Re-branding/naming/whatever - CHANGES!

Change! Change is good, right?

As you may have noticed I'm currently in the process of sort of "re-branding" my blog. The focus is still mostly going to be on health/fitness/weight loss, but I realized I talk a lot about ordinary life things sometimes too... maybe it was time to go with something a little catchier and a little more accurate in describing what this blog is actually about - y'know, instead of just some random song lyric reference that no one really understands.

Oh, btw: HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

My oldest started 1st grade yesterday, and my baby is going to 1 year old in just a few short months!! Where has the time gone?? I can't believe how fast this year is going by. It's sort of awesome and terrifying all at the same time. The concept of time is so vastly different as I become a Real Live Adult. I can still remember summer being ALL ETERNITY as a child - now it's like, "Um, wasn't 2 weeks ago April?". No. It wasn't. You're just old and forget things.

Go ahead. Ask me what I had for lunch yesterday. Go on.

**pause**

That pause right there? That was me having to go look at my calorie tracker to remember... because I'm old. And forget things.

I am very pleased to report that I accomplished all of my August goals... for probably the first time since I began this whole "setting monthly goals" business. My August goals were (to recap):

1. Blog more consistently 
2. Focus more on being "active", less on "exercise" 
3. Make time for myself: reading, playing music, meditation, etc. 

My blogging still needs work, but we're getting there! Definitely posting more often than once or twice a month these days, that's for sure. As for activity vs exercise? Done, done, and done! I've been taking almost-daily walks, as well as putting focus and effort into keeping my home clean and somewhat organized has turned out to be wonderful and productive activity, as well as some serious calorie-burning when you spend a couple hours vacuuming/mopping! And as for the third, I've been spending more time reading, watching movies I want to see that maybe my husband isn't interested in, and just general "down" time.

If you'll take a gander over at September's goals, you'll see something that hasn't been touched on or talked about much on this blog since the birth of my 2nd child... smoking!

I, unfortunately, quickly picked this bad habit back up after I stopped breastfeeding back in January. And over this summer I have progressively become a much heavier smoker than I ever have been in the past and would like to be in the present and/or future.

I am not making any declaration of quitting, mind you. I know myself. I enjoy smoking. Trying to quit right now would be unsuccessful, as I don't "want" to. However, I do "want" to quit going through half-a-pack every night. I feel so gross most mornings, and I know it's those 8-10 cigarettes I smoke in the 2-3 hour period before heading to bed.

Here's the thing: I'm a weird smoker. I only smoke at night after my kids go to bed. I don't smoke at work, I don't smoke in my car. I mostly smoke when I'm drinking alcohol, although I have been known to indulge if I'm having Starbucks. Not just coffee or tea, specifically Starbucks. So there's that. I used to pretty much only smoke on the weekends - or if I happened to be drinking alcohol during the week. I might occasionally have a cigarette in the hour before bed, but not every night. I used to average about a pack a week.

Gone are those days.

I am currently averaging about 5 packs a week. I still do not smoke at work or in my car or really at all during daylight hours. However, lately I have found the "need" (if you will) to smoke a LOT at night as I sit on my porch and drink beer or wine.

Here's another thing: over this summer I've become a "regular" drinker. I have at least one beer or one glass of wine every night. I used to only be a "social" drinker. I would drink on the weekends if I saw friends, or during the week if I went out for social interaction. Other than that, didn't really drink. Wasn't really interested in drinking.

Gone are those days, as well. I think I'm definitely experiencing a phenomena my friend Holly refers to as "Drunk Summer". Last summer I was pregnant and could not participate in any of my usual vices. Holly experienced a similar situation when she was pregnant with her youngest child over the summer months a few years ago... and subsequently made up for lost time the following summer. (Holly, hope you don't mind me sharing!! lol) Subconsciously I seem to be making up for my "lost" summer this summer. Hence, Drunk Summer.

Once thing I can say about that: summer is almost over. Drunk Fall and/or Drunk Winter don't sound quite as fun. But during September I am going to make a conscious effort to scale back on my alcohol/cigarette consumption. I'd like to get my smoking back down to that 1-2 packs/week level. Certainly will save me some money as well! As far as the boozing, well, lots of recent studies have shown that one drink a day is actually good for you. So, by the end of this month I'm shooting to be down to only one drink a day or less on days that I'm not actively out socializing.

No big deal. I got this.

So yay for all the positivity, but I did have a momentary sort-of-freak-out-breakdown thing the other night while taking new progress photos. See my first problem was: taking them at night after a giant mexican dinner for my anniversary (4 years!) complete with giant margarita and then a beer upon arriving at home. Should have taken them morning/mid-day like I've taken all of my OTHER progress photos... oh well... but the freak out was this: I am sick of being fat.

I don't mean in the sense that I feel like I'm some huge gargantuan blob of yuck... I mean, I'm sick of having so much fat on my frame even though I'm getting thinner/smaller/shrinking/what-have-you. My body fat percentage is around 33% right now. I need to lose about 6% to put myself well into the "average" range, or about 10% of my current body fat. I'm not going to be able to do that if I don't kick up my activity level a little more. I have 6 weeks to reach my halfway goal of 185lbs. That 10lbs away. I feel like 6 weeks is a perfectly acceptable amount of time to accomplish this. But we know what this means... Gym. Or at the very least: basement weights.

And probably more/most importantly - cut out all the JUNK FOOD!!! *gets crushed by a giant mountain of chips, cookies, taco bell, and french fries* AHHHHHHHH!!

I have been so good and so terrible all at once with my eating lately. I've been good because I've been cooking more, buying  more organic, eating more fruits/veggies... but I've been bad because I've been eating out for lunch almost every single work day - and I eat stuff like Taco Bell, Qdoba, Wendy's, Firehouse Subs, etc... high calorie faux foods. And granted it's only one meal, but that one meal a lot of the times kicks my calorie limit out of the water. Today is a perfect example. Go ahead. Take a look.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Brownies are my sweets weakness.

*sigh*

From that link you should also be able to view my recent diary entries. Check out last Weds - Saturday. It's a scream! And I don't mean that in a "funny haha" way.. heh.

Oh, hey, real quick before I go... I made the most amazing pork chops last night, and I want to share the "recipe" with you:

1lb boneless pork chops about 1" thick
2tbsp of Olive Oil (extra virgin or otherwise)
mix dried garlic, sea salt and cracker pepper and rub on the pork chops
pan-sear for 2-3 mins on each side
bake for 40 mins at 350
serve with rice and veggies/salad

SUPER YUM! Seriously. Best pork chops I've ever made and I totally just did it on the fly. Didn't look up a recipe or "how to" or anything. I'm pretty proud of myself. I've really been enjoying my little forays into cooking/chefery (not a word) lately! I'm really starting to enjoy it and I'm hoping to really expand into it a little more.... for example: cooking for lunches instead of eating a bunch of junk every day.

~Tell me what you think of my "new" blog, and any goals you accomplished during August!~