YAY!!

I Chose "YAY!!" To be the title of this post, because I have a lot of things to celebrate, and be happy for! :

Remember how I told you that I had some business I needed to attend to, and I promised I'd tell you all about it, when I was done? Well, I'm finally done!

A few weeks ago, I got jury duty. Big whoop right? Well, as my luck would have it, I got picked to be on the jury for a murder trial! Out of 300 people! What are the odds?! It lasted 3 weeks, and it's finally over! YAY! I had planned to tell you all about it in more detail, but I think it's smart to keep quiet for a while...

I'm happy to be back to life before this whole thing began.... and back to blogging again! Thank you for sticking by me, even though I've been a total blog slacker! On most nights, I just wanted to eat dinner, and crawl into bed. Towards the end of the trial, the judge ordered us to stay off the Internet, so I couldn't even blog if I wanted to!

During this whole trial, I had some :Deliciously Healthy triumphs, that I'm pretty proud of! :
1. When I first found out that I was definitely on the jury, the thought came to my mind, to go of my diet, until the trial was over. I wanted comfort food! But then I remembered, that life throws you curve balls, and you have to learn to work around them. I was determined to not let this curve ball, throw me off track! I'm happy to report, that over the course of this 3 week trial, I lost 5 pounds! ...And I'm pretty darn proud of that!
2. Everyday on our lunch break, we would walk around downtown Denver, and get lunch. It was a lot of fun walking around the city, but there weren't a lot of healthy options to chose from. My 2nd triumph, is that I learned how to eat out, while sticking to my diet! This is something I never thought I had the strength, or willpower to do. I thought for certain, if I had to chose a salad, or a big juicy burger, I would always chose the burger! It actually wasn't that hard! I just said to myself, "Brittany, you deserve more then a greasy burger! You deserve to be happy and healthy!" It worked every time! ...YAY!

***

My 2nd big YAY, goes to the fact, that I've passed up my first 20 pounds lost, milestone! YAY!!

Last weekend, the oh so beautiful scale said "186" Which meant I had lost 20 pounds, since around October- 09' when I weighed 206!

This weekend I weigh 184! The scale has definitely lost some of the beauty it had last weekend, but I'm still very happy with my 2 pound loss this week! I seem to lose 2 pounds every week. I wish it were 3, but hey, at least it's something! ;)

Before meets After...

Here's me at 206:
( This one's pretty telling, isn't it? ;)
And Here I am now, at 184! (22 pounds lighter):This is a milestone, that a little voice inside my head, told me I'd never reach. But guess what? I totally did! When I stepped on the scale the morning that I found out I had lost my first 20 pounds, I gave myself a little pat on the back! Literally ;) Everything has been worth it, to feel the way I felt when I stepped onto the scale, and saw that I hit that beautiful milestone. Those cinnamon rolls that I turned down, the donuts I had to pass up almost every morning while on jury duty, the pizza add I got in the mail that made me drool...NONE of those things could have brought me the satisfaction, joy, and the complete sense of accomplishment that I got from reaching my first 20lb milestone! ....No cheesecake in the world could have compared to the joy I felt when I got my period last month, or the way I felt when I got my very first compliment, or how rewarding it felt when I bought a size 16 pants!
It's so worth it! I'm so worth it!

THANK YOU
to everyone who stops by my blog, and gives me support! I know that my blog is one of the major reasons why I've (finally) been successful this time around! I heart you guys!

***

My 3rd big YAY, goes to the fact that I've been feeling great lately! I can definitely feel a difference in my knees, now that I've lightened their load! I first went on this diet, because I wanted to be healthy. To be healthy so that we can have a baby. To be healthy so that I can function with less pain. To be healthy, so I can stay far away from even more health problems, like diabetes. And to be healthy, so I can hold off on knee replacements as long as I can.
It's working. I can feel my body changing, and becoming healthier... I feel healthier! I realize more and more as the days go by, that the numbers don't define my journey. I'm a healthier person now, then I was before, and next month I will be healthier then I am now. But, since the scale doesn't have a brain, it neglects to tell me that part ;)

Eat Deliciously Healthy. Be :Deliciously Healthy.

***

And lastly, I tried a delicious new recipe! YAY!

I heart Italian food. After seeing one delicious Italian restaurant commercial after the other, I decided that I had to do something about it!

So, I made, Jumbo Stuffed Shells!
And it was everything I hoped it would be! :
You Will Need:

~12 jumbo pasta shells
~1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
~1 1/4 cups finely shredded low-fat mozzarella
~3 tablespoons reduced fat parmesan
~1 large egg white
~1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
~1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
~1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
~2 1/2 cups low sodium marinara sauce
~1 tablespoon reduced fat parmesan
~Salt and pepper

Here's What You Do:

Cook pasta according to package. Drain, and place shells side by side on wax paper. In a bowl, mix Ricotta cheese, and next 6 ingredients. Evenly spread out 3/4 of a cup of the marinara sauce in a 10 inch round, or 11x7 baking dish. Spoon in, or use a pipping bag like I did, 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each shell. Place stuffed shells in a single layer, in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top. Sprinkle parmesan over the marinara sauce. Cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
**This would be awesome with some Italian seasoned lean ground turkey! You could either make meat balls, or mix it in to the marinara!

Here's What I'm Thinking:
~About 100 calories per stuffed shell.
**I had 3 shells, and a side of steamed asparagus. I rounded it all out to be about 350 calories.

***

I'm headed to bed.
Tomorrow I have A LOT of catching up to do on all my blog friends!
I can't wait to see what you guys have been up to!

XOXO

I Have A Couple Quick Questions For You...

I'm starting to notice some weird things going on as I'm gradually getting smaller. I'm wondering if anyone has ever experienced these types of things, while losing weight:

First of all,
Where the heck are my boobs going?!?!I was a DD, but after I had lost about 12 pounds, I realized I was a D! I knew that my boobies were going to get smaller, but I wasn't expecting to lose a whole cup size, after only losing 12 pounds! Am I going to lose a cup size with every 12 pounds I lose?! I'm not going to have any boobies left!
Anyone?

2nd of all,
I've lost 1 love handle, and not the other!
Seriously.
What the heck people?!I'm not losing weight very evenly here. Not in the sense that I'm losing it in my arms, and not my legs, I mean my left side, isn't quite catching up with my right! Is this common? Has this happened to any of you? If so, does it eventually work it's self out? Is my body playing a joke on me?

Thanks!

On a side note:
My Tuesdays weigh in, had me at 187!!! That means I'm down 2 pounds since last week! I'll admit, it wasn't what I wanted to see (I was wanting to see 186-185), but I'm happy with it. I'm happy for every ounce I lose!

Whole Bunch of Randomness ;)

HI EVERYONE!!

Oh how I've missed you guys!
I survived week 1. Hopefully next week will be the last week of this, "duty" I've been assigned, and I can have my life back!

Because I haven't had the time to blog, I'm going to squeeze all the posts I haven't had the time to do, into one big blog post! So, it's going to be a little all over the place! I hope I don't make you dizzy! ;)

Let the complete randomness begin! :

1st of all, I got 2 blog awards this week!

The first, is the "Creative Writer" award, from the wonderful Molly Marie Gets Healthy blog!Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog
3. Link to the person who nominated you
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

To comply with the 4th rule, here are 6 outrageous lies about myself, and 1 truth! Can you guess which one's the truth? :

1. I'm really a man
2. I love sea food
3. I like to walk on the wild side
4. My favorite color is puke green
5. I was a child beauty queen
6. I'm a chocoholic
7. I'm an excellent artist

Now, I pass along the award to the following 7 creative bloggers:

Dawne
CBG Blog
Swimming it off
Project 365
Jewlia Goulia
Fat Girl Dives In
Doin' It For Me

THANK YOU MOLLY MARIE!!

The 2nd award is the "Sunshine award", given to me by the totally awesome CBG Blog!Here are the blogs I pass along the award to, and who bring sunshine to my day! :
(There's no limit, so I'm gonna go a little crazy!)

Dawne
Loser Girl
Bella
Project 365
Anonymous Fat Girl
Endurance Isn't Only Physical
Molly Marie Gets Healthy
Chubby Girl Diary
Watch My Butt Shrink
Two Pounds a Week
Corletta
Deborah

THANK YOU JESSICA!

Alrighty then. Now on to the next subject, which would be the results from my weigh in! ...Which was almost a week ago! Last Tuesday, I weighed 189!! Whoo hoo! It's been over 3 years since I've been in the 180's! It was a nice little milestone for me! I also did a sneak peek weigh in, a day or two ago, and I weighed 188! That means I'm only 2 pounds away from losing my first 20 pounds! (In October/November, I weighed 206. Whoa!) I'm very excited to reach that milestone! ...and for the little award I get for reaching it! ;)

A few days ago, I found out that a website called, budget life, did a blog post listing the top 25 weight loss blogs (In their opinion), and what do you know, I was listed! I was pretty flattered! This is what they said about Moi! :
"Twentysomething Brittany has more reasons than simple vanity to lose weight (although looking great in skinny jeans is a goal, too!). She’s got quite the number of health problems, and for all her dreams to come true, she’s got to lose some weight. However, she doesn’t want to give up her love for food while she’s at it. Now she shares her trials, tribulations, and triumphs in her pursuit to better health and a happier life. With her tips and recipes, you can be :deliciously healthy, too!"
I LOVE it! ;)

Next up, is my new favorite quick and yummy, Deliciously Healthy dish!
Do you like sloppy Joe's? Well, my husband and I live for them! Before going on my little diet, we ate sloppy Joe's ALL the time! A couple weeks ago, I was craving them like a mad women! Finally, I got the idea to simply make a few tweaks, to make them Deliciously Healthy! And boy did I ever!

I cooked up some lean ground turkey, added some seasonings, including cinnamon (Trust me. It's AWESOME!), and stirred in some Manwich sauce! Then, I just put a couple nice big spoon fulls on a whole wheat bun, and sprinkled on some low-fat mozzarella cheese! I dug into that messy goodness like nobodies business! It was totally yummy, totally filling, and totally simple and quick to make! Plus, It totally satisfied my craving! We've had them several times since then!I've also used hotdog buns:
Now for a couple little random side notes! :

~Yesterday, I went pant shopping, and bought a size 16! I used to be a size 18! I'm 1 pant size smaller! Whoo hoo!

~My husband made some cinnamon rolls today, and I'm totally not having a problem passing them up (knock on wood;). That's pretty darn amazing to me, since I LOVE cinnamon rolls!

~I've been having lots of fun going through my closet, and seeing what I can fit back into! It's so rewarding!

~I think I should have a little more time this week to do some blogging! I have a few posts in mind, including some yummy recipes I want to try! I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll have the time!

~I totally miss reading all of your blogs, and I'm going to do my best to catch up on all my BF! I hope everyone has been doing well!

XOXO

I Have Some Business to Attend to...

Hi everyone!

Well, something annoying has come up, that I can't get into right now. What I can say, is that for the next 2-3 weeks I'm not going to be home much, and when I do get home, I will most likely be physically and emotionally exhausted. I'm going to do my best to post as often as I can, and keep up with all of my blog friends. Please forgive me if I'm a little distant for a while.
In 3 weeks, I promise I will tell you all about it! ;)

I also have a little blog business to attend to!

1st up, I took part in Tiff's, I am Worth More Challenge!For one week, I skipped my weigh in, and instead, everyday I would right down a non-scale victory!
Here's the pic of my scale, filled with all my victories, that don't involve the numbers on the scale:I learned so much from this challenge! The biggest lesson I took away from it, is that the scale does not define my worth. I'm making so many healthy changes in my life, and just because the scale doesn't always reflect those changes, it doesn't make them any less important, less valuable, or not worth celebrating!
Thank you Tiffany for your wonderful challenge, and allowing all of us to take part in it!

Also, CBG Blog, awarded me the Beautiful blogger award! It totally made my day (which I'm extremely grateful for, because I had a LONG day today!)!!1st rule, is to list 7 fun facts about myself! :

1. I got married when I was 18.
2. I'm the youngest of 8 kids!
3. My nick name growing up, was BritBrat (Although I don't think I was a brat!)
4. I still have my Christmas tree up! I'm laughing so hard as I type that! My husband and I are even talking about keeping it up all year, just to say we did it! But we're not going to..or are we? No seriously, we're not!;)
5. One time I went to school with underwear stuck to the back of my pants!
6. I totally love dogs! I have 3, and would get a 4th if my husband didn't give me the evil eye every time I mention it ;)
7. I like to sing, although I'm totally not gifted in that area! People literally beg me to stop!

The 2nd rule, is to pass the award on to 7 beautiful bloggers! :

The Sweet Tooth Obliteration Operation

Bella on the Beach

The Chubby Girl Diaries

Project 365

Two Pounds a Week

Corletta

Ahh! It's so hard to chose the last one!....

From fat to fab

That was hard! I wish the rule was to pick 15! That would be so much easier for me to do!
Thank you again Jessica! I heart you!

Alrighty then. I must go get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, and another one after that, and another, and another....I can't wait for these 3 weeks to be over!

Tomorrow I'm going to try and get caught up on everyone! I'm excited to see how you've all been doing!

PS. Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my last post! I love you guys! Each and every one of you!

*****
This just in! Just kidding! I always wanted to say that! ;)
I have a post all planned out in my head, I just need to find the time to do it! Hopefully tomorrow, or Thursday! It includes a recipe (a yummy one at that;), the results from my weigh in, an award, and a couple other random stuff! Stay tuned to check it out!

It's The Climb

(Flickr)
The time that I've been dreading, came. The time for me to stop my infusions, and be taken off some of my medicine, so they can be out of my system when we start trying to get pregnant. I've been dreading this time, because without my meds keeping my RA under control, my RA is able to go to town on my joints.

I stopped taking my meds about a week ago, and I was due for my infusion about two weeks ago.

I'm starting to feel it.
Today especially.
It's been hard.

Every joint in my body hurts, and it gets worse as the day goes on.
I'm starting to dread simple tasks. Even typing.

There's an ugly voice inside my head. It's telling me my dreams are never going to come true. It's telling me I'm never going to reach my goals, and that there's no point in even trying to lose weight.
It seems like this weight loss mountain is getting steeper, and steeper.

I'm trying with everything I have to silence that voice.

About 6 months ago, I had a Doctor's appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, where I learned that I needed knee replacements. I had already known that, but as far as I knew I could hold off for a year or two. During the appointment, my Doctor told me that I needed them, NOW. He even started to fill out the paper work, and wanted me to have the surgery in 3 months. (I decided to go against his wishes and wait)
Learning that I needed knee replacements at the age of 22, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to face. I completely broke down. (You can read more about that day, HERE on my other blog)

On the way home from the appointment, I heard "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus come on the radio. It stopped my tears, and the words gave me so much hope and perspective.

"It's all about the climb." I realized that Heavenly Father gave me this challenge because he loves me, and this was an opportunity for me to learn and grow. I had faith that this was Heavenly Father's plan for me, that he loved me, and that he would never leave my side through this climb of mine. I learned that the struggles I face, are just apart of my journey.

As I've been struggling these past couple days, the words to this song have started to play in my head. They play louder then the negative thoughts, and once again, the words are giving me hope, and a new perspective....

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

(Chorus)

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa
~Miley Cyrus

I've got to be strong. I'm going to keep on climbing, and I'm going to get to the top. There may be obstacles in my way, but I'm not breaking.

This video also brought me GREAT comfort during that time, and as I watch it now. It fills my heart with hope, love, faith, and sends tears of joy streaming down my face.

I feel so empowered!
"Nothing is impossible" to me! My trials can either bring me down, or make me stronger. But it's up to ME as to which road I take!

I'm going to allow these struggles to help me learn, grow, become stronger, and bring me closer to Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ.

I am going to get there. My dreams are going to come true, and I will succeed!
You watch ;)

Thanks for listening, and for all your support!
xoxo

Our Deliciously Healthy Valentine's Day

We had a GREAT valentine's day!Making a valentine's dinner at home, was WAY more fun then simply going out to eat! We spent about 2hrs in the kitchen making dinner and dessert. Those 2hrs had lots of laughter, good convo, and team work! Cooking with Joe, was my favorite part about valentines day! (to read about the rest of our valentine's day, you can go to my other little blog, HERE) Joe and I have decided that we're definitely going to have cooking dinner at home together, as an option on special occasions, way more often!For dinner, we made chicken enchiladas with green chili sauce!For dessert, we made ooey-gooey peanut butter chocolate brownies! (I scratched the cheesecake brownies, because they had coffee in them, and I didn't know what to substitute it with). These brownies we're DIVINE! Definitely ooey-gooey! They were slightly complicated to make, but for Joe and I, that made it more fun!Our brownies looked more like a chocolaty, marshmellowy, peanut buttery, pile of mess then a brownie, but I assure you, it was a delicious pile of mess! ;)

Sometimes I get my recipes from other places, but I change it up so much, that I think they're safe to call my own. Then I calculate the calorie difference between mine and the original. Because I change the recipes, I don't worry about copyright issues. BUT, I followed these 2 recipes pretty precisely ( I only changed 1 or 2 things). So to be on the safe side, I'm going to keep these recipes my little secret, so that a guy in a uniform won't show up at my door ;) They're in the, Best of Cooking Light cookbook, if you want to pick it up! Although...I have LOTS of changes in mind, for both of these recipes, so I may have my own version in the near future!

It was truly a great, and Deliciously Healthy valentine's day! I learned that you can still have fun, and enjoy special occasions without loading your body up with unhealthy goodness. You can have just as much fun, if not more, eating Deliciously Healthy! I love the peace of mind I had yesterday. I got to enjoy time with my husband, without obsessing, and worrying about calories, and fat, and how it was all going to show up on the scale! Those thoughts didn't even enter my mind! I went to bed satisfied, happy, and healthy!
Now I ask you- What could be better?! Seriously?
Oh, and we only spent $30 on the entire thing, instead of $60+!
LOVE IT!

The only thing that didn't quite compare to going out to eat, was not being able to leave the mess to waiters...
The not so fun aftermath: ;)
My calorie intake for the day, was about 1,400! Sweet!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day!
xoxo

I'm off to catch up on all of you!

Happy Heart Day!!

(Flickr)

Valentine's day is one of my favorite holidays!
Last year, on valentine's day, Joe took me out to dinner. I had been on a diet for a couple weeks, but with my all or nothing attitude, that dinner made me go off my diet, for a long time. I've had this bitter memory in my mind, as valentine's day is rolling around again this year. I've been thinking of ways we can have a Deliciously Healthy valentine's day, filled with lots of love...that won't end with me gaining some love pounds!

I came up with the perfect idea, that I'm really excited about!
Since Joe and I LOVE to cook together, we are going to make a romantic, Deliciously Healthy, valentine's day dinner at home! It's going to be so much more fun, then going out to eat...like we ALWAYS do! We're going to spend time together doing something we love, and take care of ourselves, and each other, by eating Deliciously Healthy together! What could be better?!

We are still deciding on what we're going to make for our main course, but for dessert, I'm thinking we're going to make THIS. Heart shaped of course ;)

And maybe some of THESE!Say it with me now- MMMM!

I'm going to allow myself to go a little over my calories for our dinner, because hey, it's valentine's day! I am going to be making healthier choices, and it's better then eating a 2,000 calorie dinner at a restaurant!

I'm pretty darn excited for valentine's day!

I hope you all have a great, Deliciously Healthy valentine's day weekend, filled with lots and lots of love!

xoxo