Friday, January 25, 2013

Clean Eating Update!

As I sit here eating spaghetti and chicken breast...don't judge me...I decided to make a post about clean eating and how has it been going. In a nutshell, its a process and I do not eat completely clean all of the time. I have eating 'unclean' twice that I can think of and I felt guilty every time. The one thing that I have to do when eating clean is plan. PLAN! If you do not plan out your means, you will be tempted to just eat out. I make mine out for all seven days, and stick to it.I have made several trip to Whole Foods for random items. It seems like every weekend I am making the 20 minute ride to Whole Foods for raw honey, tea, whole grain, spouted bread, and bison burgers--two of these items I couldn't manage to shell out the money or bring myself to buy--so I just window shop. I think that in my mind everything at Whole Foods is clean, when that isn't the case. It all boils down to reading labels...which I do alot now.

 I have tried some new recipes: one good, one bad. The good...Oatmeal Bars!




These amazing oat bars which are so easy to make! They are perfect for these cold winter mornings here in Western PA. I think that it took all of 20 minutes to put together and about 25 minutes to cook. Click here for recipe.

The Bad: Clean Reuben Sandwich from eating clean magazine

No picture necessary; its just sour, nasty, tasteless rachetness on two perfect pieces of rye bread. Ewh! Fear not, there are more posts about clean eating coming soon!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Late Nights & Random Thoughts...

I'm up at approximately 12:06am. Write this one down. Since my hours changed at work, I have been getting to sleep at 10:30-11 at the latest-to be sure that I am up to be on time. I told someone at my job that I feel like I'm a part of an elite team of workers who are up when its still dark and on the road when its still dark. Then my maintenance aide reminds me that he's up at 4:30am. [Egg on my face].

 Maybe its delirium but my mind is running wild and this is what I am thinking:

DJango [the J is silent] was a good movie. Those three hours just flew by.

I went to test drive a car and the dude was amazed that my current car passed inspection with a serious wide-eyed look, sitting on the edge of his seat like I was about to tell him the secret Coca Cola recipe, lol! He asked again, because he really wanted to know. He then proceeded to tell me that I really needed a new car and offered $1250 for the Yota.

I need some new UK artists to listen to. These are the times that I miss working at the GAP because I find out about new artists. If you know of any, let me know!

I cheated on eating clean, but I really feel bad about it.

I need to make a wish list.

My life is like a sitcom...or reality show.

I am torn between doing what I am told, what's right, and standing up for what I believe. I worry about the consequences, but it so wrong what they are doing. Since this pertains to my job, I will not go into details, but pray for me.

Shrimp is my new obsession. I eat so many shrimp I got iodine poisoning [in my Pimp C voice].

The One That Got Away friended me on facebook...and he is married. How do I feel about this? Not too bad, but felt that I needed to mention it. He looks old anyway.

I want to sew an apron and a pair of high-waisted pants. Have to figure out how to read a pattern...and sew.

I could be taking down my tree instead of writing this post.

Blue eyeliner looks better than black on me, when I am going for a casual look.

Why am I not married yet?!?! This is so puzzling to me. Ugh! Patience, Kara.

I'm thirsty. Off to get water.

Monday, January 7, 2013

No Buy Challenge: Phase I

This year I am going to save at least $2,000. I would like to save $5,000, but I got to start somewhere right?!?! I am starting a No-Buy Challenge. Yes, that is right, I will not be buying anything but the necessities for the next 60 days starting January 15th and lasting until March 15th. There are a couple of rules to this challenge, and they are as follows:

  • No purchases other than food(from the grocery store only), gas, and monthly bills (i.e. rent, credit cards, utilities, ect).

  • You are allowed two free passes--no more than $50 each.

  • You are allowed to by the bare necessities. For example, you need to brush your teeth, so get some toothpaste. You are able to buy anything that runs completely out, so shampoo of the same kind or in the same amount that you paid for the product you are replacing. Why? Well, I have natural hair and there ain't no telling how conditioner that I will need. So, I will replace whatever that I have with something comparable or that costs the same amount of whatever it is that I ran out of. No NEW PRODUCTS!

  • Try to use cash as much as possible. So, if you normally spend $40 a week on gas, then take out $80 when you get paid and put that amount in an envelope. Got some left over, save it for when you need have one of those weeks when you do a little bit extra running around.

To track how much you save, this is what you have to do. Take the amount of your checking account before you get your next check. Lets say it's $500. On March 15th, see how much money you have left in your account after you paid your bills.

This is just the first phase--there will be more to come! I am thinking about doing a no-buy clothing challenge in the summertime.

Want to join this challenge? Just leave a comment below and let me know that you're with me!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Spiritual Sunday...

Have you ever had a dream about you or someone you know being pregnant? The definition of this is giving birth to a dream or idea that you have been having for a while. Last week, I wrote a post about knowledge and being prepared, which kinda leads me into this, well not really. A vision board. I have one of these that I used to keep by my bed to help keep me focused. When I moved, it got lost in the shuffle and hasn't surfaced yet. While reading another blog, I seen where she had a post about making a vision board electronically through Oprah's Dream Board Website and keeping it somewhere that you can look at it all of the time. She said that she looked at hers and she had accomplished almost half of them without even knowing it, but it was always there right on her desktop.

This Sunday I invite you to make a vision board of what you would love to see happen in your life in 2013.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Eating Clean...

NO MORE DIETING!! With the new year here I am going to make a lifestyle change. This is something that I will be doing gradually: Clean Eating. Its basically eliminating all of the processed food from your diet. Yup, no more boxed, preservative filled, sodium loaded foods. It also involves using portion control and eating every 3 hours. To be honest, this will not be a problem during the week, but on the weekend...its going to be really hard. Hard? Yes. Impossible? No? This is just something that I will have to get used to...on the weekends. This weekend I will be going food shopping and stocking up on some 'clean foods' and making a meal plan for upcoming week. Stay tuned!