I trip over my...

Wiener dog!!

First day of work shoes!

Sorry for the blurry photo - This was taken at the store in DSW - but they are super cute!!

It's my birthday and I'll squee if I want to, squee if I want to , squee if I want to!

So - Halloween is headed our way and that means the great satanic celebration ( my birthday ) is almost here! Normally I keep the party to myself to relax and reflect, but this year features friends, new jobs, and apparently - great gifts!

My husband - the Great Doc Venture, is an amazing, if not normally thoughtful, person. He is smart and funny but I wouldn't call him kind or considerate. He wouldn't describe himself that way either.  I bring the kindness to our table and we are both cool with that. But this year he surprised me! He was thoughtful and giving and had a gift planned for me but put his grand plans aside when I saw this purse and he knew I wanted it more. 

If you're interested - I asked him to describe himself in three words and they were:

1. Laid-back

2. Nerdy 

3. Funny

What are your three words?

The Great Sugar Shake-Down ... Day 6 & 7

The sugar shake-down is officially over!

I'm also officially sick. Sore throat, runny nose, painful pressure in my ears, the whole jazz.

My week without sugar went pretty well. Honestly, I got a little grumpy at the end waiting for the week to be over, but otherwise the project was a success! I made it through the low glycemic 7 days with lots of unsweetened tea, soup, and popcorn.

Also - besides the fun of sugar being back on the table, rocking this cold, getting excited over a new job, and birthday plans - Dez said she was coming over!

Dez!!!!

The Great Sugar Shake-Down ... Day 4 & 5

AAAAAAKKKKKK!!!

I fell asleep on day 4.

On day five I found out our good friend Dez is coming out from Denver to visit for Halloween and the most sacred of satanic holidays - my birthday.
Yay!

I also got a job offer.

I also had a soda. *dun dun DUN!* (That's drama music by the way)
Who knew soda had so much sugar?! I mean, I suppose I knew that yes soda does have sugar, but 37 grams?! AK!

So, I politely asked the Hubbs to finish it for me. Hubbs is a polite gentleman do he gulped it down even though he doesn't like it. I had a slight bit more than half the soda, I'm sorry, but can I say it was an accident?

Reed's Ginger Beer = delicious guilty sugar rush

Almost done with Sugar Shake-Down week. My limbs are still attached, nothing dramatic happened to my body. I didn't lose 20 lbs or die of grumpiness...yet.

I am pretty grumpy though. I attribute that to the decline in chocolate consumption. Normally I eat something chocolate once a day. It is a major food group after all, right? I think it goes something like tofu, veggies, fruits, and chocolate are the four major food groups in my life. Eating seems kinda silly without at least one of them.

We make our own hot cocoa mix here at home. Ty just made some, so that'll be my chocolate and sugar for the day. It still has some sugar to it, but it isn't the same as a chocolate bar or cereal or something with a secret evil sugar content like soda.

Two days left!!

The Great Sugar Shake-Down ... Day 3

Today was okay. 

Devin texted that he wanted cookies. I want cookies too. :-(

I worked at the studio today where they keep a flowing supply of Trader Joe's Half & Half. Half lemonade, half ice tea... and maybe half sugar. Over 20 grams of sugar in 8oz?! 

If one ounce of water has about 30 grams and there are 8 oz in my glass then that's 240 grams, 20 of which are liquid sugar. That seems like a lot. 

I had to have some so I tried it and WOW - it was so sweet it tasted sour!

I couldn't drink it all. 

I wish this week was over already. 

Only 4 days away from CHOCOLATE....

The Great Sugar Shake-off ... Day 2

Sweet things, oh how I love thee. I'm sad and angry with you, but I still love you.

It doesn't help that I had to sleep at a friend's house last night because otherwise I was looking at an hour commute for a 4 hour gig. Since I didn't sleep well, I felt grouchy all morning, then stressed while commuting from job one to job 2, then exhausted after crossing the city one more time on the way home.

The Fiat is fantastic on gas btw. Thank you Fifi!

All day I wanted cake. Chocolate cake. I still want cake. :-(

Is it weird to have such a specific craving?

I'm settling for tea. An herbal concoction from the Pike Place Spice Market. It is delicious, but I'm three cups in and still restless. I even added agave, but it isn't a good enough substitute tonight.

Tonight I'm going to dream of cake.



PS - Beth, I got your letter! Thanks so much, and I love the pictures!!

The Great Sugar Shake-off - Day 1

Well, welcome to a sugar-free me, Day 1!

I've always been told that trying to give up sugar, or even reduce sugar intake, comes with a terrible attitude, headaches, and a general grumpy outlook. But things don't seem so bad thus far! I'm excited about finding foods that I can eat and trying different things to satiate my sweet tooth.

Tea isn't so bad - I've been sticking to herbals instead of black. I miss my Earl Grey, but I could use Agave instead of sugar if needed. I just haven't needed to do it yet.

Yogurt is horrible! How do they get 25 grams of sugar in one cup of yogurt!? That's got to be half the damn cup. I never knew there could be that much sugar in there.... *shakes head*
I've settled on some lite peach yogurt that I can use to blend in with smoothies but nothing that I'd want to eat alone. I can't stand plain yogurt...unless it gets blended with cucumber and drizzled across some falafel.

Cereal is out.

Eggs are in!

Frozen blueberries are in!

Chocolate is out. *weeping* I'm not looking forward to this. I work near Sweet Mickey's - a beautiful candy shoppe (yes, shoppe) and I love checking out the latest beautiful creations they are showing in the truffle case. I went in on my lunch break today and gushed over the adorable devil face truffles, pumpkins, and ghosts they have for Halloween. I only bought one piece - a dark chocolate cherry cordial that I will love forever.

I'm missing it right now... mmm sugar...

The Week Without Sugar... Let The Battle Commence!

In honor to Devin's uncle and a family of sugar-related health conditions, this week Devin and I are trying to cut down on our sugar intake.

It officially starts tomorrow.

You have no idea how much I want a big slice of chocolate cake right now...

The battle begins!