Day 39

What a great day! I'm happy for it to be drawing to a close soon, but it was a good day. All except for the part where a coworker who visited my office yesterday emailed late in the afternoon to say that he has Strep Throat. Oh, goody!!  I sanitized everything he touched...probably too late, but there you go!

I'm working my way to the end of the week as I have a long weekend coming up. Our son starts school on Monday and I always like to be around for the first couple of days to help get him off to a good start. Also, I have my check-up with the cancer doctor to make sure I'm still free of that beast! I'll let you know how that goes a week from today on day 46.

We continue the work here to renovate Nancy. I'm feeling good and trying to find more alternatives for meals that make sense (nutritionally), are not loaded with preservatives and that I don't have to cook/prepare. So far, my options have been My Fit Foods (which, I love) and the freezer section of my grocery store. I started out saying, "No!" to he frozen food, but now I'm rethinking that. There are products that I haven't seen before now available and I don't want to overlook things that are good. I purchased one such meal that my husband ate for dinner tonight. It was from a company called Cedar Lane. He said it was delicious and tasted like something I made and froze for him; tasted like real food. One swift scan of the ingredient list confirmed for me that it was a good buy. The only things listed in the ingredients are foods.  No preservatives or things that I couldn't pronounce. The calories were okay (420 for an enchilada meal), but he says the real important thing was, it was good! I looked at the cost and at $4.46, it was definitely better than My Fit Foods. So, this will now be an option. I hope my HEB carries more varieties of their food. I took a look at Cedar Lane's website and they seem to have some good options!

Today I tried to eat a few more calories. Here is what I had:

Breakfast - Special K Pepper Jack and Veggie Breakfast Sandwich w/2 thin slices of Turkey Bacon and a Banana (280 calories)
Lunch - My Fit Foods Chicken Parmesan and a Banana (410 calories) (Chicken Parm was HIGH! I probably won't pick this one up again.)
Dinner - My Fit Foods Fit Nugget Nation w/Laughing Cow Cheese and Pretzel Crisps (400 calories)
Total for the day - 1,090 (Ohhhhhh MG! Still low and I added two fruits, cheese and chips AND a higher calorie lunch!) At least I'm over 1,000 calories. I did okay...I guess.

My sister noticed right away that I was counting calories in my blog. I explained, very quickly, that I was just doing an experiment to see how close I was getting to 1,200 per day, by just eating what I thought were the right things. She listened (and I could hear her shaking her head) and at the end she said, "Uh, huh...Well, I'm not doing that!" I don't blame her one little bit! I don't want to do it either, but having the already portioned meals makes it so much easier to calculate! The numbers are right there in front of you. Also, have you noticed how many restaurants are putting their calories right on the menu? I noticed this at Starbucks. The drive-thru in my neighborhood now has the calorie counts for it's breakfast sandwiches right on the menu in big bold numbers. I like that!! It made it real easy for me to know I was making a good choice for me....AND I enjoyed the sandwich (350 calories) that I ordered on the day I had it. I think that was day 35. Anyway, I know there have been lots of people complaining about seeing the calorie counts, but I'm honestly happy seeing those numbers on the menu. To me, it makes sense. I know that 400 calories per meal is pretty much my limit. If I have a lower calorie breakfast I have a few more calories to work with throughout the day. When standing in front of a menu at Starbuck and there is an option for a 350 calorie hot egg sandwich or a 550 calorie cold chicken salad sandwich, what do you think I'm going to have? Now, I love a chicken salad sandwich and I might have chosen that in the past. But now? No! See, knowledge is a powerful thing!

Tonight is not exercise night, so I'm enjoying a bit of a break for my hip.  Yes, it still hurts. I think it's just going to hurt for awhile. Hopping from one subject to another, as I do, I wanted to give those who care, an update on the mascara trials going on in this house. I really LOVE the Ioni Cosmetics Phatlash mascara (the red one seen below). It kept my lashes curled all day (and I have defiant lashes!) and when it goes on your lashes it's sure enough staying there! I liked to have never gotten that mascara off last night! I used two kinds of makeup removers and it barely budged! If you want REALLY waterproof mascara with a staying power beyond belief, you want Ioni Cosmetics Phatlash mascara! A REAL $2.25 bargain!

I also made a video tonight to update, again, those who care, on the final view of our son's room. Besides a few things I'd like to get done before school starts (like cleaning the wall around the light switch plate...he is a boy, after all) it is finished. Here is the video tour:

No, I didn't do a great job, but what do you expect when I have 10 seconds to shoot and edit a video. You want Nancy "DeMille" films? We'll need a bit of time for that. :) I shot this in less than 10 minutes and took about an hour to edit and upload. That's all the time I had so there you go! I hope you enjoy it.  

I guess that's it for today. I'm feeling good and I hope looking good, well, as good as possible anyway. Tomorrow will be another great day...my boss will be in town! But for now, I know a light switch plate that is just begging to be cleaned! Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 37

This can't be August! It was really nice again this morning so I wasted time enjoying breakfast and lunch outside. Mosquitos be hanged! I didn't care. Let them dine on me and I hope they choke!! I didn't even spray myself with repellent!

I spent the morning filming, editing/producing and loading a new video onto YouTube. My channel there is just under my name, Nancy Hemati. I post what I like there. I'm not driven to make only one type of video. I believe in allowing myself to be creative however the mood strikes me. Today, it was makeup. It is the first thing I did out of bed this morning, aside from washing my face and brushing my teeth. The house was quiet and I wanted to review two new mascaras that I bought on Saturday (day 36). The brand is Ioni Cosmetics and I've only started seeing them here where I live in the past few weeks. I've bought a blush (quite pigmented) and now these two mascaras. The names are Phatlash and Lashaffair. The Phatlash says that it is volumizing and waterproof and the Lashaffair says that it is lengthening and waterproof. Here is the video of my 'pilot' of these two mascaras:

(Note:  Fair warning! I did not narrate this video, but instead added a peppy song. If you don't like music behind your YouTube videos, you're going hate this one!)

I wore the mascaras all day and I really liked both of them. The Phatlash did a better job of keeping my eyelashes curled, but the Lashaffair did okay. Both were better than some of the brands I've paid LOTS more for. I didn't notice any smudging on my face, but when I had to 'dab' my eyes (allergies you know) while outside, I did notice some black on the tissue. That was from the Lashaffair side. These mascaras were $2.25 each at my HEB (grocery store). I really liked making the film, but I've got to get some better lighting for the bathroom.  It's terrible!

The rest of the day has been spent doing laundry and generally enjoying the day. I did not read today, but I will tonight after folding all the clean laundry and getting that put away.  Eating was fine and here is how it went:

Breakfast - Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Breakfast Delights sandwich with an extra 1 oz. of light cheddar on the side (340 calories)

Lunch - My Fit Foods Blazin' Cajun Shrimp (medium size) (340 calories)

Snack - Pretzel chips and Laughing Cow cheese (170 calories)

Dinner - My Fit Foods Killuh' Chili w/1 oz. Baked Doritos (330 calories)

Total for the day - 1,180 calories!  Much better!!  I need to try to get close and stay close to 1,200.  To make that happen the snack is critical. Also, I haven't been eating fruit, so I need to make sure I do that. I'll put some fruit in my lunch box for tomorrow!

I'm getting really excited about day 60, which is when I'll put on my black dress and my husband takes some new pictures. I haven't cheated and tried the dress on, but I really do think it's going to look okay...maybe even good! Someone has to take me out in it...that will probably be my sister, since no one around here likes taking me out. Eating out is a misery for my husband. He HATES restaurants. I'm good either way. It used to be something I looked forward to, because I didn't have to cook. Since I don't cook anymore, it isn't such a treat. I just would like for someone to want to be seen in public with me. I know he isn't ashamed of me...really...I hope not anyway. Okay, that's enough! He doesn't like going out and I do, so there! My sister will take me out!! After almost 32 years of marriage, what do I expect? 

The rest of the day will be me getting the laundry finished and put away, reading and resting before the busy work week ahead. Week after next is the start of school and I have a couple of days off. That will be nice. I believe we are ready for the start of school. Let's just hope we're all ready...if you know what I mean. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!

Day 36

What a fantastic day it was here! A much cooler start to the day made it really nice for running around doing errands getting the final preparations done for school starting in about a week. I should have photographs of our son's finished room, closet and desk area, tomorrow. I still want to do some more painting in there, (his trim really needs painting) get some of his art and dad's art up and replace the light fixture. Those will take a little time to get done and so, more pictures in the future. But keeping busy like this is important for me. I need stuff to do to stop me from thinking about my stomach.

One of my errands today was to get all of the food for the week for me and the family. We are doing My Fit Foods, but we are also using some frozen meals and other options from the grocery store. I believe I have enough for the entire week, with few leftovers to worry about. Besides the grocery and MFF errands, I had to take care of a return/exchange at Stein Mart's, (love them) pick up some nail art decorations from Michael's and make a trip to Walmart. Okay, I don't really like Walmart much, but they just happen to have what I needed for school supplies, a rug for our son's room, underwear (oh, those are supposed to be unmentionables!) and other do-dads! It was a very busy day!

I mentioned nail art items above. You may or may not know, that I am a lover of all things nail art. When I was sick/recovering from surgery in 2011, my husband encouraged me to watch videos on YouTube as a way to occupy my long hours on my back. Up until that time, I had never watched a YouTube video in my life. I took his advice and quickly found things like nail art, makeup and fashion videos! All stuff I needed (still need) help with! When I saw the nail art, I was hooked. I consider myself creative, but without an outlet. Cooking has been my creative outlet in the past and you can see where that's gotten me! So, I decided to give nail art a try. Here are the first nails I ever did:

My nails were short and cuticles a mess, but from the moment I created these, I was hooked. Usually I do my nails on Saturday or Sunday. This week was no different, as today was Saturday and I was inspired (see inspiration video linked below) I did a manicure dedicated to the Marc Jacobs perfume, Daisy. This is one of my very favorite perfumes and I wear it frequently. Here are a couple of pictures of my recreation of Janelle's nail design:

I didn't come up with the design myself. (Wow! My hands are really showing their age!!) I subscribe to a great nail artist on YouTube named, Janelle. Her YouTube channel is "elleandish." I love her videos and recreate the nails she shows in her videos on my own nails all the time. Here is her video of the Marc Jacobs Daisy nails.  I hope you enjoy it!

The main differences between her nail design and mine, besides the fact that her hands are about 30 year's younger than mine, is my nail surface area is a little smaller and her studs are smooth gold and mine are textured. Otherwise, I'm pretty close! Great design, Janelle!  Thanks!!!

While out today, I discovered that my HEB is now carrying (limited selection, mind you) the Ioni makeup brand that Emily Noel (channel: emilynoel83) talks about in some of her YouTube videos. It is an inexpensive brand, but I'm seeing some good quality. I purchased a blush a few weeks ago and it's so pigmented I have to be careful when using it, lest I begin to take on that 'clown' look! Today they had some eyeshadows (I don't need ANY of that) and mascara. Now, I have a little 'thing' about mascara. First, I ADORE dinky mascaras. If I can smell one within my vicinity, I will have to have it. (We can all thank Sephora for that addiction! Bless their hearts!!) But I also like trying out new full-sized mascaras. I've tried just washing my face and putting on mascara and I instantly look better.  So, the HEB had two Ioni mascaras and one of them was the last one, so you know I had to have them both. Each of them was $2.25:

Both are waterproof and both very black. I have short, sparse eyelashes, so I'm looking forward to the effects of both of these. Of course I've opened both and I'm dying to try to try them out. Sunday will be FUN makeup day around here. The boys will probably hide from me. Neither of them is wild about makeup to begin with and I think these are SCREAMING, "Do a smokey eye, do a SMOKEY eye!!" They HATE smokey eyes on me; say it's not my nature to have all that dark makeup on. I love it! It's so different and sometimes a girl just likes to be different. Anyway, I also found two types of false eyelashes in the 'demi-wispies' style that I love so much. You'd be surprised how hard these are to find.  I bought two pair:

I've never had false eyelashes from either of these brands (my bathroom lighting is horrible - sorry for the glare), so one of these will be tried tomorrow, as well. I'll do pictures of whatever I come up with. You'll humor me because you want me to stay out of the refrigerator and playing with makeup does that for me! :) I can't wait to try these out!

So, for eating today here is what I had:

Breakfast - Jimmy Dean Egg Whites, Spinach and Cheese Breakfast sandwich w/a slice of ham (220 calories)
Lunch - My Fit Foods Cobb Salad (300 calories) plus about a half ounce of baked tortilla chip crumbs (60 calories)
Snack - A Grande Mocha Frappuchino Light w/an extra shot of espresso (130 calories)
Supper - My Fit Foods Almond Crusted Chicken (small) (360 calories)
Total for the day - 1,070 calories! (Oh, MG I did it again!) I under ate yet again, without EVEN trying! I'm sorry to sound so excited, but you just really don't know how fantastic this is. I mean, I know I can over eat without thinking about it, but I've NEVER been able to just eat what I wanted and it would be LESS than I was supposed to eat! The neat thing is, I've been really satisfied all day, as well. This is just so GREAT! I hope I'm getting the hang of eating the right amount.

Be sure to watch Janelle's video up above and subscribe to her on YouTube (if you're interested). Her nail designs are pretty easy to recreate and really cute! I love her work. If everybody watches her, she'll do more!! For now, it's time for me to go walk on the treadmill (I didn't walk last night, so It's make-up time). Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!