Cleaning the Fridge: A Money Saving Challenge.

Cleaning out the fridge is an extremely cathartic experience.


CATHARSIS

• 1. purgation
• 2. purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
• 3. a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
• 3. elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression

If I could explain to you the amount of expired food I threw out, it would make you cry.  I buy food and forget about it.  But I'm refusing to let that happen.  At this point, I'm going to try not to buy any groceries until I absolutely HAVE to.  Minus wine of course.

Of course this means I also need to cut down on going out to eat... For those that know me... and don't... I LOVE El Zarape, a Mexican restaurant in town that has amazing Margaritas.  My weakness is a nice FROZEN drink with chips and spicy food.  Chips and dip= the best thing in the world... mix it with margaritas ... I'm in heaven.  I honestly don't see a problem with me having this once a week... if it was the only thing I was splurging on (anyone else think splurge is a weird word?... SPLURGE... awkward.)  Any ways... my money is going to nonsense. 

 

So, here's a little challenge for myself:

  I will NOT go to the store until I have to
(this excludes drinks i.e. pop, wine, milk, juice, and fruits/veggies to make my juice).  Now, this is not a competition to see how much I can eat haha... because I COULD eat everything in about a week or 2... but I think the stuff I have could literally last a month or 2... that would save me about 100-200 dollars in the next month or two.  This will also mean packing my lunch for work.

Basically, this seems like common sense to most people... but I don't have that... OBVIOUSLY haha.  This has got to stop.  I am POOR people. :)

 

Overall this is what I will be doing:
1.  No shopping for food (I can get fruits/veggies for juicing/milk/pop/juice etc)
2.  Packing lunch for work/school
3. Actually getting AND eating my 4 free 6 inch subs I get each week for work
4. REALLY limiting the amount of times I go out to eat eat week.
5. Keep record of what I'm eating (for health and money reasons)

Yep... I got this.  I recommend you clean out your fridge too.  It's a good to REALLY be aware of all the food I have in the house.  Maybe I'm weird and most people do this already... but I just buy and buy depending on what I'm craving for the day.  Not good.

I GOT DIS

(a little inspiration for myself)... and YOU

Shakeology Cleanse

Yep folks... I did the Shakeology Cleanse this Monday-Wednesday.

BREAKFAST:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water
Optional: Add ½ cup of fruit (Only for those who are already fit)

SNACK:
1 piece of fruit

LUNCH:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water

1 cup of green tea

SNACK:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water
(This snack can be before or after dinner)

DINNER:
Salad
- Lettuce/veggies
- 4 oz lean protein (WHITE fish or poultry)
- Light Dressing
_________________________________
CLEANSE?  EWwwWw... You know what that means:

But actually, no.  It's nothing like that. Basically, you're eating less, but you're still getting plenty of nutrients.

Okay, so you can't read it... but you can see it... or look it up :) Last time I did it I was still working at Subway, and I have to say, being on your feet for 8 hours (plus walking a mile there and back) really makes it rough (especially when you're around FOOD).

This time around was not bad at all.  I never really felt HUNGRY (I just missed my favorite foods... which aren't really good for me anyways).  I never felt DIZZY... I just didn't feel deprived.  It way great.  Some days I didn't even have my 3rd Shake, and I'm sure the amount of chicken I ate was more than 4 oz... and OKAY, I'll admit it, I had to have a can of Diet Dr. Pepper (it's a problem, I'm working on it)  That being said, I was surprised I lost as much weight as I did.

I have been hovering at this weight for about 3 years.  I lose some, I gain some... it's usually between 130-135.   About a year and a half ago I was down to 120... that lasted about a week (all stress related weight loss).  This time around... I'm TRYING to keep it up. http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/ClaireMarie

Insanity: Completed 8 weeks (it's a 9 week program) and I didn't lose a pound.  I DEFINITELY lost inches, so I'm hoping that's getting me on the right track.  Now I'm trying to do ChaLean Extreme/Turbo Fire/Ripped in 30.  We'll see.

I'll try to keep up with writing in this a few time a week.  Not that I think you CARE about my life, but because it holds me accountable.

5.4 pounds down :)
...in 3 days.  I'm aware I'll gain some weight back (obviously some water weight), but I feel great, and it's definitely a motivator

Thin paper

I guess I should start updating this...  Not because I'm interesting... but because I have a lot to say.

Topic of the day? Toilets.

If you use those stupid paper things to cover up the toilet seat before you go to the bathroom.
I'm secretly judging you.
There, I SAID IT. So sue me.

But seriously?  Do you REALLY think a piece of thin freakin' paper is going to protect you from herpes?
(... fun fact, you have about 0.00000000000000001% chance of catching herpes from a toilet seat.  TRUE STATISTIC (... I'm lying. Please don't quote me).

Really people... ? we used that same paper to trace shit in elementary school.  FUN FACT: you can TRACE STUFF THROUGH IT... you know what that means? it doesn't have some awesome defense mechanism that adsorbs all creepy things... like herpes.

I know what you're thinking...

"Noo Claire, you can't trace HERPES through a thin piece of freakin' paper... but you CAN trace a kitty".

FALSE. Sorry dude.  Do you ever remember spilling something on one of your papers... (you know, like you can of red bull that's keeping your awake when you're working on something"... and you FREAK OUT because you spilled something on your precious paper?  You know why you're freakin out? BEACUSE WATER PENETRATES PAPER... and so do other creepy crawlies...)

This is from an advice column at MIT, and quotes a doctor there (not a prof there, just a doc in Student Health): "It's very difficult to get sick from a toilet seat," Heller says adamantly. "This is especially true for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)," he adds. (Hmmm… apparently, there's a reason they're referred to as sexually transmitted.) However, Heller notes, "a little extra caution might be warranted if one is traveling in an area where enteric infections like cholera are more common."

...And yes, I get it people.  If there's stuff on the seat, you don't want to sit in it... Either go to a different toilet or stop being a pussy and wipe off the seat. (obviously make sure there is a thick barrier of toilet paper between your hand and the toilet seat... have you learned nothing from my rant?)  Bring clorox wipes if you're really intense about it... just stop using that dumb thin paper toilet seat cover... it makes no sense to me.

Oh, and ONE MORE THING.  You people that are so disgusted by toilet seats are usually the ones making the biggest mess.  YOU HOVERERS... yeah shoot, if you're going to HOVER wipe it off afterwards.  You can't even act disgusted then because it's your OWN STUFF on the seat.

If the stuff on the seat isn't pee... or water from a power flusher... well that's a different story.
THE END.

HiddenBelly: Ranch

WHY is Ranch Dressing SO DELICIOUS?

... seriously I'm not kidding.
I love RANCH on my salad, it makes salads absolutely WONDERFUL... but then I looked at the fat content about about passed out

ranch:
calories: 330
fat calories: 320
total fat: 39g (54% of daily value)

... this daily value is based off of a 2000 calorie diet... I should be eating about 1200-1400.
SERIOUSLY?  Who creates something so delcious to put on something GOOD for you... and makes it BAD FOR YOU.

Part of me says "at least I'm not eating a burger..."

junior bacon cheeseburger:
calories: 370
calories from fat: 153
total fat: 17g (35% daily value)

AND THEN I GET MAD AGAIN.  I love Ranch on SALAD... and Salad's are healthy... when they Don't have Ranch.  Life is complicated.  I hate fat free ranch and I really don't care for Italian-like dressings.




I found a some recipe on making "healthy ranch"... well... healthier
2 cups of lowfat yogurt
1 packet of ranch flavor thing

I'm planning on trying it out tomorrow...

we'll see about that...

Potluck AGAIN!

I'm annoyed with myself... and INSANITY.

I just can't seem to get myself to finish the LAST FEW workouts of Insanity... which I promised myself I would do so I can say I finished.

What I have left:
Max Interval Circuit
Max Interval Plyo
Max Cardio Conditioning/Cardio Abs
Core Cardio and Balance
Max Recovery

I'm going to be honest... other than Max Cardio Conditioning/Cardio Abs I HATE MONTH 2.
The workouts just aren't enough cardio for my liking (I'm not strong enough to do tons of push up in a row) and they go by SO SLOW.
I love the first month and I really like Shaun T... but man, if I'm going to work out for a full hour... I'm going to LIKE IT.

Turbo Fire on the other hand is MY WORKOUT.  I love it, and apparently Chalene Johnson is making MORE :)... I'm seriously obsessed.

Exercise
Today, I got up a little late so instead of doing Max Interval Insanity I did HIIT 30 from TurboFIRE. ROUGH  I think that's the hardest of TurboFire because it's ALL drills

FoodI
just ordered PB2 (45 cals vs 200 cals per serving)  POWDERED PEANUT BUTTER.  woot.  So I'm going to start adding that to my Shakeology...

I came up with this BRILLANT idea... instead of using an entire Shakeology packet for breakfast I'm going to use HALF and then save half for later in the day when I'm really hungry.  I think the packets are just a little too much Shakeology for me ... when I did this, it was PERFECT. ... we'll see how it goes.

Unfortunately... and FORTUNATELY... we have a potluck at work today. aka I'm going to eat a lot.

my goal?  TAKE A PICTURE of what I eat.

TO BE CONTINUED.

re-motivate

Well, it's been a while... not a LONG while... but long enough.


So... I'm a grad student and I don't feel like one.
I have class 1 day a week (and one class once a month)... (3 classes in total)
... We have our first paper due next Wednesday... so I guess I should start it... but I have NO MOTIVATION.
In the second class I'm in... the ONLY 2 assignments in the entire classes (1 presentation and 2 papers) are all due in DECEMBER... are you kidding me?

I'm a person that needs to be IN THE GROOVE.  This summer was hyper-speed... papers due every week.
That's the way I stay motivated... there isn't TIME to procrastinate... ugh.

BUT...
I have starting working out again.  I'm finally DONE being sick
Friday I did : HIIT 20 TurboFire
Saturday I did: Max Cardio Conditioning Insanity
Today I did: Core Cardio and Balance and Cardio Abs.

yes... I got this

... now I just have to eat better.
Let me tell you what I ate yesterday

1 large bag of hot cheetos: 1800
1 veggie burrito from Chipotle :1030 calories
1 bag of chips from Chipotle: 570 calories
1 block of cream cheese: 800
Grand Total: 4200 calories!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
that's almost 4 days worth of food.  ... OVER A POUND OF FAT. awful.

me.

Violins is not the answer...

welp folks.
I auditioned for the Perrysburg Symphony yesterday...
...and let's say it wasn't horrible but it could have been much better.

Let me put this in perspective for you:

• I was a Music Minor for about a year during my undergrad and they expected me to practice between 1-2 hours a day. 
• I was in the orchestra that played 5 hours a week
• I was in a quartet that practiced about 1 hour a week
• I did other various ensembles so let's just tack another 1 hour on that.
• TOTAL EXPECTED PLAYING TIME per week: 14 hours
• ACTUAL PLAYING TIME per week: 8 (I probably practiced about an hour a week for lessons... closer to juries it would go up to about 3-4 2 weeks prior

Basically, I practiced a total of I'd say between 40- 50 hours on a solo (including lesson time) that I performed at the end of the semester... plus the regular playing time of orchestra and other ensembles. But, I SHOULD have practice about 120+ hours.  yes folks, my practice time was about 50% less than what it was supposed to be.

Now that you know all that nonsense... let me tell you how much practice time I gave to this audition...

A GRAND TOTAL OF 3-4 hours.  yes folks.  I WAS PREPARED.



this is a picture of a violin ready to go head first into battle.

Where did it go right?
1.  The piece I picked wasn't very hard
2.  Of the 2 orchestral excerpts I picked, I only had to play 1: THE EASIER ONE

3.  There were a lot of lower notes which sound good on my violin and with my vibrato

4. The women in charge of auditions remembered me from 5th and 6th grade and told the director that I was the "shining star" of the orchestra... ya know, worked up my REP a bit.
5. THEY NEED VIOLINISTS :)

Where did it go wrong?
1.  The button on my sweater made my violin buzz
2.  I was shaking so much that my bow moved over the bridge and was really squeaky.
3.  Even though the piece was easy, it has been almost 4 years since I performed it.
4.  The high notes? Let's not talk about it.
5.  Remember when I said I was nervous?  YEAH... it showed. lot's of silly mistakes.
6.  Remember when I said they said I was the "shining star"... well I wasn't during the audition... AWKWARD.
7.  Think back to elementary school.  Was there ever a kid that was just AWKWARDLY SMART or AWKWARDLY good at something?  You know there was.  Well, that pre-pubescent kid played right before me and ROCKED it so freakin' hard... AWKWARD.


Basically... I don't know if I got in yet.
All I know is that I want to play.
So if anyone actually reads this, and you play an instrument.  GET AT ME.  I need music back in my life.

Just keep in mind:  I may not practice as much as you want me to... BUT I HAVE THE HEART

... and I'm the SHINING STAR.  uh duh...

As for Food and Exercise?
I don't want to talk about it
My nose is BASICALLY running a marathon

...and my body is exhausted.  Which means NO exercise for me
...as food goes?  I just had Wendys.  ENOUGH SAID.

toodles.