Loving My Pinterest!
So I've had an invite to Pinterest for some time now, but hadn't taken the leap cause I knew it would be another thing that I would truly become addicted to and I was right. But with the constant stream of COOL stuff that I find EVERYWHERE, I need a resource to hold all these cool things I would love to have, try, and do, so I'm in it and collecting and adding new things daily to my boards!
I imagine my account will be huge not too long from now, and it will be a great resource for any and all ideas I've got for our life! Not only that, but I imagine it could be a very good "hint" resource for Paul when it comes to knowing all things I'm into and loving right now! Couldn't hurt!
I've found several ideas I am ready to implement soon. I think my first project will be this one...
But another very cool one that both Paul and I are loving is this! I image this one will be further down the line as we don't really have a bar area for bar stools YET, but it will happen, and these puppies will be in the picture of our bar/living space.
But this isn't just a resource for home decor ideas, it's about anything and everything you can imagine! Whether it's a frame of mind, a frame to put on the wall, a frame you make, or a place to go so you can put it in a frame... you can pin it!
It's like the new "there's an app for that", but now it's "pin it!"
And to top all of the fun decor stuff we will be implementing hopefully soon, I'm also in absolute DIY mode, and Pinterest has totally been feeding my "to do" list of things I KNOW I can make, and they WILL be so cool you'll want to pin them. I think I may start with the Christmas ornaments... It is that time after all.
Either way check it out!
Vote for Sunday Alcohol Sales TOMORROW!!!
How many times have you gone to the grocery store on Sunday and picked up a bottle of wine or case of beer, gotten to the register and realized during check-out... "DANG IT it's SUNDAY!" Well it's happened to me more than once, and I'm not really absent-minded, I just don't think about those things all the time cause it's really unnecessary!
Georgia is one of only three states that does not allow alcohol sales on Sunday, and it's finally time things change! This will be the first year that we have been able to decide on this issue ourselves, and I am hopeful people will get out to vote! This is not a primary election, and I'm sure there may be more pressing matters on the ballot than this issue, but I personally get the impression people will care about this! And they will care more about this than the other random local votes on the ballot.
About 100 Georgia cities and counties are holding votes on whether to allow stores to sell alcohol on Sundays. The referendum is the result of a lengthy battle in the state legislature over whether municipalities should have the right to decide on the issue. This has been a very controversial issue, and you can rest assured that there will be as many people out voting against it as there are for it.
If passed the Sunday alcohol sale referendum will allow convenient stores, grocery stores and liquor stores to sell beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. I know it's not a primary election or anything, but there is definitely good reason to make the trip to the poles tomorrow! Read more about it here!
Day Two of Mini Vaca: Perusing Downtown D.C.
Day Two we started the day with my cousin Vinnie's Wedding Rehearsal, but that was a short time before we headed back to D.C. to meet up with friends for dinner, drinks and FUN!
Check out some of our evening festivities! 
We went for Sushi, Hookah and Drinks at Gazuza Lounge in Dupont Circle, and it was amazing! I'm not a hookah person, so I did not partake in that, but I did absolutely enjoy the sushi! The Sabotage Roll was the best! It will set your mouth on fire!!!
Me and Ashley enjoying the atmosphere! Paul was able to get some fun shots!
Then we headed around the other side of Dupont Circle to Eighteenth Street Lounge. A hip bar with good music and lot of interesting people (great for people watching)!
Jeff and his friends, Aliya and Cat... having a good time!
One of the only pics of Paul and I together on the trip! Thank you Ashley! :)
Me and Ash getting our buzz on!
Paul, doing the Jeff pose! haha
We had parted ways with Jeff and his friends at the Eighteenth Street Lounge and decided to meet back up with them. After leaving Dupont, we headed over to U Street for some more bar hopping. We stopped in one of Jeff's favorite stops, Queen Makeda, it was pretty cool, but a little empty for our taste and Jeff and his friends weren't there, so onto the next stop!
From there we reunited with Jeff and his gang at Black Bird's or Black Cats... I'm really not sure! But it was a really cool spot and a nice place to end our D.C. bar tour!
And last, but certainly not least we stopped into the place that Jeff calls JUMBO SLICE, and had like a quarter of this huge pizza per person! It was definitely a good stop after a night of drinking, of course definitely off our diet. Oh well, it definitely hit the spot!
We made it home safe and sound, and actually woke up in plenty of time to head out to MD for the wedding (it started at 2PM and Paul was photographing so we had to be there early)! This was truly a busy weekend, but it's totally awesome to experience D.C. in new ways every time we go!
Click here for the full gallery of pics!
Labor Day Holiday in Smoky Mountains - North Carolina... Wonderful!
We've started an annual Labor Day trip to the Smoky Mountains with our friend's Shane and Ashley Cash. This was the third year out, and it was gorgeous! Of all the trips we've taken, I very much look forward to this one because it's not only beautiful, but its SOOOO relaxing. The cabin we rent is situated right on the river, and has an awesome covered porch with rocking chairs so you can relax and watch all the kayakers, rafters and tubers float by.
The highlights of this trip mostly took place in Asheville, which is about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying. Unbeknown-st to us, there are a festival going on down North Lexington St., where we were entertained with people watching everywhere we looked! It was pretty awesome.
Click here to view the full gallery!
Ashley and I enjoyed our shopping in both Asheville and downtown Dillsboro, and while we tried to make it to the Biltmore for a wine tasting, we were a bit too distracted and missed out on that opportunity! Either way it was an awesome trip, and we can't wait for next year!
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out What if your house was burning?....
HC3 Diet - We've Passed the Half-Way Mark
Paul and I have been on the HC3 Diet for about three and a half weeks now,passing the half-way point. Things are going well, but I must say, we are getting tired of the same stuff we've been eating and are ready for the reset phase when we can add more options into our diet!
Yesterday we met with Kelly Hall, our nutritionist at Optimum Health, and definitely had a lot more questions for her this time around! While we have continued to loose weight, we are planning to try a couple different things to pump up and keep the momentum!
We've had several temptations (alcoholic beverages mostly) that we just could not resist, we have generally stayed strong with the diet, and overall during those times didn't gain weight, just maintained. After the Bryan Adams evening, our ketone levels just dropped off, and so we had to build back up, but the rebound was definitely quick. Kelly was a bit concerned with me, as my eetone levels have continually stayed high, which would imply fat burning, so I should be dropping the weight faster, but weight loss seems to taper more and more as my ketones stay at a high level. It seems to be the case that it's better to be at a medium ketone level to really continually lose the weight. The main concern was that I am getting too acidic.
So, she is starting me with a half serving of Total Vegan on a daily basis to see if that puts me in a good place to lose more while still keeping the ketone levels moderated. It's kind of nice because the Total Vegan is Chocolate flavor, and I've missed chocolate!
The continual weight loss has been a huge motivating factor, we have about 2 weeks left and it's certainly possible that we could both drop another 15 pounds or so. We just need to keep focused on the long term goal. It's definitely worth feeling more energy and comfort with our bodies, and also seeing clothes that didn't fit us previously fit us now and even are too big!
Here is an image of the body composition analysis from July 26th and August 9th respectively. I know it's hard to read cause it's on thermal paper and the heat has gotten to it. I've outlined the main details below (first is mine and the second is Paul's) :
Body Composition: July 26 August 9th
- Weight 149.6lbs 145.0 lbs
- BMI 31.3 30.3
- Fat % 38.8% 34.7%
- Fat Mass 55.0 lbs 50.4 lbs
Desirable Range - Fat % 21-33 and Fat Mass 25.2-46.6lbs
Body Composition: July 26 August 9th
- Weight 234.6lbs 227.0 lbs
- BMI 34.6 34.5
- Fat % 39.2% 34.8%
- Fat Mass 92.0 lbs 79.0 lbs
Desirable Range - Fat % 8-20 and Fat Mass 12.8-37.0lbs
I'm very close to being within the desirable range, but definitely would prefer to be in the middle of that range with wiggle room up or down. Paul's got a little more to go, but has definitely made awesome progress! I get frustrated that he seems to have dropped so much more... but I guess that's the difference between girls and guys! Unfortunately we don't have details from the start date, but I have officially dropped 13 lbs total, and Paul has dropped 18 lbs total.
YEAH for Us!
HC3 Diet - Week One of 500 Calorie Limit
Week One went surprisingly well! It's unbelievable, but I was actually full after each meal and snack! The hormone actually was doing it's job! I wasn't hungry and I have energy, although we aren't supposed to work out at all. I took it easy and had fruits for breakfast, chicken, lean ground beef, or shrimp usually for lunch and dinner, fruits and veggies for snack, and occasional glutton free pretzels (which are surprisingly very good)!
As we started, we had to begin testing our ketone levels each morning on the ketone testing strips (similar to a pregnancy test). My ketone levels started off at a medium level and as the week went on they got high! The higher the ketone levels, the better the chances you are burning fat. Toward the end of the week I was supplementing fruit or veggie snacks for the Power Reds to manage the ketone levels so that the levels don't cause my body to go into a ketone-acidosis.
Toward the end of the week Paul was traveling for work, and that was when I felt more challenged! It's easier when you are doing something like this with someone else. And ironically, when you're alone and just watching TV or movies, you get the boredom eating syndrome. TV doesn't help with this either, with commercials for Dairy Queen, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza and more! 
The craziest part about it, my body wasn't hungry for those things, my head was! The pretzels and water helped, but this was the struggle I realized would be ongoing for the remainder of the 40 days!
At the end of week one, I lost a total of 4.8 pounds! It was the most I had lost ever in that period of time. Usually it would take me a month to lose 5 lbs, and I pretty much did it in one week! AND I resisted ALL TEMPTATIONS!
