Weigh In, New Recipe & Birchbox Goodies

Happy Monday everyone! Since I don't blog over the weekend, we are just going to backtrack by day for this entry.

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Friday:
I received my December Birchbox and I was so excited! It really is so fun opening them up to see what goodies they send.

Top Left: Number 4 Non Aerosol Hairspray
Top Right: Chuao Chocopod in Honeycomb flavor
Bottom Left: Color Club Nail Polish in Dark 'N Stormy
Botton Right: 29 Cosmetics Skincare Sampler

Top: Salt of the Earth Whipped Body Crème in Cabernet & Neroili
Bottom: Salt of the Earth Aroma Salt in White Ginger










I've used everything and LOVE everything. Would I purchase any of the products? Yes. The nail polish and the whipped body crème for sure. The skincare sampler is $175 for the entire collection so... no... it is nice, but just as a sampler. The chocolate was delicious too. If you buy the Assorted Chocopod 8-Piece Gift Set it is $9.95. It is expensive for chocolate but it is very delicious!

And here is what the nail polish looks like on:

I do like it a lot. I will get quite a few uses out of that tiny little sample bottle. I love nail polish. 

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Saturday:

We got a lot of snow/sleet on Friday night into Saturday so the morning was spent at home trying to keep warm. Andrew had 3 piano tunings he was supposed to do but 2 called off due to the amount of snow and the church wasn't until 2:00 in the afternoon so he kept that one. 

Saturday Weigh In:

Weigh In: +3.9

Total Lost: 7.6

Pounds to Lose: 93.4

Remember how the week before I had that stomach bug and lost 11.1? Yeah, I'm not surprised by this gain at all and in fact I am quite happy because I really didn't do too bad at all. Only gaining about 4 of that 11 back? I think I did pretty damn good. 

I tried a new recipe for lunch and I am in love with it and will probably make it again in the future. Of course it is from Gina's Site. This was the recipe. 

Tuscan White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup:

Absolutely to die for delicious. Seriously. I could eat this every day and it is super filling. 

Andrew and I planned on going to Red Robin for dinner on Saturday so I was sure to save up some points for that. I did end up going in the negative (because of beer and a peppermint mocha from Starbucks) but I have already earned 5 APs for this week and just need to earn 13 more to be in the black again. 

I ended up joining Andrew for his church tuning too. 

It wasn't the best piano in the world but after he was done with it I got to play a couple of songs on it and then we left. Even though the quality of sound wasn't the best, he did do an excellent job tuning it!

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Sunday:

Lazy day. Super lazy day minus going to the fitness center and having dinner with Andrew's parents at a local pub. I was really frustrated at the fitness center because I couldn't get my foot pod to sync up with my Garmin. I finally realized the battery must be dead and sure enough as soon as I got back to the apartment and changed the battery it found the pod just fine. *sigh* Technology is a pain sometimes. I had to go by the results of the treadmill which I know aren't always accurate but it was OK. I was on there fore 36 minutes and earned 4 APs.

We watched a lot of Christmas movies this weekend which was wonderful. Andrew's work schedule is going to start getting really crazy this week so I was glad to have the two days to spend with him. We watched The original cartoon Grinch, Christmas Vacation, The Muppets Christmas Carol and Rudolph. Some of my favorites. I really love The Muppets Christmas Carol. I used to watch that one a lot when I was younger. I'm just sad that certain versions of that movie cut out the "When Love is Gone" scene. I like that song but understand that children grew restless during it so they cut it out of some versions. The version we have doesn't have it. Sad face. 

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Well, that was all the excitment from my weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

And so does Walter:

He's getting SO BIG

My Very First Giveaway!

I've decided to do a Blog Giveaway. One, because I need something from you readers and two, because I want to know if anyone out there actually reads this. Nobody ever comments and it makes me feel lonely and unappreciated. *sniffle*

Ok, that is kind of an over exaggeration because I do this blog mainly for an outlet and because I like to go back and read my own posts... but still.... a little love is appreciated. Especially since I leave love for others.

Anywhoo, let's get to it.
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iRun Giveaway!
Since I've never done this before it is going to be a small giveaway and very simple to enter. I will put all of the entries into a random generator to pick the winners. I won't play favorites.

How to enter:
Leave me a comment below with suggestions for books to read. I've run out of ideas and need some new ones. Now, if you have suggested books to me before (on Facebook) I have already read most of those. So, gimme some new stuff! You will not be disqualified to win if you suggest a book I have already read, because c'mon, how could you know?

How many can win:
Three people will win!

Once the winner is chosen: 
I will post the winners to my blog with a link to their sites (if they have one) and they must email me at beckylcowan@gmail.com to receive the prize. I will need full names and addresses of the winners.

Dates of Giveaway: 
I am starting it today and ending it on Thursday, December 5. I will pick the winners Thursday night and announce them on Friday's blog post. The winners will have until Monday evening at 5:00 P.M. CST to email me their information. I will mail the prize on Tuesday!

Restrictions:
I will only mail to the U.S.

The Prize:

It is a beauty product that I recently purchased and I know has been out awhile but I love it immensely and want to share it with people. I will be picking which one to send.

Maybelline Baby Lips Balm

My favorite right now is the purple tube which is Peach Kiss. I love that the balm gives the tiniest hint of color and moisturizes my lips as well. It really is a wonderful little product! 

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In other news:
Everything else is still going well. I seriously love my new counselor, therapist, psychiatrist... whatever you want to call her. She is wonderful and she gave me a really interesting "homework" assignment to do this week that I basically sat down and hashed out last night.
Food and tracking is still going well and I'm going strong on the Skinny Snowman Challenge. I didn't end up walking the dogs last night because I was too excited to get started on my project from my counselor. I ended up doing that and didn't even eat dinner until close to 7:00!

Menu for Today:
B: 2 HB eggs, chicken sausage, 1 c FF milk, coffee
S: Cheese Sticks, banana
L: Progresso Soup, ham sandwich, WW mini bar
S: Chobani Flip - Key Lime Crumble
D: Leftover Tacos
Activity: Might try to walk the dogs tonight

This is the time of year where I will eat a lot of soup. It is really warm and comforting when the weather is icky and cold.

I don't have much else to update... so.... good luck on the giveaway!!!

TGI....W?

Ah, short work week. Who doesn't like one of those? Especially when you get 4 full days off right in a row. I know I'm excited about it. I'm ready to spend some time with family, spend time with my puppy and just enjoy being lazy.
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WeightWatchers & Food:
Yesterday wasn't all that spectacular. I ended up snacking way too much and had horrible heartburn most of the day. Lunch was OK. I ate my soup and that was about it. Then the afternoon was full of snacking and bad behavior. Dinner was a heaping pile of noodles with RF parmesan cheese. I didn't eat what I planned but I suppose it could have been worse.

Today is weigh in day and I haven't been yet. I'm debating which meeting to go to. If I go to the 12:30 meeting then I can head straight home after work. If I go to the 5:15 meeting then I'll have more time to enjoy the meeting and the people. However, Andrew works from 12:00 - 8:00 today and Walter is going to be locked up in his crate longer than usual. Now, I know he'll be fine... but I want to try and avoid any messes in the cage and a bath for Walter if I can.

I always change my weigh-in day to a weekday but then I never want to go. I do go on weekends but then when I am out of town I don't go. I just really can't seem to commit to a specific day. Maybe I'll start going on Monday's after my appointment with my therapist. I will start seeing her every Monday from 3:30 - 4:30 and I believe there is a 4:45 meeting and it would be on my way home... hmmm.... I might just look into that!

Menu for today:
B: Special K Cereal, FF milk, coffee
S: Banana, 2 Cheese Sticks
L: Chicken Pot Pie Soup with extra peas added in, 1/2 c. garlic mashed potatoes, Yogurt covered pretzels
S: Apple or carrot sticks with hummus (or both I guess)
D: Brown rice, black beans, salsa
Activity: Nada

Again, I'm trying to focus more on food than anything else right now. I am going to try and talk Andrew into going to the fitness center early tomorrow morning. There's just something about exercising before you go and stuff yourself full of food that makes you feel a little less guilty. LOL. I don't normally go crazy on Thanksgiving - but I do eat more of the fatty, high calorie good stuff than usual.
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Beauty Product of the Day:

Philosophy Peppermint Stick Body Wash & Lip Gloss

I love the Philosophy brand. I also have their body wash in Mimosa scent. (yummmmm) Around this time of year I love everything peppermint. Soaps, lotions, glosses, candles, everything. I love candy canes too. I don't know where this obsession came from because nobody else in my family loves peppermint as much as I do. In fact, my mom HATES it. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed with this purchase. Haha. It smells so good though. I look forward to showering just because of the body wash alone. The gloss is just sheer but smells (and tastes) just like a candy cane.

I got this little set from Ulta for $20.00. 

I really like everything about Philosophy. I have a bunch of their products on my Amazon Wish List and I know for sure the next thing I want is the Purity Face Wash. The gal at Ulta gave me some free samples of it and I used it all up the other day. It is amazing. I love how it makes my face feel and it gets all of the make up and dirt off of my face very easily. If I had a Clarisonic I would definitely want to use the Purity face wash with it. 

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That is all for today folks! I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and spend it with friends, family and loved ones! 

Gobble Gobble!!

A Bit Depressed

I don't know if it is hormones. I don't know if it is the cold, crappy weather. I haven't quite zoned in on why I am so depressed right now but I am. All I want to do is cry. I cried myself to sleep last night. I've had to stop myself from crying numerous times already this morning. In fact, I am trying to avoid it right now. I don't want to cry right now. My make up is pretty today AND I'm at work. Haha. Maybe tonight if the mood is still there I will have myself a nice, big, blubbering, sobbing, cry-fest.
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WeightWatchers & Food:

My week restarts tomorrow but this is where I have gotten myself. Also, I didn't track at all last night after I got home from work. In fact, I only tracked my breakfast yesterday so that -16 is probably a lot bigger. I did finally go to the grocery store. We didn't buy a ton of food but we got enough stuff to get us through this week and most of next. (I hope). Mom & Dad always send us home with turkey, potatoes and stuffing (if there is any left) and I can use up turkey for a lot of different things. 

I am going to go to the 5:15 meeting at WW tomorrow and I am still deciding if I am going to drive to Taylorville tomorrow night or just wait until Thursday morning to do it. When I'm in this kind of a mood I am even more indecisive than usual. 

Today's Menu:

B: 1 c Special K Vanilla Almond Cereal, 1 c FF milk, coffee

S: 2 WW Cheese Sticks

L: Progresso Soup with some peas added in, yogurt covered pretzels and an apple

S: Carrot sticks and hummus

D: Brown rice, black beans, salsa and leftover veggies

Activity: None

I am trying to use up all of my leftovers from last week. I still have quite a bit of rice and some veggies and I have no problem eating up rice and bean mixtures. They are yummy and filling. 

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Review of BirchBox products:

I have used the perfume, the shampoo and conditioner, the Raspberry Indulgence tea and the highlighter pencil. 

Perfume - nice, elegant, crisp smell. Very strong. A little bit of this goes a long way. I sprayed on my pulse points (wrists and under my ears). Every time I move around or twist my head I smell it. Definitely like it. Would I pay $98 for a bottle? Probably not. I would ask for it as a gift though. 

Shampoo & Conditioner - It smells wonderful and my hair feels really amazing wet and dry. Especially after the conditioner. My only complaint with the shampoo is I had to use A LOT of it. I have very long and thick hair and most of the time I can get away with not having too much shampoo in my hands to lather up. It seemed like I couldn't get enough of this shampoo. For as much as it is per bottle I don't think I could justify buying it... unless I chopped all of my hair off. Good stuff though.

Raspberry Black Tea - YUM. I ended up having more than one cup of this tea last night. I used the tea bag as much as I could before it was getting too weak. If I could buy a box of that flavor, I would. 

Highlighter Pencil - Love it. Absolutely LOVE IT. Might be my favorite thing from the November Box. I used it this morning underneath my foundation to cover up/conceal the dark circles under my eyes and any blemishes. It blends out so nicely, matches my skin tone pretty well and has a nice creamy texture. I then took it and highlighted my brow bone and put a little on my water line to brighten up my eyes a little. It is wonderful. I would buy this pencil in the full size. I probably will once the sample is gone and sharpened down to a nub. 

I am very happy with my first BirchBox and cannot wait until I get a new one in December! 

Stuff, stuff & more stuff

My motivation to blog today doesn't exist. So, you're getting a very short blog post.

Weekend recap: 
I drove to Davenport on Friday night to spend the weekend with my best friend, Sydney, and to pick up my grandma and bring her back here for Thanksgiving. The weekend was wonderful. Friday night Sydney and I both got to town around 6:15 or so. We went to dinner at Olive Garden and then we just hung out and talked. Saturday we stopped by Augustana (Sydney's college) and then met her mom for lunch at Granite City. I love that place and wish that Springfield had one. YUM. After that we went to Ulta, stopped by Leclaire, IA to meet with her dad for a bit, hit up some small shops and then went to the mall. Once all of that was done we went back to her grandma's, played with some of the new stuff we bought and then played our violins together. Something we haven't done since we were in Jr. High School.

My violin is on the left and Sydney's is on the right. Mine is a Stradivarius copy violin made in Germany in the 1930's that I had restored. Sydney's violin is SUPER old and SUPER expensive and I could never in my life afford something like that. Sydney plays in the Des Moines symphony and is also an orchestra teacher. Hence the very nice violin. It was fun playing together again. 

We were both asleep before11:00..... I should say Sydney was asleep at like 8:00. Haha. Sunday we got up really early (like before 7:00) and lounged around before having breakfast and getting ready to hit the road. We went our separate ways and I picked up grandma and brought her back home with me. It was such an amazing weekend and I am sad that it went by so quickly. Sydney and I live 6 hours away from each other and it sucks. She has been my best friend since I was 12 and if I ever got to live in the same city as her again I would be so happy.
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Beauty Things:

I received my very first BirchBox today.

I cannot even explain how excited I am about this! I made myself wait a little bit to open it up. I had something for work come through so I finished that up and then I opened up my box to see what was inside. 

Assorted teas, shampoo, conditioner, highlighter pencil and perfume. Here are the brands and descriptions of each: 

Beauty Protector: Protect & Shampoo: New from the best-selling haircare line, this sulfate-free formula adds shine and volume. (and it smells amazing)

Beauty Protector: Protect & Condition:  This nourishing conditioner hydrates with the help of shea butter and pearl powder. (also smells amazing)

Chella: Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil: This face illuminator brightens and contours - it can be applied 10 different ways! Brow bones, cheekbones or along lip line! 

Joie: Folle de Joie eau de parfum: A Birchbox customer fave, this fresh scent blends mandarin, rose, and sandalwood.(smells very nice, strong so you wouldn't need much. Almost an elegant smell... no wonder it is almost $100 per bottle!) 

Ahmad Tea London: Assorted Teas: A best-selling blend of premium teas from Assam, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. (Flavors are Green Tea, Black Tea English No. 1, Raspberry Indulgence Black Tea)

Once I fully try everything I will let you know what I like the best! 

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:

We're not going to talk about food. 

We're not going to talk about WW. 

I just need a day to even out and not think about it. 

I tracked my food from the weekend and am only -9. Not too shabby. If I wouldn't have done the wine tasting at the winery I probably wouldn't have gone over. It was fun though and I don't regret it. 

I WILL GO TO THE GROCERY STORE TONIGHT. 

End.of.Discussion.

A Fresh Start

We all need a fresh start sometimes. Wipe the slate clean and start all over.
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Wednesday Weigh In:
Weigh In: +/- 0
Total Lost: 0
Left to Lose: 101

Technically if you were going from my previous weigh ins I did lose 1.6 last night. I was happy about that. When I walked into the meeting Irene said "Hi Becky!" because I have been a part of her meetings on and off since 2007. If she didn't know me I would be worried. Haha! Anyway, it always feels nice to walk in there and feel so welcome and I know she is always happy that I'm back. At least she acts like she is. :)
Anyway, I told the receptionist that weighed me to wipe my slate clean and pretend like they didn't know who I was. Irene heard me and said "Nope, don't know you. Never seen you before in my life." They are such fun women at that meeting center and it always makes me wonder why I stop going. I am going to go back to doing the lunch meetings at 12:30 on Wednesday because I like that group and that meeting.

So, slate is wiped clean and I'm starting fresh.

Yesterday I stuck to my plan 100% and still had 3P+ leftover. Andrew and I were going to watch South Park so I made us up some air popped popcorn. I went over my DP allowance but I had my 49 WP to fall back on. I was so proud of myself. I did not binge eat anything and actually felt good when I went to sleep. That is an amazing feeling.

Today's Menu:
B: 2 Pancakes, 2 HB eggs, coffee (8P+)
S: (2) String Cheese (3P+)
L: 3.5 oz Chicken Thighs, 1/2 c. brown rice, spinach, Skinny Cow Candy Bar (11P+)
S: Carrot sticks with 2 T Peanut Butter (5P+)
D: 1 c. spaghetti with 1/4 c. pasta sauce, 1 c. peas, WW candies (12P+)
Activity: TBD

I really need to focus on tackling one thing at a time. Right now, focusing on getting my food intake under control has taken the more important role in my life right now. When I joined WW back in 2007 I lost over 20 pounds without ever exercising. I focused on food, measuring and tracking. I might do that for a bit, especially since the Holidays are very difficult. I might throw in some walks/runs here and there when I feel like it but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't workout EVERY day. I still have that challenge going on with Anna starting on Thanksgiving that I do at least a mile a day. That could be walking briskly, leisurely walking or running. Doesn't matter. Just 1 mile a day.
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Beauty Product of the Day:
Yes, this is new and totally necessary. Haha. The other day I signed up for a Birch Box subscription. It is pretty much amazing. You pay $10 a month and they send you a box that has all sorts of samples of beauty products, foods, creams, nail polish, etc. Since I am so interested in that kind of stuff I figured that this was a no-brainer. It comes out of my pocket money budget and I think it is totally worth it. Well, my first box doesn't mail out until 11/27/13 so I was shopping on the store looking for a fun little thing to get and I got this:

This cute little bag (taken next to a pen so you could see the comparison and see how small it really is) holds 17 emergency things. SEVENTEEN. I thought to myself, "No way."

Opened up a bit.....

From left to right (and center): Lip balm, breath freshener, hair spray, clear nail polish, tampon

Dental Floss, band-aid, nail file, sewing kit with a safety pin, buttons, backs to earrings and rubber bands for your hair.

Advil, deodorant towelette, double sided tape, stain remover cloth, nail polish remover

Is that not the coolest thing EVER?! The lip balm smells AMAZING. (of course I opened that first.) and I love having the rest of that in my purse if I ever need it. I am that person that likes to have everything. Just yesterday my boss wanted to know if anyone had a sewing kit because he lost a button on his pants. Guess who had one (before this bag)? ME! 

This little bag is so cute. It was $15 but I had a promo code for 10% off since I signed up for a subscription and I also got free S&H. 

Worth it. 

I'm a Brunette!

Say what?! Haha. It is September. Therefore, in my mind it is very close to fall; and being close to fall it means that I dye my hair a darker color. Why? Because I get bored... that's why! Half of the year I have blonde hair and half of the year I have brown hair. It is just how I roll, bitches. 

I really like the way it turned out. Sometimes when I dye my hair brown I get more of a reddish tint to it that bothers me until it washes out a bit. This color turned out PERFECT though. I will probably buy this from now on. I was very pleased when I dried my hair last night. I got the Nutrisse Light Brown Foam dye. It was decently priced (on sale at CVS) and it made my hair so darn soft. I loved it. 

WeightWatchers & Food Stuff:

For dinner last night I ended up having 1 c. pasta, 4 oz ground beef (97/3), and peas all mixed together in a bowl. Those are sometimes my favorite meals. Just a mixture of good food in one easy serving. Very filling too! I went over my points by 7 because I decided to have some Tootsie Rolls after Andrew got home. I did earn 2 ActivityPoints last night too because I was running around and running errands like a mad woman. Also, dying my hair. :) 

Today's food has been:

WW Sweet Hazelnut Smoothie made with 2 ice cubes and 1 c. FF milk

2 WeightWatchers Colby Jack Cheese Sticks

Spaghetti squash, 1/4 c. spaghetti sauce, chicken sausage, spinach all mixed together, 3/4 c. FF cottage cheese with a tomato, sugar free jell-O and a WW Mini caramel chocolate bar. I'm very full! 

My afternoon snacks (if I choose to have them) Chobani Key Lime Flip and/or 8 Triscuit crackers with 2 T hummus and tomato slices. 

Dinner has yet to be determined. I will probably come up with something creative. 

I would very much like to try and exercise tonight but I am still so tired. I am thinking that maybe I need to get my body used to working 8 hour days again before I incorporate more on top of that. I think I overdid it yesterday. I guess we will see how I feel when I get home!