whyareyousougly

New Year. Better Me?

Leave a comment

Wow, it is already halfway through the 2nd month of 2018! How is everyone doing with their New Years resolutions??

As for myself I didn’t set a particular resolution, but I always try to be as healthy as possible. This means regular exercise, lots of water and a Keto diet. Yep, that’s right I have converted to the Keto lifestyle and couldn’t be happier.

I have always tried to be as healthy as possible, but I’m not going to lie sometimes pizza, pasta and other not so healthy foods sounded far better than some steamed veggies and lean chicken. All throughout high school and college I was able to eat whatever I wanted and remained stick thin. This continued through out most of my 20s and then when I hit 30 it was like, woooah there! Apparently turning 30 is when my metabolism decided it had enough and slowed way the f down. (Just one of the many perks of getting older. What a joy!)

While I didn’t completely blow up, I did gain some weight and seeing as how I was used to always being super skinny I felt uncomfortable. I started working out more and changed how I was eating by cutting out what I thought to be “bad food”. You know what I’m talking about: full fat foods, bacon, mayo, desserts, pizza, etc. I tried a raw food diet and ate foods that I thought were good for me. Things such as whole grain, lots of fruit, green veggies, and sweet potatoes. And guess what? It didn’t help…. I was still a few lbs heavier than I wanted to be and was worn out.

That’s when my sister introduced me to Keto, a low carb high fat diet. I have to admit I was very skeptical at first. Eat more fat and lose fat? However, any  diet that lets me eat bacon, butter, and mayo is good with me, so I gave it a shot. It was a little rough at first, I love pasta and pizza, but I kept going and to my amazement I lost 10 lbs rather quickly. I was losing weight, I wasn’t hungry all the time and best of all I didn’t have to give up eating cheese!!!

While carbs are out, there are so many things you can eat on the keto diet that I don’t feel cheated and I am never starving. Everyone is different, what works for my may not work for you, but if you think this may be something you are interesting in give it a shot. I have been doing keto for almost a year now and I’m not looking back. I have more energy and have a much better relationship with food. Sure I have a piece of cake from time to time, but now I don’t feel so guilty about it.

Next time I will share some of my favorite keto cookbooks. Have a good weekend all!

L

Advertisement

A 2017 Christmas

Leave a comment

Another Christmas has come and gone and now it’s time to prepare for a new year. As my husband and I put away the Christmas decorations I found myself feeling a little sad. No more tree, no more twinkling lights wrapped around the bannister, and no more presents waiting to be unwrapped. This also means it’s almost time for me to head back into the office… (Early mornings, blah).

We had a pretty low key, but enjoyable Christmas. My parents and sister stayed in Kansas so it was just myself, the hubs, and pups on Christmas morning. The dogs were very excited that Santa Paws brought them new Rae Dunn food/water bowls and of course lots of treats. After opening our presents we enjoyed some cinnamon roll french toast casserole by the fire. (The casserole was amazing and super easy to make. Check it out!)

Later in the afternoon we heading to the Hub’s parents house to exchange gifts with the rest of the family and stuff our faces with prime rib. We spent the rest of the evening playing games.

While I am sad to see another great Christmas come to an end I am excited to see what 2018 has in store. Wish us luck as we are heading out in the bitter cold tomorrow night for dinner out with friends. I will never get used to this cold weather!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-L

 

 

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Leave a comment

And just like that, it’s November..

The month of October basically flew by and now it’s time to pack away the Halloween decorations for another year, which is too bad because other than Christmas Halloween has to be my favorite holiday.

The good news is that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Which mean lots of food, football and naps. I have never been one to turn down pumpkin pie and left over turkey for turkey sandwiches is is almost better than left over pizza. Just add some gravy and mmmmm. 

I hope that everyone had a great Halloween. We had quite a few fun “haunted” activities that made this Halloween a ton of fun. We decorated a trunk for the Immanuel Lutheran School annual “Trunk or Treat” on Friday. Then braved the freezing cold to hand out candy to all the little ones. I loved seeing all of the different costumes, but damn was it cold. It was also kinda nice because my dad was able to come with us and I think he really enjoyed it. While he has been staying with us I have been trying to take him to do as many things as I can since he is pretty much bound to the house when we are working.

Upward Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treat

On Monday, the day before Halloween, some friends and I went downtown Chicago to go on a haunted ghost tour. It was a ton of fun, although we didn’t end up seeing any ghosts. It was nice to see a good friend who came in from out of town and get a night out of the house.

Hull House
Fierce
Lovely Ladies
Ghost Tour

 

Our actual Halloween night was pretty mellow. After eating a nice dinner, we snuggled up to finish watching Stranger Things 2 and handed out candy. Now that is my idea of a good night!

 

Now I just have to contain my excitement for Christmas and try my best to not put up the tree until after Thanksgiving. I will say I think the stores are pushing the Christmas stuff a little early this year. It makes it hard for me to resist. I am a sucker for holiday decor.

Until next time

L

Thieves Bottle

Germs Be Gone

Leave a comment

September 22nd marked the end of summer and the official start of fall. Children have been to school for a couple of months, leaves are starting to fall and the weather will soon begin to get cooler. I know many of you are excited because this means pumpkin spice lattes (or pumpkin everything these days), boots and football, but unfortunately this also means cold and flu season is approaching. (For me the begining of October means I finally get to put my Halloween decorations out!)

I absolutely HATE being sick. Being sick is awful and it’s not good for anyone around me because I am the biggest cry baby when I don’t feel well.

This means that as the little germs start to attack I bust out the heavy artillery, which for me means Young Living essential oils. I have been using Young Living oils for about 4 years and I absolutely can not live without them. These bottles of miracles work wonders for all sorts of my ailments and can be used for a great strong immune system.

While oils may not work for everyone, I use multiple oils through out the day for all sorts of things. I diffuse oils throughout the day and while I sleep, I take oils supplements, I use them in my beauty routine, and I even use oils to clean my home. There are so many great oils, but today I will focus on Thieves since that is my main attack against all those nasty germs.

Thieves essential oil is a combination of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and cinnamon. It has been shown that Thieves kills airborne bacteria, can strengthen all the systems of the body and helps to fight off infections. How amazing is that!!!

Here are some ways I use Thieves oil:

  • Rub on the bottom of my feet or spine morning and night for an immunity boost
  • I have Thieves hand purifier, which I use to clean my hands while out of the house
  • Thieves wipes help me to clean off surfaces such as a restaurant table or those nasty door knobs
  • I use Thieves cleaner through out our house to disinfect counters and bathrooms
  • Whenever I get a sore throat I mix a drop of thieves and some lemon in hot water for a soothing drink

As you can see there are so may ways to use this great oil. If I use it regularly I am usually able to get through the cold and flu season relatively unscathed.

Who else uses essential oils?

L

Latest Adventure

Leave a comment

Last week my husband and I took a nice trip to Washington DC to see the sights and spend some time with my mother’s side of the family.

When we found out my husband had a two day Audiology conference in DC we thought why not and decided to make it a week long vacay. Tom has never been and I haven’t been since I was in high school. So we packed a suitcase, sent the fur babies off to grandma and grandpas, and set off. The trip was even more fun (or stressful, depening on how you look at it) because my sister and parents decided to join in the fun.

We spent the first 3 days of our trip exploring they many sights. We went to multiple museums, visited the memorials, got a private tour of the capital, and saw The Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery.  We also ate at some well known restaurants including Momofuko, Old Ebbitt Grill, The Tombs, and The Hamilton. On our last night in the city my husband, sister and I went to Georgetown to check out the exorcist step and house that were in the movie The Exorcist released in 1973. We also ate in The Tombs restaurant/bar which also appeared in the movie.

For the last few days of our visit we went to Huntingtown Maryland and stayed with my cousins. We spent the time relaxing, eating crabs, smoking ribs, and watching movies.

All in all it was a great trip and I look forward to going back again soon. Here are some pics from the trip: