Even the crying at the end was OK! 9/10. I think she'll win...

Until next week. Well, the AI part, at least.

Love you all!

Real change

How do you know when you're ready to change?

I mean truly change--I'll never look back type of change.

Sometimes I think the reason I have such a hard time changing is because I'm not ready. I may SAY I'm ready and truly believe it, but why is it that I still fail when I try?

More specifically I'm referring to weight loss. Why is it that I set myself up in every way possible to succeed, but I can never reach my goal? I may do well for months, but inevitably I fail. Was it because I wasn't ready to begin with? Was it because I wasn't in the right mindset?
Was it because that's not what I need to be focusing on at that time in my life?

I met a woman online the other day on an online forum who, after the horrible breakup with her boyfriend, decided to change her life. She went on to lose 120 pounds in 4 months. I'm not advocating that type of weight loss in any way, but does it take something drastic like that for most people to change? I have my reasons for wanting to change, but are they not deep enough?

I want to change so badly. I hate the way my life has become. I'm not happy like I used to be and the very thought of changing everything about myself makes me ill because my track record of success has been null.

I went through a horrible experience in September involving a friend. I vowed after that trauma to change the way I live. Instead of that, I went into a deep depression I can't seem to get myself out of.

I look forward every day to changing the way I am, but the execution just isn't there. What's wrong with my process?

Goals for the week of April 19

I like this weekly goal thing I started last week!

This week, on top of getting to work on time, I'm going to focus on eating a full breakfast. This includes a dairy, starch, fat, and protein serving.

Any meal ideas that would include all of those items?

The Nicholas Sparks complex

There are 4 basic requirements for every Nicholas Sparks film. I know he writes books, but we're not going to get into that right now.

1: Death
2: Rain
3: Romeo/Juliet relationship
4: A break up/reconciliation

Yet, we women spend millions and millions of dollars in tissues alone just to flock to a horribly depressing movie, throwing all suspension of disbelief to the wind, and there, sometime in that 1 hour and 47 minutes, our fairly tale dreams grow just a little bit more.

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicholas Sparks. On one hand, he feeds the very park of me that craves a sappy chick flick, but then again, half the tears I cry during his films are from the fact that the acting is amateur, at best.

As I sat through "The Last Song" tonight and heard my friend two seats over bawling her eyes out, I thought, why do we subject ourselves to this torture? This is not how love is! Death does not have a happy ending like it does in the movies. So, why do we continue to eat it up?

Educate me.

I'm off to watch the end of "Nights in Rodanthe". No one has died. Yet.

Week in review

As promised, I'm reporting back on making it to work on time this week.

I made 4 out of 5 days right on the dot. Thursday morning, I discovered my route to work was blocked off due to construction, so I had to take an alternate route. Despite leaving home 10 minutes early, I still clocked in one minute late! Lame! Well, I can always improve next week.

Because I've started waking up earlier, I've been able to sneak in a quick breakfast nearly every morning (where the smoothie recipe request came from), which really made my whole working day better.

To end my week, my boss, on his way out for the week, dropped off two movie tickets at my desk. What a great week! Small changes yield the greatest results :)

I've neglected my ritual of catching up on all your blogs. Off I go to read, read, read!

Carrot cake, anyone?

Ahh, thank you ALL so much for your recipe ideas yesterday! I love them all, and will probably be taking a variation of every one of them :)

According to little Miss Senf (Rachel!) I should not be asking for recipes, but sharing my own!

I shuffled through my favorites to find one perfect for today. Please note how I like to arrange my food splattered and stained recipes:

Best ever freakin' delicious carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Cake:
4 eggs
1 1/2 C oil (I use Canola)
2 C white sugar
2 t vanilla
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
3 C grated carrots
1 C chopped pecans (optional--I don't add them)

Frosting:
1/2 C butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1 C chopped pecans (optional--I don't add them)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 round or 1 9 x 13 pans (I prefer the round pans to make a layered cake)

The recipe says to combine the dry and wet ingredients seperately and then combine together, but I just throw it all in a huge bowl and mix it at once. Yes, I'm lazy :)

Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (40-50 minutes depending on the pans you're using) I'm pretty sure I cooked it less, but I like ultra moist cake.

Let the cake sit in pan(s) for 10 minutes, then let cool completely on a wire rack. I usually let them sit overnight.

Beat the ingredients for the frosting in a bowl until smooth and have at it!

It has carrots, so it must be healthy, right?!

I made this cake for Kelly's birthday. It was freakin' delicious, but she said it was too RICH! See if I ever make a cake for you again, Kelly! :P

Need recipes

I need two good tried and true recipes.

1: Smoothie. Must have no added sugar and less than 5 ingredients. I have strawberries and bananas as the main fruits.

2: Roasted asparagus, or any other variety of cooking. Not many more ingredients other than asparagus and oil.

I have these three cartons of strawberries and bunch of asparagus I need to get rid of tomorrow.

Thanks much :)

American Idol, according to Malena

Now that I have a DVR, I've actually started watching shows other than The Office, like American Idol! While this season of AI leaves a lot to be desired, I still have a few comments and observations. Feel free to chime in and give your two cents :)

(Comments are based on tonight's episode as well as the season as a whole)

Crystal - The dreads are getting old. I do like her, and I like that she's consistent, but I can't look at her anymore.

Andrew - By far my favorite. I may or may not have actually fallen in love with him when he first auditioned. I know he's known as a one-hit-wonder, and I believe it's true, too, but I still love him. He completely screwed up his chances tonight, though. Adam Lambert was spot on when he told him his pre-performance was boring and I'm sad he didn't take his advice to pump the song up. He'll be gone tomorrow, for sure.

Tim - UGH!!! Why is he still there?! I KNEW he couldn't sing since day one, but week after week they keep him on. I can't stand him. His voice is OK during a chord, but once it tapers off, he sounds like a frog that got stuck in a garbage disposal. Tonight was just added to the fact that I very much dislike him. It was horrible! I don't care what anyone say. Boooooooo!!! *Throws a virtual tomato*

Lee - He's a sexy man. Not gonna lie. He's good sometimes, but other times he misses the UMPH. Tonight was stellar and very intense. I'm not sure he's #1 material, but I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it far! Pardon me while I go stare at him a little longer...

Aaron - I don't like him. But, I was pleasantly surprised tonight! I didn't look at my TV once because every time I see his face I cringe--there's just something about it! Not looking at the TV helped me like tonight's performance. Despite this, I think he's out soon. Or, I hope so :)

Siobhan - Meh. Forgetable. I haven't paid too much attention to her this season. She was pretty good tonight, but she fluffs up songs WAY too much. Not my taste, what can I say.

Michael - Great performance tonight. I've never heard that song before, but coming from him, it was like a brand new song that just came out. The ONLY thing I don't like about him is that he wasn't there for his baby's birth. I know that's trivial, but I've never quite gotten over it. He could very well make it to the top two :)

Katie - Isn't she like 16? I kind of like her, I guess, but she'd be better off leaving and getting professional lessons and coming back in a few years. I don't see much of anything special about her. Meh.

Casey - He definitely seemed off tonight. I didn't see the UMPH he usually gives, and that was very disappointing! He's not my favorite, but I also don't hate him. Possibly in the top...hm...5.

P.S. Woke up at 6:40 today, got to work 3 minutes early and brought my lunch again :)

It made all the difference!

This morning started off rough. I woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep until 4:30 which made it significantly harder to wake up at 6. After pressing the snooze button until 7 (whoops!) I finally dragged myself out of bed.

I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I did bring my lunch and I was 5 minutes early to work, even after hitting traffic!

I felt so good this morning. I ate a significant, healthy breakfast because I wasn't too rushed and I'm glad I didn't blow money at yet another fast food joint for lunch.

I can't wait to wake up even earlier tomorrow! Tonights goal: 30 minutes of exercise and to bed by 11! I only have an hour left...

I have a goal...

For this week. Every day this week!

I'm not going to be late to work. [Late for me is about 3 minutes] I hate that I'm always late! I just need to get my butt up 3 minutes earlier (or more) and I'll be set...but NOOOOO...I have to press my snooze button 30 times!

You all can feel free to check up on me by Friday. I'm off to bed! I need my beauty sleep :)

Dog in boots

I had to buy baby socks today.

No, I'm not pregnant. :)

Beesley's been scratching horribly lately because of hot spots, and after spending a ton of money on remedies I found online, I finally had to put a stop to the scratching right from the source--his paws.

Yes, those are socks on his paws. He looks so HAPPY, doesn't he?!

Poor dog. Hopefully this will help!

Blegh!, cont.

Anaise brought up a good point in the comments of yesterday's blog.

Why don't I start a garden? Here's why:

That's the extent of my "garden". I'd also like to note that this picture was taken on the day these flowers were planted (they were pre-grown) and within 2 weeks, they were all dead.

What is one to do when they don't have the room for a garden? Or obviously not blessed with a green thumb?

I'm stuck eating grocery store produce :(

Blegh!

I went to the grocery store today for the first time in a few weeks (I do a good job of making my food last!). I'm so disgusted with how bad food products have gotten. I've always been an advocate of home cooking--got that from my mom, the future cook in the celestial kingdom :)

It might have been the fact that I watched Food, Inc., or it might be the fact that I've been feeling like crap lately and I know exactly why--processed foods.

I'm sitting here watching an episode of Unwrapped on the Food Network and they're making Grandma's brand chocolate chip cookies. They had the audacity to call them homemade! Seriously...tell me how ANY part of those cookies is homemade. If you add ingredients we can't even pronounce and they last for 3 decades, THEY'RE NOT HOMEMADE!

When you go to the grocery store and buy a package of oven roasted turkey (on sale this week 2/$5.00) do you realize that only like 1% of that "meat" is acually meat? Or, when you go to the deli and have them slice "fresh" turkey that's in the shape of a large ice cube--that's not real meat either!

I browsed the meat section to see what was on sale, and I almost bought a pork roast...until I saw on the label "contains up to 20% salt and other nutrients for taste". So, you're buying 80% (maybe) meat and 20% a whole lot of other crap your body doesn't need.

I'm not trying to criticize anyone for buying this food, I'm guilty of it, too! But, why is that the norm now? It literally makes me sick to buy food like this now. If even find myself questioning if the "whole wheat flour" I buy for my bread in the nice 5 lb. bag is REALLY whole wheat flour. I'd try to buy it from a local farmer and grind it myself, but how do I know they didn't spray the plants with some kind of harmful chemical to keep bugs away?

I don't know. Call me paranoid, but I think this world has become WAY too naive for our own good.

Grooming school drop-out!

Tonight I attempted to groom Beesley. Figuring I can save myself a boat-load of money by doing his grooming myself, I invested in an electric shaver.


Can you tell which side I did and which side I didn't do? (Humor me, please ;)

Side 1

Side 2

Petrified dog!

My pant leg was COVERED in hair. I think I have magnetic pants!

Half of the hair I trimmed off. The other half is all over me.

I don't think I should quit my day job...

Did you know...

My mom is selling her house!

The huge yellow For Sale sign was put out yesterday. Here are the pictures from the realtor, complete with the remodeled bathroom (do any of you remember what it used to look like? Double toilets!)

Goodbye 24 years of memories :(

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I'm so out of my element today.

I've had a raging temper for about 2-3 weeks now. I throw things. I scream. I tense up my whole body, and then I vent.

What's wrong with this (besides the obvious) is I have NEVER had a temper before. I had a blow-up at work today (luckily only one person witnessed it) and tonight, when I decided to upload my pics from my digital camera to my laptop to post on this blog--and it didn't work--I freaked out!

Lord, please bless me with patience. I'm about to go insane. Literally.

So, don't get after me for not posting the Easter update like I promised--I might have a nervous breakdown!

Maybe I need a new mantra...

I'm alive!

I'm so sorry I haven't kept up with my blog all weekend! I had limited internet access in Utah and I couldn't connect from my laptop.

I've been driving for 11 hours today and am SUPER tired, so I'm going to post a big blog tomorrow with a bunch of pics from my trip and Easter! I wanted to let those who read this know I'm still here :)