No worries everyone, I am still alive. I know I have been MIA for a few months, but let me tell you I have been busy enjoying my summer and forgetting about blogging. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I didn’t think about blogging but I decided to just focus on my summer and do my own thing for a while. But, I’m back and ready to start blogging again. Instead of boring you with every little detail of what I have been up to, I will give you the shortened version of my summer with a few pics.

It all started with the Brewer’s opening day with a group of amazing people: 

The month of June was insane for me! It all started with completing my first half marathon in San Diego with my brother and my friend Brandon:

While in San Diego, I got my first ever tattoo. Let me tell you-I made it count

We also decided to hit up a Padre’s game because Gregg and I would love to visit all MLB parks in our lifetime:

Then, after we got back from San Diego I took Gregg to Boston for a belated birthday present. Can you guess why we went to Boston? If you said Fenway, you were correct (Again, another baseball park we can cross off the list):

In the early part of July, Gregg and I went on a camping trip with some friends (sorry no picture). But, I do have a picture of the best part of our trip-my new niece Hadley Rae was welcomed into the world while we were on our trip:

Later in July, I had the pleasure of being a part of my friend Stefanie’s Bridal shower and Bachelorette Party:

A few weeks ago, I finished my first ever Warrior Dash:

After the warrior dash, we were off for another camping trip with friends. When we returned, we celebrated my 27^th Birthday.

I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but trust me between traveling for work and everything else. I was crazy busy and needed time to spend with my friends and family and enjoy my summer. I will be back with more life updates/meals/recipes before you know it!

Hello Blog World! I know, I know, where the hell have I been. Well, let me tell you-I needed the time away. I thought once Gregg and I got married our life would settle down a little…boy I should have known. So much has happened in the last few months I don’t even know where to start, but I guess if I am going to get back into blogging I have to start right HA. So, hold on, it’s going to be a rocky ride

The first thing you need to know is that I am going to be an Aunt again! My brother Jeremy and my sister in law Amy are expecting! It’s so exciting because this is their first child and I get to be an aunt again. If you didn’t know, I have been an aunt since I was one-so this isn’t new to me but it’s still exciting. This will be my 11^th time being an aunt-well, technically 12^th time. I know, how can it technically be the 12^th time? Well, I am glad you asked-my brother Joe is getting married in June to his fiancée Stephanie. Stephanie has a daughter named Audrina. Joe and Steph will be getting married on June 29^th and Jeremy and Amy are expecting in July so technically I will be getting a niece in June and then another niece/nephew in July. Let me tell ya-I love that this is all happening because I am such a family person. I grew up with my parents, 5 brothers and 1 sister so I absolutely LOVE family and couldn’t be happier for everyone!

The next thing you probably don’t know is that I recently quit my job. This was something that I needed to do. Without getting into it too much, let’s just say the job wasn’t for me and I needed something more challenging. So, I took a job offer with a WONDERFUL company that encourages their employees to learn and grown with the company. They have this awesome thing in place called a Succession Plan-who knew!

Besides welcoming a few more people into our family and the job change-there is something that I have been hiding from you all….part of the reason I haven’t been blogging. Are you ready? I have gained weight…not a ton, but enough. So, I have rejoined weightwatchers for good. I just signed up for it this week. Let me tell you, it is so different than the original plan….I am kind of nervous. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. But I will succeed just like I did last time!

One more thing you have missed….not only am I going to get back on track with my weight, I am also getting back on track with my activity. My brother Jeremy and I have signed up for the San Diego Half Marathon in June; so I have been training for that. Also, Gregg and I have signed up for a warrior dash in August and tough mudder in September. It’s going to be crazy, but you will be kept in the loop the whole way. I know I haven’t been the best at blogging, but my new years resolution was to get back into blogging and to come up with a plan-so I have decided to divide my blog into 7, yes 7 different sections. These sections will be life updates, giveaways, recipe make-over, weekly grocery lists, weekly meal plans, workout updates and Q&A. I think this will be a good way to keep you all in the loop as to what exactly is going on with me. You will get the opportunity to follow my weight loss and exercise efforts. I will also be tracking my progress too!

I hope you all like the new and improved Health Living! See you soon

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Good Morning All! This post is dedicated to the NEW Weight Watchers Plan. I have been following it for about a month or so and haven’t seen results-why is this? Because I have only been following it half way as I previously posted. In the last 2 weeks, I have realized what I must have on this plan and what I can do without-but this post is about what you must have to follow this plan.

Fruit-It really doesn’t matter what kind fo fruit you have because you can have as much of it as you want. All fruit is zero points so make sure to stock up (but remember you only need 5-7 servings of fruit and veggies a day so eat the fruit and veggies without going overboard)!!

Vegetables-This is no different from before-Vegetables=Zero Points. Try to add vegetables to lunch and dinner. I find it works best when you have a small salad with lunch and dinner and always before the rest of your meal. Why do I do this? Because I will fill up on veggies before anything else. I would rather fill up on something good for me vs. something that is only kind of good for me.

MILK (Yogurt, Cottage Cheese)-This is something I rarely got in when I was on the plan before because I wanted to eat other things and not “waste” my points on milk. But, now with the new plan you are given more points so using 4 points a day to get in your dairy isn’t bad at all.

Mulit-vitamins: I am SOOO bad at this because I hate taking pills. Even though I know they are good for me, I still hate it. My solution to mulit-vitamins: Gummy Mulit Vitamins They are tasty and it makes me feel like a kid again

If you are on the new weight watchers plan, what do you think are must-haves?

Good Evening All! I know I am posting a little later than usual but today was crazy busy-I hardly had time to eat So, with that being said I am going to back up to last nights dinner. I got home around 6 and decided to use up a few things we had in the fridge. So what was on the menu? BLUEBERRY PORK. I know it sounds weird but really, don’t knock it until you try it. It has a great blend of sweet and salty, trust me you will like it Along with my blueberry pork, I made mashed potatoes and a side salad-all for 11 ww points (yes I am back on it, I will explain later).

For dessert, I couldn’t help but to eat half of my cream puff from the fair for 5 ww points.

I typically do not eat things like this but it was so damn good I just couldn’t resist it. That and the fact that I only eat them once a year

This morning, I was in a hurry so I grabbed a few items for breakfast to go. My breakfast consisted of puffed cereal with strawberries and bananas-yummo (3 ww points)!

For lunch, I grabbed a can of campbell’s soup and added some spinach to it for 5 ww points.

I also had a some snacks throughout the day that added 4 ww points to my lunch. All in all, not a bad day of eating. Now, I am off to watch Gregg play softball, have a good night!

Good Morning Everyone! First off, so sorry I haven’t been around like I said I would be. No excuse, just went on a blogging hiatus.  What better way to start the week of blogging than a post about the Wisconsin State Fair??

As you all know, I am for the most part a pretty healthy person but when it comes to the State Fair, it goes out the window. I want to experience the fair without worry and get back on track the next day. Life is too short to miss out on something you love. With that being said, let’s get started with my experience at the fair!

We went to the fair yesterday and started at the Exhibit Hall. The Exhibit Hall is full of new items on the market, local vendors and more. I usually do not buy anything at the Exhibit Hall, I jut prefer to walk around and see all of the new items out there and maybe sample a few dips. Not exactly the most exciting part of the fair but it is something we do every year.

Our next stop was the Micro Brew Tent, aka a beer tent. However, this wasn’t your average beer tent, this was a tent that offered 42 different beers. It was a hard decision, but ultimately I chose the Door County Cherry Beer. The beer was nice and light, a little sweet but not overpowering. Gregg went with a favorite, Spotted Cow.

After we got our beers, we were off to get our favorite item at the fair, a baked potato. The baked potato is found in the Wisconsin Pvilion and offers many different toppings to choose from (cheese, sour cream, butter, chives, bacon, chili, and salsa). Gregg and I had everything but the salsa, and boy was it good! Typically we get our own but this year we shared one because we wanted to try a few more things at the fair.

After our stop at the pavilion, we were off to Saz’s. Typically I will get the combo platter, but like I said there was more Gregg and I wanted to try so we split the slider combo. This combo came with one pulled pork slider and one pulled chicken slider. As always, Saz’s did not disappoint. So juicy and tender, defiantly hit the spot.

After our stop at Saz’s, we were off to the Machine Shed. If you have never been to the fair I will give you a tip about the Machine Shed-its insane! Really Insane! They have items like chocolate covered bacon, a krispy kreme cheeseburger that uses krispy kreme donuts instead of a bun, deep fried butter (yes I said butter) and the item I got, A DEEP FRIED PB&J. Say it with OMG! I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but I loved it. I know it’s terrible for you, but I love PB&J and this added a whole new level. The PB was nice a warm while the Jelly sat in the background-just the way I like my sammys!

After our stop at the Machine Shed, we were on the hunt for Gregg’s treat-the Deep Fried Apple Pie. This was basically 2 pieces of apple pie deep-fried and topped with cinnamon sugar syrup and vanilla glaze. Gregg really liked this, but I was so so on it (I tried one bite). I am not a huge apple pie fan to begin with so I guess that didn’t help, but Gregg thought they were pretty good.

And last but not least, we stopped here before exiting the fair:

And got the infamous Cream Puff!

After all of this terrible eating (but so good). It’s time to get back on track. This morning I had 1 cup of grapes and 1 vita top. Lunch will be a salad made with lettuce, spinach, strawberry’s, blueberry’s and goat cheese (my favorite). I will be back tomorrow with my eats and a few goodies

Good Morning All! It’s going to be a very long and busy day at work today so I must make this post straight and to the point. This morning, I decided to take a class at the gym I work at. The class I took is called Total Bodyworks. An let me tell ya-it’s tough! Yes, you only use 8 pound weights and it is only a 45 minute class, but I felt like I was going to die the whole time-which is exactly why I loved it. It challenged me and pushed me in ways that my normal Spin Class or run do. It worked muscles I didn’t know I had but I am sure I will know tomorrow and Thursday that I have them lol.

In order for me to get geared up for my workout, I drank some Spark and ate a banana.

For my actual breakfast, I am bringing oatmeal and blueberries to work. For lunch, I packed up some grapes, a turkey Sammy, carrots and hummus (one of my favorite combos for lunch). Dinner is going to be leftover pizza from Riverfront Pizzeria (so excited), popcorn and a side salad. For dessert, I am thinking some moose tracks ice cream-yummo!!! That is all.

Good Afternoon All! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend-mine was sure packed with a whole lot of fun, but we’ll get to that in a minute. First, lets start with my review of  White bean and Swiss Chard fettuccine. I got this recipe from Shape’s Drop 10 challenge (please note, I am not currently participating in the challenge). What initially caught my eye was the swiss chard. You see, I have never used Swiss Chard before so I was excited and nervous all at the same time.

 After reading some of the reviews, I decided to make some changes to the original recipe. I kept everything the same except I added red chili flakes and italian seasoning. The flavor of this dish was outstanding! The red chili flakes were an awesome addition to this recipe. The white beans actually brought a very unique flavor to the dish-one that I really enjoyed. To top it all off, Gregg really liked the dish so it’s a keeper! I might add a few other ingredients next time I make this dish like tomatoes and olives… we shall see

In other news, Gregg and I took my mom out to dinner on Saturday to try a new spot: Riverfront Pizzeria.

When we first arrived, our first thing to do was figure out what to drink. Gregg and my mom both ordered mojitos while I ordered raspberry vodka and lemonade with blackberry juice-so good! Very refreshing and light. For an appetizer, we ordered the cheese, basil, tomato bread that came with pesto and marinara to drizzle on top. I thought this appetizer was okay. I am pretty picky when it comes to the food I eat and while this was good, it wasn’t the best. The flavor would have been so much better if there was less cheese. I am a firm believer that cheese is good but if there is too much cheese, it washes out the rest of the flavors.

We all split a Caesar Salad which was not my choice-I dislike Caesar dressing. Despite my dislike for Caesar , I was forced to try it…okay it really wasn’t that hard because it had shrimp in it. Shrimp=me happy I actually really liked this salad. The flavor was right on, nice and tangy dressing with just enough crunch from the lettuce. One thing I would have changed-the shrimp would have been cold. I know some of you are probably thinking-why would you want cold shrimp??? But, there is just something about hot items on a salad that seems weird to me. Maybe I am the weird one?

Anywho, for our main course we obviously got pizza. I picked out a mushroom, goat cheese pizza and let me tell ya it was AWESOME! The crust was perfectly crispy and light while the toppings were placed perfectly so you got to taste all elements in one bite.

It may seem like I had a lot of bad things to say about this place, but I would totally go again. They have so many pizzas and appetizers that I am dying to try. I really did like the place despite a few things I would have changed. I would highly recommend it. GO NOW!

Besides trying new recipes and restaurants, I have been spending a lot of time here:

That’s right Summerfest. I practically live there when it rolls around. Summerfest is one of the many great things Milwaukee has to offer. I am just glad that it is right in my backyard-literally 6 minutes away from my apartment. To top it off, I get free parking every time because I work downtown and get free parking through work. It’s a wonderful thing. You know what else is wonderful? This:

 The Saz’s sampler platter. I know it is terrible for you, but I eat it every year at Summerfest-it’s tradition and I am not about to break tradition. I spent 6 nights at Summerfest this year and loved almost every moment of it. Yesterday night, I saw Awolnation. I really enjoyed their music but did not enjoy the underage drinkers behind me. They were screaming, drinking and falling all at the same time. I thought it was because I was getting old that this type of behavior would bother me, but it turns out it bothered everyone . Other than that, it was a great show.

Other than Summerfest, I have been enjoying my time camping, hanging out by the pool and having Friday night date night with Gregg. Life is going very well for us right now and I hope it continues but more on that later. Until then-have a good one!

• B: 1 cup of puffed cereal, 1 cup of milk, 1 apple
• L: Peanut Butter Gnu Fiber Bar, Salad made with spinach/lettuce/strawberries/blueberries and feta cheese, 4 twizzlers
• D: White bean and Swiss Chard fettuccine (I will post tomorrow with a review)

 Have a great day!