The Girl's World of Dieting.

“There are 17 grams of sugar in this medium sized orange.”

“Wow!  What about my apple?”

“About the same.”

“But it’s good sugar.”

“Sure.”

Good sugar? Bad sugar? It’s still sugar and you still have to count it.  And it’s still a pain.  Counting calories is frustrating, but even worse is when you count fat, sugar, carbs, saturated fat, and protein all at the same time—which is the current endeavor I’ve begun.  One night a week I do not count-and that’s when I’m eating at Judy’s house because truth be told, she can cook and I refuse to ban my taste buds from that God given talent. 

Last week I sat at my desk begrudgingly scarfing down a plate of leafy spinach and tomatoes while I overheard a male coworker comment on the fact that he has lost 15 pounds in the past couple of works.  Immediately I paused my ipod as he explained how.  

"I stopped drinking alcohol."

I then proceeded to to throw the rest of my salad away and turn up my ipod and drown myself in work.  Fifteen pounds lost by a coworker who eat outs everyday for lunch by merely abstaining from alcohol for a few weeks? Crazy.  And then you have me-- a girl who goes to a vigorous kickboxing class and walks every day at lunch and eats nothing but spinach and fish---who lost 7 pounds in two months.  Should I stop drinking alcohol? Is that the secret?

No.  Otherwise I would have lost weight months ago.

So what's the real secret? Guys just loose weight easier.  They stop eating or drinking one item and the pounds shed off.  I was told recently that men who undergo gastric bypass or lap-band surgery also loose weight amazingly faster than women.  I get it.  The primal role of a women is have babies and raise them and therefore by nature we need to be heavier than men.  Men are built merely to hunt. 


So I get it.  But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.  Especially when I drive past cookout after kickboxing.  (I want a milkshake so freaking bad)

I write this hesitantly since I often struggle with food issues (and can't even enjoy a freaking orange anymore).  But girls, don't stress about looking good.  If you're gonna stress about your weight, stress about maintaining a healthy body.  You could go on the twinkie diet and loose weight but most likely you'll end up without teeth and diabetes.  Coming from someone who has a family history of diabetes-that's not what you want.  Take care of yourself because you want to live longer and more satisfyingly, not because you want to look great in a bikini. 

Elephant ring

I've been searching for the perfect elephant ring...tada!  One day maybe I'll own it.

Found on Etsy

Harry Potter Trailer

Yes.  Today the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II came out.  So when my boss asks me why I was late today--this is why (actually it's because I accidentally clicked on the French version and couldn't stop because I just could not tear myself away from the trailer and then I debated about whether or not I had time to watch the English version for so long that I was already late.  Either way, it's Harry's fault.)

Watch.  Then read my comments.

Do it.

Now.

 Now dry your eyes and breathe :)

SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK 

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I'm slightly worried that they gave a little bit too much with one of the deaths.  They very clearly show that it is a Weasley and to me, that was wayyyy too much to give away.

But other than that....loved it.

It seems to show a lot of Snape and Snape's story and to a Snape fan like me...that is freakin awesome.  Snape's story needs to be shown.  It answers so much and gives so much wonderful depth to our beloved Snape.  

Also, it appears that they vamp up the final showdown between Voldemort and Harry and this is obviously a diversion from the book.  However it makes sense.  The final showdown is packed full of wonderful dialogue and some great Harry quotes...but for a movie it wouldn't work as well.  So kudos to them for not being afraid to change something.  yea. I said it.

I'm also really glad they let Ron talk in the preview.  

July 13. :D

Hannibal Lecter

Sage and I have recently gone on a Hannibal Lecter binge. I'm aware this is strange--but I don't care.  Anyways, we watched Hannibal Rising the other night and to be honest, it was a complete let down.

The movie relied solely on gore and guts and the success of Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, and Hannibal has nothing to do with gore and guts--it has to do with the character of Hannibal itself.  The alluring and frightening personality of Hannibal Lecter is what makes it great-not the blood.  Also Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon are well written and carried out--Ralph Fiennes and Anthony Hopkins are superb.  Hannibal in Hannibal Rising is...well...boring.  He is predictable and has no personality (obviously this was not Anthony Hopkins being that it's supposed to be the story of the younger Hannibal).  He slowly becomes a serial killer and predictably hunts down his enemies and kills them in gruesome ways...just like almost every other serial killer movie.

BUT that's not the real reason I hated the movie.
Let's give some background.
Here is the chronological order of the movies (not the order they were released):
Hannibal Rising (how Hannibal becomes a serial killer)
Red Dragon (Hannibal is caught and put in prison)
Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal still in prison and then escapes)
Hannibal (I have yet to see this movie...)

Now here's the big plot hole in Hannibal Rising that has me all fussy.  Hannibal Lecter kills many people and it's known that he is the killer and that he's eating parts of his victims.  At the end he fakes his death and then goes to Canada to continue killing.  So...according to Hannibal Rising, Hannibal Lecter is a dead, cannibalistic, serial killer by the end of the movie.

We learn in the other movies that Hannibal was a world renowned psychologist and often helps out the FBI to profile criminals before he was caught (even after he was caught he was still used a source for profiling).

Now tell me friends...how does a man who is supposed to be dead and a serial killer successfully become a world renowned psychologist and friend to the FBI without changing his came?  Last I checked Hannibal Lecter is not a common enough to name to keep without being noticed.

And that is why Hannibal Rising was a let down.  Ahhh....now that I've ranted and gotten that I off my chest...

Sushi Party

Last night before our group's Communion, my friends introduced me to the art of a sushi party.

Ohhhh Yea.  :) 

It begins with a spread of ingredients...

Avocado, cucumber, crab, egg, radish

Homemade spicy mayo

And of course the seaweed and rice

 

Then it's time to pile it on your square of sushi

And then roll and enjoy.  Over and over again :)

Thanks!!!

Again you guys rocked. I reached a huge milestone in all time page views :)

Have another cupcake.

These are my mocha latte cupcakes.

A Tornado in my town.

 Before I begin, I apologize for the recent lack of posts.  I'm absolutely exhausted.  My days are increasingly becoming busier and busier--but in such a happy and satisfying way :)  After this weekend I should be back on here much more often.

I don't live in tornado alley.  Granted, every once in awhile we hear of a tiny tornado that touches down here for ten seconds and uproots a tree and then is gone.  I'll be honest I was skeptical of the warnings on the news and assumed they were being over cautious.

 

Well, that's a bit more than an uprooted tree.  This was our Lowe's Home Improvement

I love my hometown, it's always full of surprises and moments of sweet nostalgia, but I don't think I realized how connected I was until my father and I drove past this ten minutes after it was hit by a category 3 tornado:

 

I had just gotten to my parent's house after leaving work when my mother called telling me that the store she was in just got hit by a tornado.  In all honesty it was unrealistic; if she had called saying she was in a wreck I could have related or felt more impacted--but her being in the middle of a tornado?  I couldn't find a way to connect that in mind or to feel anything towards it.  It was like trying to picture a new color; if you've never seen it then you can't imagine it.  But when that brand new color is forced in front of you, quickly it becomes real.  When I reached my mom and grandma, the reality quickly set in...and the thoughts of what did happen and what could have happened came in waves.  I'm beyond grateful that they are both okay and I know that it was a miracle no one was seriously injured in the stores that it hit.  But instead of more of my melodramatic rambling, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Bad Day Cure

I'm in need of a bad day cure.

Ahhh...that helps.

Now time for kickboxing (one my favorite cures).

The Donut/Bagel scuffle

I will forever think of this when I go get coffee at DD from now on.

The Wedding Cupcake.

Ahh...as I fought back the urge to sleep while sitting at the airport stoplight after dropping off the newlyweds at the lovely hour of 4:30ish AM, I smiled.

I am beyond happy for these two.

And I want to tell both Paige and Brian thank you for trusting me with your wedding cakes.  I know the importance of the wedding cake and I was beyond nervous at first but after months and months of testing new recipes, developing my own buttercream and frosting, designing and redesigning the cake, and numerous visits to AC Moore and Michaels...I finally found myself in a powdered sugar covered kitchen triumphantly with my creations. 

The tasting of three different white cupcake flavors

The flavors they decided on were Chocolate Fudge and Vanilla Almond Champagne for the cupcakes and then Strawberry with Italian buttercream for their wedding cake. 
All together this was one the most fun I've ever had on a random project...so enjoyable in fact that it has set my mind in a totally different direction career and life goal wise than it was before.  (Thus The Cupcake Pub)


The final product was 100 cupcakes and one 6-inch 3 layer cake covered in fondant.  And my perfectionist side of course kicked in as Ashley and my mother watched me inspect every single cupcake as we packed them into bakery boxes.  The perfectionism really showed the night before the wedding when I stopped piping the cake and ripped off the fondant because I felt (and knew) I could do better than what I had done.  So after making a fresh new batch of fondant I turned up my Eminem playlist as loud as possible and went back to work.  And it turned out perfectly :)

The amazing couple with their cakes

And if you're wondering if they shoved it in each other faces....

They did.

So to the lovely couple, I raise my buttercream icing bag to you.

To see all the cupcake pictures click here