out with the old, in with the new!

So today I did a lot of REALLY LATE spring cleaning. Sometimes I just get into these moods where everything needs to be moved, rearranged, cleaned, reorganized....you know..

Anyway, a few days ago, I saw something in a Wal-mart flier about colored desks that they were selling for $50...which...is pretty cheap for a nice desk! So, I kept the flier...and last night, I finally went out and got the desk. I got a purple desk chair to go along with it. The colors in my room are purple and orange. So, it matches perfectly.

Here is my new "blogging" space. This is where all the blogging magic happens!!OHHH how exciting...LOL.


While I was out.... I treated myself to some early birthday presents (besides the desk and chair). I got 2 new tshirts from Abercrombie. To tell you the truth, the only reason I shop there (and no it's not because of the label- I'm not that kind of girl!) ...is because I like that I CAN fit into their clothes now. Because, their clothes are made for TWIGS.

Anyway.. I also got a new shirt that I will wear when my family comes over for my birthday next week. It is pinkish and sparkly. I got it at H&M.I also got some new pumps that look amazing with this dress that I want to wear when my BF takes me out for my birthday.

This dress is one that my Mom bought for me after I had my wisdom teeth taken out. On sale for 25!
This pinkish one below is what I want to wear on my birthday when I go out with my BF. It was $16 at TJMAXX....OHH how I love that store!!
Below are my fabulous new shoes that match the dress above. These shoes were $8!!!!!
Whew... okaaay... enough of that. Now onto how today went at camp.

It was a fun day. We went on a field trip to "BounceU". Do anyone of you watch Jon and Kate plus 8? Well, anyway, they went there once with one of their 80 billion kids. So, it was neat that I got to go with my campers. It is a fun place...lots of inflatable playground things for the kids to jump on.

When we got back, we went over the dance that I have been teaching them. I had a camper take some shots of my fellow counselors and I dancing to it. Everyday after we practice, we tell them that if they do a good job, the counselors will dance to it. They get such a kick out of it. Here are some pictures...



Wow... these are embarrassing pictures!! But, the campers love it!


Now, I will end with a recent shot of me. In a new shirt. I like this picture because, even though I have gained back 6 of my 25 lost pounds.... I still am fairly happy with what I see. I was going to post a recipe, but time has gotten away from me. "So You Think You Can Dance" is on TV and I have to watch it! I steal a lot of their good dance moves!! haha!

Recipes will come soon though. I have to talk all about my food this week.

Weigh-in tomorrow...yikes!!

Til then,

Karla =)

People think I am crazy...

...but I don't mind it. I am used to people laughing or trying to hold back a laugh when I tell them that I want to be a Rockette.

Ohhh boy... where do I begin about today... hmm..

Well.. basically, I was teaching my camp girls (9 and 10 year olds) a dance for our camp talent show. I used to teach dance back in high school and so I could not wait to teach them!

I taught them a good chunk of the dance that I made up to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. They practiced it by listening to the blaring music from my car. They did such a fabulous job.. I was so proud of them.. untillllll....


The boy counselors from the "boy" group came up to us and made fun of us. Which, is fine. I don't mind it. They are mostly high school boys and I am going into my senior year of college. I am so over the "make fun of people" stage... the "drama" stage... allllll that.

What made me mad was that my girls said, "She wants to be a Rockette someday!!!" and the boy counselors all just laughed.

That is the typical response of A LOT of people that I know INCLUDING my parents. My Dad says to me all the time, "How can you go from living a fairly sedentary life to be dancing 8 hours a day as a Rockette?" My answer?? "Believe me..... if I had the TIME and OPPORTUNITY to dance 8 HOURS EVERYDAY...........I WOULD!!!!!"

Dancing is what I LOVE. But dancing isn't my career right now. So, I have to focus on college and enhancing my education. Not dancing. So, NO.. I am not dancing 8 hours a day right at the moment. I am in school and doing homework and term papers and studying. But, given the opportunity.......I WOULD DANCE 8 HOURS A DAY.

Ughhhhh... okay... there ends my rant about that. I hate..well.. hate is an awful strong word.. I... dispise people who don't believe in me. Because, I BELIEVE IN ME. And when people don't believe in me, I start feeling that maybe I am just kidding myself and maybe those people really are right... maybe I can't be a Rockette.


Sorry about all that people... I just... needed to rant. Here are some pictures of me as a youngin.
Below is preschool.. 4 years old....I was a "Hula Cutie"!

Below in the pink is kindergarten, 5 years old.. "Siamese Cats"
Below in even more pink is 1st grade, 6 years old, "Prettie in Pink"
Below in the yellow and black is 2nd grade, 7 years old.. "Rock Around the Clock"
Below in the blue is 3rd grade, 8 years old.. "Saturday Night" was the song I danced to.
Below in the silver is 4th grade, 9 years old.. danced to "Fly me to the Moon"
Below in the black is 5th grade, 10 years old.. danced to a Tony Bennett tune
Now, howcome the pictures end when I was in 5th grade?

Because after that, I was unhappy with my body. Now, looking back...don't ask what I was unhappy about. I would kill to have that body again.

Anyway... I have been dancing for so long.. I know that one day, my dream can come true.. if I really truly want it to. I just have to want it.

And trust me...

I want it.

I want it bad.

-Karla =)

I Love Buffalo Chicken!!

Okay, so... I think I have said this many times before...but, I absolutely LOVE buffalo chicken! But, it is not really that healthy.

So, a lot of times, I like to put it into a HUGE salad. So, I am getting my lovely buffalo chicken, but also getting a lot of healthy greens.

How do I do this?

Well...I know I have posted about this before...but.. I am obsessed with the show, "Cooking Yourself Thin" on the Lifetime channel.

They actually have a recipe for a healthier Buffalo Chicken Salad. So, I went with it!! It is only 8 points...so... it's worth a try!!

Serves 4 Calories per serving: 480

2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound chicken tenders
1/2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 ounce crumbled blue cheese (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons nonfat or low-fat buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
6 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the hot sauce, vinegar, sugar and salt in a shallow dish until well blended. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2. Put the bread crumbs and oil in a shallow dish and toss to combine. Dredge each chicken tender in the bread crumbs, completely coating both sides. Transfer to the rack of a broiler pan or to a metal rack fitted over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until chicken is cooked through and crust is golden brown, about 12 minutes.

3. While the chicken is baking, stir together the cheese, yogurt, buttermilk and pepper. Toss with the lettuce and celery until well coated. Divide the dressed greens and chicken tenders among 4 serving plates and serve immediately.
Doesn't that look yummy??? I had that for dinner! It was soo good!!

Today was a rough day...so that salad is just what I needed!! It was a long day under the hot sun. At least it wasn't raining though! The kids were not good today though. I don't know why!

Soon, I need to start choreographing a dance that I am going to be teaching to the campers. We are going to be doing a hip hop dance to the Single Ladies song by Beyonce. They are going to perform it on August 7th (a day after my birthday) for the entire camp. They are all so excited, but first I have to choreograph it which is the hard part!

More recipes to come...since I promised them a few weeks ago!

Til then,

Karla =)

Friday =)

So this morning was my weigh-in. I didn't lose....but I didn't gain either. I am pleased with that. Now I know that sticking with my daily points won't cut it. I need to do some sort of physical activity. I am bummed because I thought running around with kids at camp would be enough. I am so drained and tired and sunburnt when I come home from camp....the last thing I want to do is workout! But, I guess I have to start thinking of something, because I am not losing weight.

Okay...enough self pity.

Tonight was a great night. Got to spend it with my dance teacher. She told me all about her career as a professional Vaudeville tap dancer and how she met Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, and Dean Martin just to name a few. All such beautiful talents. She told me how beautiful I am and how proud she is of the dancer that I have become.

Boy would it be a dream come true for me to become a Rockette and be able to give all the credit to my 94 year old dance teacher. Becoming a Rockette has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. It would be an absolute thrill just to be given the chance to try out. I guess if that is something that I was meant to do, then it will happen. And if not, then it just was not meant to be. I am a firm believer in..."Everything happens for a reason".

In other news........tonight is the beginning of my 10 day stay at the house that I am sitting for. I am not only watching the house...but I am watching a HUGE dog... a pool...and about 10 million plants. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. I am not a huge fan of sleeping in a house that I am unfamiliar with. I have a hard time sleeping because I am too busy worrying about this and that... Although, I have had a few glasses of champagne tonight, so I am sure I will have no trouble getting to bed.

Tomorrow I will be spending my day by the poolside at the house that I am sitting for. I plan on reading a good book and writing a letter to my grandparents. Maybe get some sun, and take a swim. Just a nice relaxing day with no screaming campers!!

I am really enjoying those Neiman-Marcus cookies too, AND...they were a HUGE hit with my dance teacher!!! =)

Until next time,

Karla =)

Neiman-Marcus Cookies =)

For the past several months, I have had the pleasure of reading so many fabulous blogs. I have absolutely fallen in love with the blog world. So many of you are such talented writers. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful community of support as well. I truly enjoy reading each and every one of your blogs.

Although, there is one particular blog that is definitely one of my favorites to read. This blogger that I speak of posts the most interesting and thought provoking posts that I love to read. The blog that I speak of is, Confessions of a Wandering Soul.

Anyway, lately, she posted an email that she had received from someone about $250 Neiman-Marcus cookies. Long story short... a woman wanted the cookie recipe for a Neiman-Marcus cookie, and she bought it for "two fifty" which most people would think was $2.50.....until she got her bill for $250. A BIG difference. She couldn't get her money back after countlessly trying to......sooo... she decided to email this $250 recipe to everyone she knew.

Anyway, I commented on this post and told Confessions of a Wandering Soul that being the chocolate chip cookie lover that I am, I was excited to try this recipe. And..........I did!How do they look? Haha.. they kind of look like just regular old chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies.

To be completely honest... these cookies were NOT worth $250. BUT, they were delicious.

I made them because, I wanted to try them out... buttt... also because, tomorrow night, I have to cook diner and dessert for my 94 year old dance teacher.

At the end of every dance year, the Stardusters (my dance class), buy her a present. Since she has gotten older, we have been making her dinners instead. Each dancer in the group will pick one week out of the summer in which they make her dinner and eat with her. I did it last Summer, and will be doing it again tomorrow with my Aunt Linda, who also dances with me.

My Aunt is making the dinner, so I decided to make these Neiman-Marcus cookies. They are really really good. I just can't imagine spending $250 for them. That poor woman who had to do that!

Anyway, thank you Confessions of a Wandering Soul. They are delightful and I think my dance teacher will love them! =)

*On a different note...my weigh-in is tomorrow.

I have kept up with my points. Have not gone over my points. Have stuck to the Wendie Plan. Have not eaten anything terribly bad for me. Although, I haven't been working out....

I am crossing my fingers for a loss... or ... at least not a gain!!

Until next time,

Karla =)

I feel fat.

I just ate fried dough.

Like...who does that the night before a weigh-in?

I do...

Good job Karla.


Well, I have been AWESOME with my WW points this week. Haven't gotten off track. And I am hoping that by being outside playing with my camp kids for 6 hours will be good enough to replace my usual workouts that I did not do this week.

I hope my weigh in goes well. But after what I just ate...I don't think it will. =( Why did I do that??? My brother was nice enough to bring it home for me from a carnival he went to. But, now I just feel like he was trying to sabotage my weight loss success!!!

Another thing I am unhappy about is the fact that I had 10 million plans for this weekend that are all slowly dissolving right before my eyes. Some due to bad weather, some due to other dumb reasons.

At least I have plans to go to see fireworks, and celebrate the birth of the U.S. by having a BBQ at my Gramma's house. I hope I'll be able to go to the beach tomorrow. I have a day off from camp! WOO! But, foul weather is putting a damper on that plan. Hopefully the sun will shine through all the cloudiness and rain we are supposed to have.

On a more positive note, I danced today =)

I blasted some music off my ipod with my campers today and made a HUGE fool of myself as I danced literally as if no one were watching. Except ALL of my co-counselors WERE watching. But, it was exhilarating because.........(I DIDN'T CARE!) What an awesome feeling! The kids loved it and that was all that mattered.

Okay well, I guess I'm done. This blog is so boring now. I really need to post some recipe's of mine that I think are worthy to be posted here.

A big thank you to those who actually STILL read this! =)

Until next time,

Karla =)