A big night

Last night was fun! I got to go out to Cold Stone with my roommates! We all had a great time. Thankfully, it was a high point day for me!This pic above is me with my roommate Marisa, she has a blog too! She has taken pictures of my boyfriend and I. She has also taken pictures of my Dad's band, and at my dance recitals. She takes beautiful pictures and always makes sure they are of high quality. Check her pictures out, she has her own blog.. CLICK HERE FOR HER BLOG!

And here I am with my other 2 roommates. The one in the middle is doing WW with me. She's doing great! We motivate each other through all the hard times, and we have become a lot closer because of it. =)

Although, I am not very optimistic for losing any weight this week, I don't know why...

I got 18 activity points this week... but I feel like it's not enough. Oh well...we'll find out tomorrow.

Tonight was a BIG night for me. It was dance pictures night. I got 4 pictures done. One with me and my dance class in one costume, then another class picture in a different costume, then a picture with my Mom and Aunt who also dance with me, and the last picture was me with my 94 year old dance instructor! I am excited to see how they turn out when I get them back in a few weeks. I didn't dance today though because the pictures took up most of the class.

I REEEEALLY hope that I lost weight this week.....cross your fingers...

Although, I am glad that I had dance pictures today being 20 pounds lighter than I was last year. It will be fun to compare the pictures from this year to last year.

Until Next Time,

Karla =)

Sun burnt...

I went to the beach today!! I LOVE THE BEACH! It's one of the most relaxing places. AND... I'm all about wearing TONS of Sunscreen! I always bug my camp kids that I watch over the summer to put on sunscreen. EVERYONE makes fun of me for lathering it on. But, listen up- I am SO pale and SO fair. And the sun does so much damage to your skin... sooooo I'm a huge advocate for sunscreen.

With that said... what happens......I GOT BURNT. I LATHERED myself over and over again too! Sheesh.....

Anyway.. it will turn tan soon I hope.

Not much to say today...did plenty of working out. Walk for 60 minutes, and Dance DVD for 40 minutes..8 points!!!! YAY!

I stayed within my points today too, and it was a low day!

Tomorrow is my monthly trip to Cold Stone with the roommates! I'm excited, and it's a high point day.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday!

Til next time,

Karla =)

An Exhausting Monday

I am not a "Monday" person. For those of you who have read my blog from the beginning...you may see a pattern of horrible Mondays. Although, this Monday wasn't too bad. Just exhausting.

I had a great weekend! Went to my cousin's creamery, spent time with family, went out to dinner with the BF, got A LOT of work done, cleaned my pig sty of a room, and made some plans for future weekends!

So I feel like Monday's ruin weekends..... but today was alright. Today was a high point day, but I am still at 30 points...I usually go up to 34 or so.. hmm.

I did 2 different workouts today. Walked for 45 minutes and also did 30 minutes of a high energy dance dvd. Of course, the dance dvd isn't in weight watchers, so I have to manually plug in the activity, its intensity, and the duration. So for the dance dvd, since I can barely catch my breath while doing it...I plug in HIGH intensity for 30 minutes. I got 5 points for it! NICE! I got 2 points for the walk too, which is nice. So I earned 7 points today. I hope to do this tomorrow and wednesday too.

I have dance tomorrow! Yeah, tuesday! The closer we get to our recital time (beginning of June) the more dance classes they add on. So, from now until June, I have dance on Tuesdays and Thursdays which I'm thrilled about. Although it's a good 45 minute drive back home... it's worth it.

Tomorrow after my morning classes, my roommate and I are going to a beach near our school for a few hours, from there she is going to come home with me for my dance class. I'm looking forward to being on the beach! The weather was beautiful today and it's supposed to be even nicer tomorrow!! =)

Speaking of beach weather, Victoria's Secret sent me an email saying my bathing suit had shipped out and I should be getting it by the end of this week. I'm soooo excited!!!!!!! =)

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a decent Monday!

Until next time,

Karla =)

20 pounds lighter!

Yep..another pound down this week.

YAY FOR BEING 20 POUNDS LIGHTER!!

I bought a new tank top, new jean shorts, and a new pair of flip flops..all on sale for $30 total. I'm very frugal when it comes to shopping! Don't want to spend more than I have to. =)

Enjoy the weekend! It's 80 degrees here!

-Karla =)

AWESOME DAY!

Finally..a good day!

A lot of dancing today =) That was mainly why my day was so good. I practiced for about an hour at home before my class. Then I had class for about an hour. It was a great class =)

I'm excited to be done with school for the week..I'm excited for the nice 80 degree weather we are supposed to have this weekend!! I want to break out the shorts!!! =)

Next week is my pictures for dance. I usually dread it .... this time... I think... I hope.. that things are different. I hope that this time, I will be ready, and excited. I am pretty excited already. I am going to actually have a nice picture with my 94 year old dance director. I'm excited about it. Then we also do a class picture. I can't wait to take the pictures and get them back to see how they turn out. Should be better this year than it was last year...

In other news... my cousins (who are much older than me) own a dairy farm right down the road from me. They have an ice cream shop, and they make their own ice cream from their own cow's milk on a daily basis!! Anyway...they opened recently...so I might go this weekend with the BF! =)

AND..here's some other news....I was going home from dance class, and a black bear walked out in front of my car!! It was scary!! =O

But...it was a nice thrilling end to my good day =)

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!!!

Until next time,

Karla =)

Crappy Day..

The rain makes me lazy..makes me want to sleep. The rain also makes me moody. I was in a horrible mood today and I noticed it as soon as I woke up this morning.

Luckily, I had energy to do my dance workout this morning...I was struggling toward the end of it, but glad that I did it.

I am excited for dance tomorrow...haven't had class in 2 weeks...whaaaat.

I actually wasn't feeling the need to eat everything in sight today...so that was good.

Can't wait for this day to be over....and can't wait for tomorrow at around 12pm to come! I need to get back home and have a good dance class and relieve my stress...OH..and I need my weekend to begin.

Here ends my boring post. =)

Until Next Time,

Karla =)

itsy bitsy teeny weeny purple sequin bikini?

I tried a new recipe yesterday. It was another recipe from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipe's (a neat blog that I follow). She had a recipe for broccoli and swiss cheese stuffed chicken. So, I tried it... it was pretty good! And only 3.25 points...NICE!

Lately I've been eating those frozen Smart One's dinners. It's nice because they are quick, easy, and already have a points value on them. They are pretty yummy too.

Although, nothing beats home cooked meals. And I love to cook. I just wish I new more recipes. I have to do some researching and see if I can come up with more recipes.

I skipped 2 classes today ... oops.

I just wasn't having a good day and I needed time to think and sort things out. I have so many projects due within the next few weeks....seeing as though I only have 2 more weeks left of school once this week is over.

Time goes by so fast and I think today I finally realized that I am VERY behind on a lot of projects that I need to get done. I started one... at least it's a start.



Here's a good thing that I did for myself today................I BOUGHT A BATHING SUIT!! AHHH!

And yes...it's an itsy bitsy teeny weeny purple sequin bikini. Hopefully, I'll like it. I bought it online... here it is.Unfortunately, I don't think that I will look as good in it as this model does. BUT...we shall see.

I am excited for it. It's motivation!


Until next time,

Karla =)

Weigh-In Reflection

So.. I didn't gain...but I didn't lose either. I'm kind of upset about it...but then again, I didn't do nearly enough working out this week and I didn't stick to the Wendie Plan at all! I definitely fell off the band wagon. So, I will try harder this week to stick to the plan and do more activity.

This past week was my 3 month anniversary with WW. I have to say I am impressed with the 19 pounds I have lost. It's a very slow process..but it's worth it in the end. I really hope to lose another 10 pounds before June 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Those are the dates of my dance recitals.

Fingers crossed!

Oh...and... I have some awesome recipes planned for this week!!

Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

Karla =)

Boring boring boringgg

This is a boring post. Just a warning. Lol!

I have been walking everyday and trying to squeeze in Pilates. I really love this warm weather that we have been having lately... I love walking outside. It's also nice because walking has brought me a lot closer to my roommate. Her being on WW too has also brought us closer. It's been nice.

Today, I had no dance class (tear) due to CT public schools being closed for Spring Break. So, I spent my day going home anyway to babysit for my 3 yr. old cousin. I brought my roommate with me and we spent the day at the park with him. It was a lot of fun. It was fairly warm outside, but with a breeze it was chilly, so I was wearing a sweatshirt and spandex capris. Well.....I got a sunburn....on my eyelids. How does THAT happen??? It hurts to blink... which is great, because I blink all the time....more than the average person hahaha..

Tomorrow, I am going to my roommate's hometown which is about an hour away from mine. We are going to get our nails done hopefully. That's the plan. We may go shopping. I'm not sure. I have a gift certificate that I could use. It's supposed to be 63 degrees..that would be nice!

I hope everyone has a good Friday tomorrow!! =)

Sorry for the boring post but I've lead a pretty boring life this week!!

Until next time,

Karla =)

And P.S.--- Thank you to everyone who actually checks my blog and reads my posts. And thank you for the uplifting comments..it means so much. =)

Terrific Tuesday!

Today was a good day. Stuck to my points. Today was a lower day. I ate some Fat-Free chili with tortilla chips for dinner. It was good! I really want to upload all of my recipes and have them on a sidebar on my blog...but I don't know how to do that. When I figure it out, I will do it!

I walked 2 miles today with my roomie. It gave us 4 activity points! We did a shorter pilates session today (only 15 min) but it gave us 1 point, which was nice!

I get to sleep in for a little while tomorrow, yippee!

Here is the cake that I made for my BF's Dad that no one ended up eating... =(
I just brought it there and brought it back home... but I enjoyed it anyway..

It looks pretty tasty doesn't it? Want the recipe? Here-

Cocoa Marble Bundt Cake-
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup oat bran
1 1/3 cup sugar (i used splenda)
1 tablespoon tapioca
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 2/3 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Glaze-
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine the flour, oat bran, sugar, tapioca, and baking soda, and stir well. Add buttermilk, egg whites, and vanilla and mix well. Remove 1 cup of the batter and mix with the chocolate syrup and cocoa powder.
2. Coat a 12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 of the plain batter evenly in the pan, top with the chocolate mixture, and add the remaining batter.
3. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 20 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack and cool.
4. To make glaze, combine ingredients and mix well. Drizzle on cake. Let sit before serving.

Makes 16 servings... points per serving- 3!See those strawberries? That was inspiration from an awesome blog that I follow. Thank you Gina from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipe's. The strawberries were a huge hit!

Hope everyone's day was spectacular!

Until next time,

Karla =)

It's Thursday, HORRAY!

You know, I wait for Thursdays ALL week! I love Thursdays because I get to go back home to my own room, my own space, my own things. I get to go home and dance, which is another plus! Things at my apartment haven't been going as peachy as I would like. I feel like I am everyone's maid! Well, all except one...MYSELF.

Yesterday was my high points day and I know that I shouldn't be filling up on sweets and the whole 9... but usually I will treat myself with something during the course of the day. This time, my roommate who is on WW with me and I went to Friendly's to get a plain old chocolate milkshake. Yeah it was like 12 points, but I needed it.

But, my day was also filled with great recipes.. I made buffalo chicken fingers (which I highly recommend!) I looove buffalo chicken and I found this recipe off the WW site. I also love it because it's super easy! Pictured to the right of my plate =)


I also created my own little simple recipe for Balsamic Chicken. Pictured toward the bottom of my plate =) I cut 2 chicken breasts into little chunks of chicken and put about half a cup of Balsamic Vinaigrette into a skillet and heated it up to medium high. Then I just put the chicken in, and flipped them at about 3 minutes to cook the other side. SO GOOD, and SO MOIST! It was great! It serves 2 at only 6 points a serving!


Okay, I have a quick little story now...

Too make a long story short..I have been dating my BF for 5 years (6 years in June!) and for all 5 years, I have not gotten along with his parents or family...ever. They aren't really "people" people. If you know what I mean. They like keeping to themselves and I don't think they appreciated me barging into their lives. Although, his grandmother seems to like me, which is a plus! I've had really hard times with this issue, and everything blew up in my face a few weeks before I joined WW and started this blog. His parents just got on my last nerve and I haven't seen any of them sense. Of course, I still see one of his sisters because I dance with her.. Anyway, for the first time in 5 years, I have been invited to have Easter dinner with them. I think they got the hint that they rubbed me the wrong way and I'm kind of hoping that they are trying to make up for it.. we'll see. Anyway.....here is my question for all the bloggers that read this.... Does anyone know a decent "diabetic-friendly" recipe for a dessert?? I want to bring a dessert with me because I feel weird not bringing anything. My BF's Dad is a diabetic, so any ideas would be helpful. I have an idea in mind for a chocolate marble cake but I would have to use Splenda. I was just curious if any of you had any ideas? I also hear Splenda isn't good for you? I don't know! Help! LOL!

Until next time..

Karla =)

Not a Typical Tuesday

Today was a great day! I didn't sleep through my classes, I actually got enough sleep to stay alert and actual learn a thing or two in my classes! I felt so well rested, which is good.

I walked 3.5 miles today with my roommate. It was hard because we were battling the wind. But it was nice because it was a good stress reliever, and the two of us usually have deep conversations so the time goes by so quickly.

I took a small nap today, haven't done that in awhile. I fell asleep while writing a poem for my poetry class. I woke up covered in papers, my roommates thought that was funny.

After waking up from my nap, I had this huge spurt of energy that I needed to exert! So, I popped in a dance DVD. I did the 3 dance routines that took about 50 minutes to complete. I finished the 50 minutes of dancing with a 10 minute cool down with lots of slow breathing. It felt so good once I was done! And....I had tons of fun while doing it.

I earned 8 activity points today! Didn't end up doing Pilates...but that's alright.

Dinner was SO good. My roommate made balsamic chicken with broccoli, corn, and stuffing. I didn't have the stuffing, but I stuffed myself with broccoli and corn!! It was so good. Especially because today was my low point day. It was nice to be able to eat as many vegetables as I want! I did let myself have a small cupcake for dessert because I had 4 points left. =)

I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow...I don't have class until noon! YAY!

Did I mention that I love sleep?

Until tomorrow,

-Karla =)

It's been awhile

I literally had no time to post anything this past weekend. It seemed like I was always busy. I had tons of homework to do...a lot of poems to write for my poetry class. I have missed 2 of my poetry classes, one because I was feeling very under the weather and another because I was having problems seeing things out of my left eye this past Wednesday. So, I had a lot of catch up work to do.

Anyway, this past weekend wasn't too much fun even though it was supposed to be. I spent Friday night with my BF and had a great time. If only that was how the rest of my weekend went....

I had quite a huge fight with my Dad that ended up involving the whole family, (Mom and Brother). My Dad is in a small band that gets together and plays at local concerts quite often. For years, my Mom has told me to come and support him, and so I do. For years I have camped out in a tent with my family for the weekend so that my Dad could be in his weekend music concerts. For years I've traveled miles and miles to watch him perform. I've sat in the pouring rain to watch his outdoor concerts. I've done it all.

Music is something that my Dad has always been passionate about. It's not my kind of music for sure...it's more of a twangy bluegrass kind of sound that I don't really like listening too. But, I grin and bare it because I am supporting my Dad.

For me, my passion has always been dance. Dance is something that I love to do and my recitals only come around once a year. Unlike my Dad's band concerts that come around one or twice each month. My Dad religiously attends the Sunday night dance recital in June with my brother at his side. But, he complains all week that he has to give up his usual Sunday night laying on the couch throwing back a beer to go and watch his wife and daughter dance in a stupid dance recital. Since we perform in 5 recitals, he also complains that my Mom isn't around enough to cook his dinner.

So I didn't go to his concert this past weekend. I wanted to make a point. I always go, and I never make fun of his passion the way he makes fun of mine. I know for a fact that he always has a few drinks before going to my recital too. My brother once told me that he had completely passed out in his chair mid-recital. I don't doubt it for a minute.

So I fought and fought and fought with my Dad and didn't back down. He still says that I am being unfair. That he is in a professional band and that dance is just some silly activity for me.

If only he knew just how serious I was about dance. Maybe if he took the time to really watch me dance, he would understand. Maybe if he took the time to really understand what dancing means to me, he would understand. But no, he would much rather WIN an arguement and scream real loud at me to prove "his point" that his band is much more important than some stupid dance recital. "IF YOU ONLY KNEW" he says.

Yeah... if "I" only knew.

So needless to say....YES....I ADMIT IT... for the first time since I have been on Weight Watchers, I didn't track my points and I ate bad food. I ate cupcakes, cookies, brownies...whatever I could. (My Mom had made refreshments for the concert and she brought home the leftovers). I was depressed and upset and I ate so much.

Surprisingly, I lost .5 pounds. I know for sure that I would have lost more if it hadn't been for all those sugary treats I ate.

This week is a new week. Clean slate. A new beginning.

-Karla

I left my <3 on the dance floor

Dance was awesome tonight. I had the best time I've had in a long time.

My dance class meets in our town's "town hall". The town hall has a theater with a big stage and theater seats and all. The town hall also has a fairly large gymnasium where I have my dance class. But, since we are only 6 dance classes away from our 5 recitals, we have moved the class to on stage!

So, tonight we practiced on the big stage that we use for our recitals. Boy it felt good to be back on the stage. Dancing in the gym is one thing, but being on stage and looking out at all the red velvet chairs......that.... is something else.

I danced my best tonight and it paid off. After class, my dance teachers commented on how much I have improved and how good I looked up on stage. I politely thanked them....but deep in my mind, I am going........YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love dancing...and dancing has always always always cured any feelings of anger, sadness, or stress for me. I take all my emotions and release them through dancing.

But, there is nothing in this world that I love more than dancing in front of a crowd. Fortunately, I excel under pressure. I do much better when I am really nervous. Weird huh? Right before going on stage, my heart pounds out of my chest... but as soon as I am on it and the spotlight comes on and the people cheer....I am in my zone! And it is one of the best feelings on earth besides falling and being in love with someone! And for the 2 or 3 minutes worth of the song I'm dancing to, I am in heaven. And when the song ends, the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming and my self esteem flies through the roof.

When I went to college and stopped taking dance as often, I gained weight. Those feelings of accomplishment, freedom, ecstasy, and high self esteem.....well....they disappeared. I started to dread getting out on the stage. It affected my dancing and the instructors began putting me in the very back rows. Now......I feel TONS better about my body both inside and out! And I am once again getting those good feelings. And, well, I guess my instructors noticed tonight. I'm so glad! I'm now in the front row again several times throughout our 4 dances......and I feel DAMN good about it. =)

So there...that was my speech for tonight.

Hope everyone's day was just as good as mine!

Until next time,

-The dancer who just got her game back =)