It's easy.

Dear, lovely Fashionably Late Readers,

I am painfully aware of my negligence to this here blog over the last couple of weeks.  I have missed it, and I have missed you! Whomever you may be...

Diligence has not been my forte, lately.  It is far too easy to become lackadaisical about...  Well, everything.  I haven't tracked my food as well as usual, I haven't made as much progress in the weight department as I'd like, and I haven't blogged as often as I should.  But, not this week.  I got back on track, lost 3 pounds, and bought myself some new, helpful goodies.

With fresh resolve, my favorite pen, a new planner, and a neat looking Mead college-ruled composition notebook for recipes with "LET THERE BE FOOD!!!" scribbled on the front, progress shall be made.  Here are a few things you all can expect to be heading your way.

...Regular posts about Fat Archaeology discoveries
...Regular posts about Little Victories
...The return of Sweaty Beats!
...Fashion!  Struggles and successes with shopping, what I've found, where I've found it, and why it worked for me.
...FOOD.  I'll be sharing my go-to products, reviewing things I've tried, posting recipes from cooking and baking, and providing nutritional info and Weight Watchers Point Plus values for each and every one.

First on the agenda?  A tasty little ditty I made for dinner Tuesday evening...  Gotta love light versions of comfort foods. Can't wait to share it!

Here we go!

Smart Ones' Chicken Santa Fe - Yummy, quick & guilt-free!

I was very, very pleasantly surprised by this little ditty today.  I haven't tried many Smart Ones meals because I haven't had the best luck with them, and I love Lean Cuisine & Top Chef Healthy Choice meals.  But, Smart Ones' Chicken Santa Fe is great!  Even my boss came sniffing around the corner to see what I was eating...

If you're of the Weight Watcher persuasion, this is only 3 Points Plus.  For the rest of us, it's a mere 140 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 20 grams of protein.  I'm impressed!

Seeing as it has so few calories, I might just throw it on lettuce sometime with a couple of crunched up Tostito's Baked Scoops, and it'd make a pretty sweet taco salad for dinner.  Give it a try!

This is How We Do It: Part 3 – You are what you eat.

My sincere apologies for the dire lack of posts recently! The first couple weeks of 2012 have been interesting.  Aside from life throwing me a few quite unpleasant curveballs, it’s also been a time of my body getting back to normal after the holidays.  Don’t get me wrong – I thoroughly enjoyed many wonderful things over the holidays!  Peanut butter balls, puppy chow, prime rib, candy, potatoes, wine, beer, cookies, cheeses…  These are just a few of the things I indulged in.  And, boy, could I tell. 

Holiday treats, you slay me!

It turns out that the holidays proved to be the perfect catalyst in showing me just how much my habits have changed, and how much better it makes me feel!  You really are what you eat. 

When I began the weight loss process, I really didn’t give much thought to what I ate. 

It’s there.

I’m hungry.

It’s yummy.

I ate it.

Now I’m not hungry. 

That was really yummy…

I’ll have some more, please.

That’s about it.  There really wasn’t much purpose or thought behind it.  If I was hungry, I ate.  Sometimes I ate things because I was in the mood for them and they’re super yummy.  Sometimes I ate things because they were just there and required no effort.  Sometimes I ate when I was bored and fidgety and didn’t even really realize. 

Well, try losing weight behaving like that.

A typical day for the old Sarah probably would have consisted of no breakfast, sometimes no lunch or whatever was quick and easy, snacking like crazy while preparing dinner because of being so hungry from not eating all day, then dinner.  My meals weren’t terrible all the time, but I do realize how a lot of my bad choices were from lack of preparation and convenience.  Hot dog & fries from next door?  Sure!  Burger from a few storefronts down?  Fine.  I didn’t realize until I started tracking things that even the salads I’d create at the market down the street were easily 500 calories.   I once unknowingly put almost 200 calories worth of sunflower seeds on my salad.  Granted, it was about a ¼ cup, but I just figured, “Hey – it’s healthy, right?”  Too much of a good thing is still too much, it would appear.

What changed? 

I was driving home one day after having had my oil changed.  I spend a little extra on my oil changes because I’ve got leaky gaskets, but spending a little extra on really thick oil and some other oily thingamajiggy sealy treatment thingy keeps me from having to spend $1000 on huge, bad things.  I got to thinking about it all, especially the oily thingamajiggy sealy treatment thingy, and then wondered, “Holy cow…  If my car will die on me without doing something as simple as getting the oil changed regularly, then what on earth am I doing to my body?!  What on earth could possibly go wrong inside of me simply because I’m not doing routine maintenance?”  I guess I realized that I was pretty much slowly, irresponsibly setting my body up to just quit on me.   And I didn’t want that to happen.

Now?

BREAKFAST!  Chobani (anything but Greek yogurt just leaves me hungry), Special K, Bagel Thin, banana...

Snack – string cheese, fruit, vegetables, hummus, pretzels, try to keep under 100 calories

Quinoa, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado, basil, 
and sliced garlic.

Lunch – Lean Cuisine, Top Chef Healthy Choice, sandwiches, salads

Snack – same idea as above…

Dinner – usually around 300 calories, varies from 200-400ish.  Veggies and fish are my favorite!  Usually meat, vegetables, grains like quinoa or cous cous, etc.  If I've got calories leftover, sometimes I'll have a low calorie dessert like sugar free instant pudding!

I know we’ve all heard it before, but it’s so right…  Eating breakfast every day and eating a little something every couple of hours has undoubtedly made a huge, huge difference.  The interesting things will come, like getting better at cooking and having your new go-to/on-the-go products…  It’s not just about what you eat, but how you eat.  The combination of those two things is powerful!  

Our bodies are worthy of good fuel!  Cars?  Maybe they die, but there are plenty to go around.  We’ve only got this one life to live, and my life is certainly worth a little bit of healthy, routine maintenance. 

Jack of Hearts

I’ve always thought of myself as a bit of a “jack of all trades.”  I’m one of those people who’s pretty good at a lot of things, but I’ve never just hunkered down and become great at any one thing in particular.  Over the last few months, I’ve added a few more things to my repertoire. 

Joyful face.

I’ve been doing some work for family friends of ours, and I’ve found it incredibly rewarding.  Need your deck sanded and stained?  I’m on it.  Weedwhacking?  Done.  I’ve painted walls, puttied holes – all kinds of things.  And it’s been great.  While I’m usually dirty, sweaty and busy getting things done, I’m also having some really valuable alone time, listening to full albums of bands I like, and remaining active all day long.  

So today, while sprucing up a bathroom I painted to sounds courtesy of Simon & Garfunkel, I fixed a drawer that couldn't stay in its cabinet. I was really impressed with myself, and very thankful my parents had me help with things like that around the house. 

Then, I thought about how awesome it will be to have my own home eventually, because I’ll be capable of doing so much myself.

And then, I thought about how, at this rate, it’ll be a million years before I even have my own home.

And then, I wondered why I hadn’t ever just decided to work really hard at one thing so I’d have been more successful by now.

And THEN I wondered what on earth it is I’m meant to do…

Should I go back to school?  Should I have been a music teacher? Should I have been a professional musician?  Am I supposed to keep working in music venues?  Should I?  Could I?  Etc., blah blah blah?!?!!? 

Insert mental spiral of 3.9 billion thoughts and questions about my place in this world and what I am meant to dooooo… HERE.

Suddenly, in mid tub-scrub, this thought stopped the frantic spiral abruptly:

You were created to love people, be joyful, and make people happy. 

Christmas Present!

After that, I thought about how I had unknowingly allowed my weight to rob me of my joy and my ability to exude love for others.  I'd had moments of it, but I was too trapped in a mess of discontent and self-loathing to be able to let that side of me flourish.  Once again, I found myself dumbfounded and thankful for another unexpected, wonderful change.

I don’t know which of all trades I will be the biggest jack at.  What I do know, in hindsight, is that I adore humans and I love working with people and ensuring smiles are on faces when I’m done with them.  I sincerely hope that I will always be fortunate enough to have music be an integral part of whatever I do, but at least I know what it is I’m meant to do:  love.

I'm Dreaming of an Embroidered Denim Christmas

...Just like the vests I used to know.

Last year, my roommate and I donned bad Christmas vests and created an album called "Christmas Vesticles." This year, we opted for a classier, more put together look with embroidered denim Christmas shirts and turtlenecks in our latest collection, "Oh, Holy... Night..."

Enjoy these before & afters bad-Christmas style, and laugh to your heart's content.  The old ones are just so much funnier with all my extra fluff!  My, what a difference a year makes!

Here's to happy holidays, and me wishing your Christmas was as wonderfully awkward as this.

Older = Bolder

I may be less than half this woman's age, but I still find the first thing she says to be more and more true, lately.  The older I get, the more comfortable with I become with my style, and fashion becomes a little less apologetic.

If you haven't already gotten wind of the blog Advanced Style, it is about time you did.  For years, the author Ari Seth Cohen has been celebrating our elders' fashion in picture.  This is a clip of him speaking to Rita Hammer about her style.

If my tendency to want to raid my mother's closet is a sign of what's to come for me, I'm in good shape.  Here's to freedom with your style, and I sincerely hope I'm half as fantastic as these women when I get to be their age.

30’s, Here I Come: Gained a year, and lost 90lbs.

This has been a big year.  It hasn’t been all roses, but the cumulative average of greatness this year is pretty darn high.  I set myself a goal on September 19^th of losing 30 more pounds by the time I turned 30 on December 19^th, which would bring me to a total of 90lbs lost since March. I’m delighted to tell you that I have, in fact, lost 93. 

A dream in size large.  I love this dress!

I really couldn’t decide what I wanted to do for my 30^thbirthday.  Apparently, even facebook advertising knew this and kept suggesting I go to Vegas with a bunch of poorly dressed women.  The only things I knew for certain were that I wanted an outfit that made me feel invincibly gorgeous, and to have fun.  And to DJ.

And that I did.

Thanksgiving weekend, my Mom and I stopped in to a boutique during Small Business Saturday and I saw a dress that was just so remarkable I had to try it on.  It was a “normal people” size large.  I really didn’t think it would, but for some reason it fit amazing.  It fit so amazingly that my Mom texted all of “the girls” to show them how neat I looked in the dress.  As much as I loved the dress, it was definitely out of my price range.  I’m not one to pine very much over things I can’t afford, so I decided to enjoy the fact that a gorgeous dress in a regular store had fit me like a dream.

Last week, my Aunt and Cousin came to visit, and some of the closest and most important ladies in my life and I went to dinner, then to see Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.  At dinner, my Mom handed me a lovely gift bag that was really reminiscent of “the” dress, and I thought it was really nice that she’d gotten a bag that reminded us of that dress. 

Yeah. 

I moved the tissue paper to the side, had the most ridiculous, excited, America’s funniest home videos face, and there was the dress.  I cried.  I was honestly stunned.  They’d all chipped in and bought me the dress. 

Saturday was a lovely day.  I slept in, worked out, then was lucky enough to have my friend (and hairdresser) Erika style my hair.  I donned my gorgeous, new frock and headed out for dinner and music with a bunch of my favorite people.  I danced the night away at my favorite dance party, and even DJed for the first time in seven years – a shamefully long time.  It was a fantastic night, and I genuinely felt the most awesome I have in so long that I can’t remember.  I looked and felt fantastic.

T. Rex, Iggy Pop, Beatles, Jimi...  Happy Birthday to me.

A part of me dreaded turning 30.  In your 20’s, it’s so easy to think of all the ways you’ll have failed at life if you haven’t succeeded before they’re over.  I mean, life is practically over at 30.  So if you haven’t made something of yourself by then, you’re doomed.  Really.  Completely and utterly doomed.

I was sorely, wonderfully mistaken. 

My twenties were a time where I found my worth and my confidence in what I did, and when what I did wasn’t very cool anymore, I lost myself.  My 29^th year was a time of preparation for what was to come.  While I may not have made a lot of tangible, visible, or measurable progress, my mind was going through a lot of things that gave way to the amazing changes this year brought.  I’ve been working on taking control of the things that I can and should control, and forcing myself to remember to have a little faith about the things that I just can’t control. 

I am in love.  Not with anyone or anything in particular, but with life and people and everything that could and will happen.  Things seem to really be coming together.  I keep having this feeling that something is just ‘round the corner, but I don’t know what.  Or why…  Or when, even.  I just know that I’m ready for it.

I have a feeling my 30’s are going to be mighty fine.

Owning 30.

Turning 28, dreading 29...

Turning 29, appalled at accomplishing so little at nearly 30...