Diet, Exercise and I Need Help With My Playlist

When I started this blog I said it was going to be, at least in part, a way to document my diet and weight loss–in the hopes that it would help keep me on track. If you have been reading for any amount of time, you know that I haven’t done much posting about this. So, since that was part of my motivation for starting the blog in the first place, I thought it was time for an update.

The eating healthy is going well for the most part. There are of course the occasional setbacks…like the entire month of December. My weight went up a bit over the holidays, but doesn’t everyone’s? I’m not stressing over it. Rather, I’ve thrown myself back into making sure I’m eating well and not indulging in sweets too terribly often. Even with the over indulgence of the holiday season, it is nice to log onto Livestrong and see this:

This is since August.

I’m also making sure to get in my exercise. My daily walks on the treadmill are becoming a bit tedious, thanks in part to my workout playlist. This my dear readers, is where I need your help! I am asking, just this once, that you delurk and give me some suggestions to put in my workout playlist! I find that good, upbeat music, makes working out much more bearable. Will you help me, please?

Tunes for Christmas Baking

Having now had a couple of days to recover from marathon baking, I have decided to give the McCormick’s double chocolate chunk mint cookies another try (I’ll update with a picture if they turn out well). While I’ve been doing all of this baking I’ve had Christmas songs playing loudly through the house…frequently on Pandora, but also on my IPod. I thought I would share a few of my favorite songs.

One of my new favorites. I don’t know why, but it just gives me the warm fuzzies.

This is one of my all-time favorite hymns and while I don’t typically think of it as a Christmas song, I love it on Sufjan Steven’s Christmas album.

I am one of those people who will only listen to Christmas music from after Thanksgiving through the end of the year…this is one the first song I want to hear when i bust out the Christmas tunes.

This song is from the middle of Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tale of the Coming of Christ.” I love this whole album. I’ve seen Mr. Peterson on his Christmas tour performing this album from start to finish twice. When I need a reminder of why I celebrate Christmas, this album is what I listen too. I love this song in particular because I always found “Silent Night” to be a ridiculous notion.

This is not a Christmas song, but when it comes on it always makes me happy. Besides, the spiritual heritage of Christianity comes from Judaism so…

As it is the season of giving I thought I would highlight a charity/aid organization that helps children in need: Sweet Sleep. This is a faith-based organization that provides beds and mosquito netting for orphaned and abandoned children. Don’t forget to give…in this busy season of the year, sometimes the most precious thing you can give is a little of your time.

Exciting Find + New Pictures = A Little Piece of “Paradise”

I love bread. There, I’ve said it. I love the taste, and I most certainly love that yeasty, yummy smell that permeates a room when you’ve just baked a loaf (in the bread maker of course). But, as I’ve noted before, I’m allergic to wheat. The gluten free breads and bread mixes that are meant to substitute for traditional sandwich breads have yet to win me over. So while it isn’t traditional sandwich bread, my exciting find yesterday was the best substitute I’ve found. Aldi had German pumpernickel bread that had absolutely no wheat in the ingredients list. I was so shocked I actually read the label about five times- and then proceeded to purchase six loaves. I know if you don’t have problem’s eating wheat it probably seems silly, but I really enjoyed getting to eat a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.

Not only did I get to eat a sandwich (thrilling stuff, I know), but there were new pictures of my favorite actor out on the web today!!! There is nothing quite like a beautiful picture or two to put a smile on your face! Can I just say, I LOVE the pink shirt, it really seems to go well with his complexion. And, while I know it is has been much debated over, I love the beard .

Richard Armitage in Recognise Magazine Shoot courtesy of http://www.richardarmitagenet.com

Anyway, I’ve got some new recipes to try out over the next few days. If they are any good I’ll post them here for anyone who is interested. I thought I would leave you with the song that won’t leave me alone (I have literally been walking around singing it for the past week and a half). If you haven’t given Coldplay’s new album Mylo Xyloto a listen you should give it a shot.