100 Ways to Uncomplicate Your Life

I found this on a site and thought we all could take some to time to read over this to make our lives just a bit easier

1. Don’t try to read other people’s minds
2. Get up 30 minutes earlier so that you don’t rush/get a ticket while driving too fast/have to explain why you’re late/get fired
3. Get 8 hours of sleep per night so that you think more clearly
4. Stick to your budget
5. Start saving and investing every week, no matter how little you can spare
6. Balance your checkbook
7. Don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people.
8. Don’t try to do business with everyone. Identify your target client and take very good care of them.
9. Before getting angry, ask yourself if it will really matter in 20 years
10. Focus on being a good person, not on pleasing others
11. Stay home this Saturday, and finish off that nagging chore that you need to finish
12. Kiss and make up
13. Make a weekly menu, and shop for only those items at the market
14. Ask your grandparents the best way to uncomplicate life, and try it for a month
15. Fill up your gas tank when it’s half full
16. Don’t drink alcohol when you’re tired, sad or mad
17. Pay your bills on time
18. Get an annual physical examination
19. Say “I love you” to your significant other and to your children. Studies show that more marriages last, and fewer kids use drugs, when these words are spoken every day.
20. For just one day, imagine everyone’s intentions are good because most people’s are
21. Give away clothes that haven’t been worn in two years
22. Throw out clothes that are in disrepair, and can’t be mended
23. When you have a conflict with someone, talk it out. Don’t let it turn into more than it is.
24. Know what your priorities are in life, and act as if they are your priorities
25. Tell the truth
26. Don’t cheat
27. Don’t steal
28. If you’re holding a ridiculous grudge, let it go
29. Clean your house weekly, so that it doesn’t become too large a chore
30. Do your best at work, or at school
31. Don’t eat when you aren’t humgry
32. Eat when you are hungry
33. Be yourself
34. Say no unapologetically
35. Cook simple meals
36. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses
37. Pay off your car before buying a new one
38. Organise your desk at the office
39. Change your smoke alarm batteries when the clock springs forward, and when it falls back
40. Organise your important paperwork
41. Take only half the clothes that you planned to take with you on holiday
42. Help your children with their homework every night, and have an open dialogue with their teachers
43. Have white sheets and white towels in children’s rooms, because they’re easily bleached
44. Spend your time with nice people
45. Avoid drama
46. Don’t text or talk on the phone while driving
47. Turn off the television/video games/computer; they’re time consumers
48. Don’t engage in office politics
49. Refuse to gossip, or talk behind other people’s backs
50. Do the dishes right after dinner
51. Never go to sleep angry
52. Ask nicely for what you need and want
53. Walk 10,000 steps per day to help your heart
54. Do 20 push-ups before speaking in anger
55. Leave work at work
56. Don’t befriend anyone that isn’t trustworthy
57. Don’t envy others
58. Have your oil changed
59. Take vitamin C before you catch a cold
60. Don’t work more than 8 hours per day
61. Weed your garden weekly
62. Wash your car weekly
63. Have a spring cleaning month every year, and do one room at a time
64. You don’t need to be best friends with work colleagues, but build respectful partnerships
65. Don’t drink and drive
66. Don’t look for reasons to be angry or sad, look for reasons to be happy. You’ll always be able to find plenty of each.
67. Be friendly with your neighbours
68. Return emails and phone messages promptly
69. Schedule in free time
70. Don’t procrastinate
71. Do what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it
72. Be more flexible when you’re able to be
73. Forgive and forget. End of story.
74. Break the consumerism habit…put a three month moratorium in place on buying anything not deemed a necessity
75. Start your diet on September 1, rather than January 1, so that you won’t also have holiday pounds to lose
76. Take care of any health issues or concerns
77. Have your tires rotated
78. Have your brakes checked
79. Have your eyes checked
80. Don’t let your imagination run away with you
81. Let go of perfection in others
82. Let go of perfection in yourself
83. Don’t try to help those that refuse to help themselves
84. Find a way to reduce your commute to work
85. Have an alloted amount of worry time per day/week, that you strictly abide by
86. Drink more water
87. Eat more salmon
88. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill
89. Wear your hair in a classic, easy to care for style
90. Finish what you start
91. Wear classic clothes and shoes that never go out of style
92. Create a daily routine
93. Have a 1, 5, 10 and 20 year plan for your financial and life goals
94. Slow down
95. Eat out less often
96. When you ask your husband which outfit looks best, thank him for his answer and wear the one he liked
97. Allow your children to grow up
98. Clean out your garage, and donate anything that hasn’t been used in the past year
99. Stretch every day
100. If a relationship is over, let it go

Crazy Weekend

our chocolate fondue

I feel like I'm still sleep deprived from Friday and Saturday. It was girls weekend and we kept things going for pretty much all weekend. IT was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again. Next time we said we'll need to make an itinerary. Friday night was spent eating dinner at the melting pot and then we went dancing out in Broad Ripple , that's in Indianapolis for those of you not from Indiana. It was great for once being able to wake up the next morning not feeling like crap and actually remember everything that we did. Then Saturday we went shopping had lunch at Buca Di Beppo then we decided to go see the movie No Strings Attached. We had about an hour to kill so we ended up going to  a store, well my one friend decided to lock her keys in her car. So we went out on an adventures to make it to the movie on time. The movie theater was only across the street and behind the mall so we walked through snow mounds, across 4 lanes (i think it was only 4) of traffic, the mall, and the mall parking lot to get to our movie only to get to the movie theater right at the start of the movie and see a huge line. Luckily the next showing was only about 30 minutes away so we went to that one instead of walking in late. But at t least we walked off some of our lunch. Now it's time to get back to studying and eating healthy but I can't wait until the next girls weekend.

Life Got In The Way

I haven't posted in forever and life is to blame. After working full time last week and getting ready for classes to start, which started Monday posting something was the last thing on my mind. I can barely keep up with my picture of day on Facebook. I really wanted that to be something interesting but it's turning into just things in my life that I take a picture of at the last minute. I really need to work on that. 


As for weight-watchers, I lost 1 pound last week which if I go off of when I first started WW way back in the day (Jan. 2009)...I have lost a total of 20 pounds...not sure if I really believe that since my scale changed back in August but it's great to see my clothes fitting right again and being able to buy new cute clothes!  I think I'm also going to start going to classes with my aunt starting next week. This week is to crazy to try and work anything else into it. So far she is doing Zumba and Dance Fusion it will be great to get to the gym and get more of this weight off. 


As for  this semester, its going to be a tough one. I have 5 classes, 1 is my senior capstone which is an online class and I have another on-line class. I think those 2 classes will be the toughest to deal with but I can do it. I'd have a tough schedule now than in my spring semester of my senior year! Well I should get back to studying! I'm going to try and get a schedule down to where I can post more but we will see if that happens. Until next time


-M

New Year......New Me

I'm going to take the time this year to focus on myself and become the person I want to be in life. I have a few mini goals I would like to achieve along the way which are:

1. I would love to start running..which comes with me becoming healthier

2. Spending more time with my friends and getting that closer relationship back

3. And my weight watchers goals - cook one new recipe a week, track everything even if I go into the red, stay on plan and try to work out 3 days a week.

The past year (2010) I had many ups and downs and I wasn't happy overall. I want to take some time to find my happiness again and be that spunky girl I use to be. Also find things I like to do that makes me happy because I realized the other day that when I ended my relationship with my ex of 3 years back in August the things I so called loved to do were the things he wanted to do. For example he wasn't into sports so I never got to watch any teams plays. It might be petty but I don't care anymore, I'm going to do things I LOVE to do and find my happiness. But one thing that does make me happy is SHOES :)

Cookie Making

One of my favorite things in the world are Penguins, reason I renamed my blog to "The Penguin Diaries" anyways Saturday my mom and I spent the day making cookies. Everything from sugar cookies, gingerbread, oatmeal raisin, and even some chex mix. I saw these cute cookies on-line and knew I just had to make them....We used a gingerbread cookie as the base but we think that next time we'll do sugar cookies instead. These little guys were not all that hard to decorate. Next time i'll do a step-by-step on how to make these cuties!

Weekly Wi

Since Saturday is my normal WI day I WI again this morning. I was still at 155 which I'm very happy with now. Since I'm back on track I need to go plan my menu for the week and look up what I'm going to eat tomorrow when I go out with my mom and grams. We'll probably go to Panera so I can stay within points there plus I think they have a good website for looking up their nutritional information.

 http://www.paneranutrition.com/

It's Been A Long Time

Wow I can't believe it's been so long since I've WI, tracked, and posted. I actually didn't do as bad as I thought knowing I had gone off track. I weigh-in this week on a random day but I was at 155..I can't remember the last time I've been at that number and it feels wonderful. My mom said the other day that she is gaining the weight I'm losing, its not true but she is doing WW too and needs to get back on track as well. We'll I will WI again on Saturday for my normal and and I will post as soon as i step off the scale..until then

Weekly Weigh-In

The weather has been amazing here the past few days and I'm so glad Fall Weather is finally here. I don't know if I could handle anymore 90 degree days. Plus the best part of fall is Football Season! Let's Go Colts!!!! Hopefully this year I get to go to a game.

So this week I gained a pound which I'm totally fine with it. My plans changed last night and Mom and I went to Mexican. I always eat more than I'm suppose to at that place. Mom and I haven't had Mexican together in years! But I'm getting back on track today and starting fresh.

The plan this week is to make sure I track everything and get more of my daily checks in. On top of that I'm planning on going to the gym on Tuesday and getting all set-up so that I can finally go workout after I get home from class.

New Idea

So I've decided that I will try and post everyday something on my blog. Well to make things easy on myself I figured I would just post my menu and maybe stuff I was going to be doing that day and say how I plan on staying on track.

Menu:
B: 8 oz. Skim Milk, Orange Bliss Yogurt
S: Special K Fruit Crisp Bar
L: leftovers from dinner: Steak on a bagel thin, peas, string cheese, a few potatoes
S: Pineapple
D: not sure yet - what mom is cooking

Today is my first Quiz in my Stats class hopefully I don't eat just because I get nervous plus I really have no clue what is going on in that class. So I'm going to spend the morning at work studying. Yes I can study at work perks of working on campus..haha

Blog Award!

So I received a blog award and If I would make this more of a habit I would of posted this sooner.

But Thanks AMY from Brand New Hoosier



Here are the 3 rules:


1. Post who gave this to you

2. State 10 things you like

3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

My Likes:
1. Cooking
2. Colts Football
3. Reds
4. my VW Bug
5. Cupcakes
6. Miami most of the time
7. Friends
8. Pictures
9. Everything Fall pumpkin patches..festivles..farmers markets
10. My family


I'm giving this to:
1. Beauty is imprefection - Jeanne
2. Healthy Hoosier - Kelly
3. Making My Way to a New Me - Marie
4. Marshmallow Butt
5. Amanda's Cookin - Amanda
6. Truly Into Fitness - Jess
7. Woman Vs. Food - Jennifer
8. Craftiness is Happiness - Becky
9. Incredibly Sassy Sue Bee
10. Gettin' Skinny in the City - Kristen

You should definitely check these blogs out! They are my daily reads and give me so many good ideas and inspiration!

I did it!!!

So today I met my fist goal of losing 5 pounds! I did it in great style too losing a total of 3 pounds this week! It's amazing how WW works. So today I'm treating myself to my first reward of getting my nails done. I was surprised I lost so much this week because it was TOM and I'm still trying to get my school routine down.

The challenge this weekend is going to be to not over eat at the family cookout and on my date Sunday. I'm taking WW friendly cupcakes to the cookout plus we are having hot dogs and hamburgers plus whatever else the family brings. I'll update you on this hopefully before next Saturday.

Hopefully this week I will also start a gym routine and start toning up a little bit. I'm going to try and get there at least 3 times a week in not more and use it as a source to clear my mind and think about stuff. Since I moved home it's hard just to have some time to myself before everyone starts talking to me.

Well I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

-M

Keeping Up

Wow this week has been crazy. I thought I would be able to post at least once since last week but things have been crazy around here. Classes start and I'm trying to get the credit thing taken care of too.

Here is a picture from my fair experience last weekend. No I didn't eat the fried butter. I have no clue why anyone would want to either...I did have a corn dog and that's it. I was surprised I thought we would have had more food but we didn't.

But before we went to the fair we had fun going to the mall. I haven't been to the mall in forever. I didn't buy much since I didn't have my new check card but it was fun to see all the new clothes out there. I told myself once I lose another 5lbs I'll go shopping for some new fall clothes.

WI was this morning. I was down 1 pound! I'll take it. Last night we cooked out down at my grandparents campground and I have the best S'more...it was in the foodnetwork magainze. It was a mini york peppermint patty, chocolate chips, marshmallow on chocolate graham crackers and I limited myself to only 1..that's what I had planned for and I stuck to it.


Well hopefully I'll get to post again before next Saturday but if not the goals for the week is to drink more water and try to get some exercise in! Until Next Time

-M

WI DAY

This was my first week back on WW after the breakup. I was starting to actually eat again 3 meals a day and not feeling sick to my stomach. The good news I was down 2lbs!!!!! I haven't seen a number like that in awhile. Hopefully I stay on track today. I'm meeting one of my friends for lunch and going to the state fair if the rain holds off.

I'll update you on that tomorrow :)

REALLY?????

Well my first goal to lose 5 pounds in a month is off to a bad start.. I gained .2 pounds really???? I thought I tracked everything but maybe I missed some things from this weekend since it was a pretty jammed packed. Who really knows????

Goals for the week:
-carry my tracker with me and write down everything
-drink more water
-get in AP's


here is a picture of some of the food I'm eating today plus a few extra things I took to work with me in case I get hungry.


Menu Today:
B: 8oz. 1% milk & dole fruit crisp (1 check dairy, 1 check fruit)
L: Lipton Pasta Side Chicken & Broccoli and Steam fresh Sweet Peas ( 1 check veggies)
D: not sure yet..looks like I'll around around 10 pts to play with for dinner
Snacks: grapes, yogurt (1 fruit, 1 yogurt)

daily goals:
-drink 70oz of water (at least)
-track everything!!!!!
-stay OP
-get in some AP's

Why does Cold Stone have to be so GOOD???

LAST NIGHT WAS HORRIBLE!!!

We went to buffalo Wild Wings which I had already planned into my menu for the day but then my mom and grandma showed up and mom went and got us all ice cream. COLD STONE!
She came back with mine the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection in a waffle bowl, like it size. I DIDN'T eat the waffle bowl they really are not that great! So I saved a few points that way but I also shared a few bites with Adam, my boyfriend. Enough about last night it just makes me upset to even think about it.

I DON'T NEED FOOD TO MAKE ME HAPPY

Today I'm off to an alright start. I wasn't very hungry this morning so I didn't eat anything until 9:30

My menu today: which sucks
B: clif kid chocolate brownie bar ( 2 points)
L: havent really decided somewhere out
D: WG pasta with spaghetti sauce ( 6 points )

I hate PIZZA.. I LOVE PIZZA

Why can't pizza be one of those thing you can just eat and eat without gaining a pound? I could eat pizza for all my meals everyday but I can't. Last night I had planned on eating at home but we had to go to Target and ended up going to other stores as well and eating at a local place called Richard's Pizza and Steak Sandwiches...let's just say it was great. I have never had pizza taste so AMAZING!!!!! I counted and moved on

Today is a new day! But we are going out to dinner tonight again. I feel this is the biggest problem to why I can't lose weight all the time even if I count my point. You can order something light, fat free, etc but how do you know if the food they serve you is actually that way? Most of the time you can't tell if something if fat free or taste the difference.

One of buddies (Nicole) tried this out so I figured I would try it for breakfast...Thanks to Steph too for the honey :)

Menu:
B: 3 egg whites sprinkled with pumpkin spice heat in skillet until just about fully cooked. Add 1 banana and drizzle with honey. Fold one side of egg over banaa and cook until bananas are warm...and 1% milk ( 6 points)
S: Clif Bar or Apple (2 points for bar / 1 point for apple)
L: salad/fruit
D: out (probably wings) will update tomorrow on points


Hopefully today will be an OP day. Tonight we are going to an outside concert in Oxford, OH. It's where I go to school/work. Tonight it's the University's Steel Band. During the summer on Thursday night they have little bands come in and play for a few hours. This is the first one i've ever been too so we'll see how it goes. My mom is bring my grandparents as well. Hopefully it wont be to hot for them. I was looking at the weather and about the time the event starts its going to feel like 98 degrees! The only downfall I think tonight will have is you have to bring your own seats/sit on the ground. Here's to my mom remembering the chairs!!

Today Starts a Whole New Experience

So I have decided that today I'm going to look at my WLJ in a different way. I'm going to go 5lbs at a time I've set my own goals (over to the side) with rewards..Who doesn't like to rewards with themselves with something new once they hit a goal? Plus I'm going to start putting my weekly weight in as well. I feel if someone else besides me knows my weight maybe i'll try harder to lose this weight since I everyone will know what it is..If that makes any sense at all.

My menu today:

B: Arnold's select with 3 slices turkey bacon and 1 slice American Cheese and 8oz 1% milk ( 8points) ( 2 checks for dairy, 1 check for whole grain, 1 check for lean protein)

S: clif bar (2 points)

L: salad and fruit (salad 3 points, apples 1 point, approx: vegetable soup 3 points)

D: green bean/ smoke sausage, pears (8 points) (1 check for veggies, 1 check for fruit)

Recipe Review: HoBo's........not so great

I've made these before but I couldn't find my recipe so I searched for one on allrecipes.com and found this one....it was a little different then my old recipe but it was still the basic concept.

What you Need:

1lb ground beef

1/2 c. green peppers, chopped

4 medium red potatoes, sliced thin

1 lg. onion sliced thin

4 carrots, peeled & cut into strips

4 slices of bacon

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In large bowl combine ground beef and green peppers, mix well

3. Place each patty onto 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil ( enough to cover and close). On each patty place potato slices, onion, and carrots. Slice the bacon in half and place both slices on top. Seal the foil tightly and cook.

4. Cook in oven @ 350 for 45 minutes or on a campfire

I also ended up putting a little bit of Fat Free Shredded Cheddar on my burger as well

The first reason I didn't like this recipe was the bacon just didn't seem done and the potatoes could of been cooked longer. I should of tried to check the potatoes before pulling them out but I didn't since I figured they would of been done since you slice them thin! Other than those two things I just didn't care for the taste...it was kinda blah except for the green pepper in the burgers which I found to be to much for me!

So I need to rethink this for next time........no green peppers, maybe cook my own bacon and stick on top after they come out....potatoes check them before pulling out of oven

July 13, 2010

I did not want to get up this morning plus I didn't want to eat anything for breakfast. So I decided to just make a smoothie so I could bring it to work with me.

Menu today:

B: strawberry/banana smoothie made with 1% milk and 1 container Fiber One Strawberry Yogurt....this got in 2 of my fruit checks and 2 dairy checks.

S: clif kid Z Organic Bar Chocolate Chip ( never had one before so going to try them)

L: update this later...going out for lunch

S: popcorn

D: soup and a sandwich

Goals todays:

3. Get some Ap's in1. Stay within my points since WI is tomorrow morning

2. Get in most of my daily checks

4. (not WW) clean the apartment

Recipe Review: Oreo Cupcakes

After spending the morning looking for recipes to revamp my menu I came across this recipe and knew I had to try them. So off to the store I went...plus I needed to go grocery shopping to restock on fruits and veggies.

Oreo Cupcakes

1 box Betty Crocker's Supermoist White Cake Mix

1- 12oz bottle cream soda (I used diet)

24 reduce fat Oreo's

Preheat oven according to cake package instructions. Place cupcake l

iners into pan & lightly spray each wrapper with non-stick cooking oil.

Take out 24 oreos & half them like you did when you were a kid. Take the side with the most icing & drop into mixing bowl & place the less-iced side

icing-up into cupcake wrappers.

Next crush oreos in your mixing bowl. I smashed mine up pretty good, you don't want any huge chunks in there. Then pour in your cream soda &

add your box of white cake mix. Stir together until thoroughly mixed.

Pop in oven & cook according to package instructions. Once cool, top with fat free or reduce fat whipped cream and ENJOY!!!!

**3 points per cupcake**

I forgot to grab some whipped topping so I enjoy then without it and they were still wonderful! The best part is you can't even tell they are "diet" made. My boyfriend even loved them and he is pretty picky sometimes and think

s he can tell when things have been altered to become better for you..