Nope! It has not happened!

It has been way longer than usual for my posts! Before anything else, let me make it clear that no, I have not fallen off the bandwagon unless it’s the blogging bandwagon! 

 I have been real busy at work, working extra hours and days. We have been short staffed for several weeks and have had to pull together to see everything through regardless of how much our workload increases. I am blessed to have a job, and one that I love but it leaves me, on most days, ready to relax in my garden or in my hammock as soon as I get home. 

 My day off (yes, a single one) is usually full of chores, food prep and catching up. The one thing that I have not allowed myself to put in the back burner is my food prep. Without it, I know I would have been out of control a long time ago. So I do make a point, regardless of my schedule, to make sure I have meals packed and ready to go for work. 

 It has been worth the effort because it keeps me on path. The scale continues to move, at times slower than others with an occasional bump up that will go back down after a day or two. Other than having some delicious tacos the other day, I have been good about sticking to my food template. 

 Of course, I did catch the horrible stomach bug that has been going around. But hey, working in a Petri dish…how can I not catch something every now and then? It took 3-4 days to get well and feeling back to normal. During those days saltines, ice chips and tea were my friends. I did not really care about the fact that I was eating crackers, I was happy that something was staying inside me!

 I hope y’all have been doing well and are looking forward to a long weekend. Although I worked this weekend, I do get Monday-Wednesday off next week!! HALLELUJAH!!I am looking forward to enjoying some sun and outdoor time with family. Stay safe and strong! Until next time!!

A Sunday well spent

They say a Sunday well spent brings a week of content. I wholeheartedly agree with this! If this is your first time reading here in sure you're thinking:"what the heck Alati it's only Wednesday!!?!??". It is for most people but it is actually my Sunday!

 I work the Thursday though Friday work shift and the longer I do,the better I like it. Because at this point, I've chosen not to have many responsibilities, this schedule allows me time during the week to get things done.When I need the weekend off for a special reason, it's nice to be able to use my time off. It works for now, I am truly happy and blessed at my job!

Today, I got my food prep for the week done. I am a firm believer that if you fail to prep, you prep to fail.so I got my lunches for the week ready. Here's a picture of the first batch:

I'm currently obsessed with mason jars! I love how easy to clean up and don't pick any of the food smells. The cuteness is just a bonus lol!

This week I made salad dressing using balsamic vinegar, splash of lime juice and evoo. I poured 1.5 tablespoons at the bottom of my jars, added a handful of grape tomatoes and filled them up with my favorite power green blend (Swiss chard,kale,spinach and a bit of shredded carrots). They say they should be fine for a whole week in the fridge but I am skeptical so I always fix three at a time.

I also have an ounce of feta cheese in each of the lil container that I will mix into the salad as well as a hard boiled egg that I will chop over it as well. 

The bottom jars have baby portabellas sliced, green beans, chopped onions and parsley. There's a cup of that in each jar which gives me something 'warm' to eat after my salad. Delicious!

I really need to revamp my breakfast routine. I am trying to make sure I add fats and proteins but feel I need some variety. How do you prep for the week?

Hope all is going well with you, remember taking some extra time now will make a big difference later on. I leave you with a little inspiration:

This and That

Things continue going well. Gotta love the bright sunny days even though I could do without the really warm temperatures but hey its not been too bad so far this year and you can't have your cake and eat it too ;)

 I have been doing exceptionally well with my food, but have not been as good at trying to progressively increase my step goal. I have sort been stuck at the same goal for a few weeks. Admittedly part of it has been a 'defense mechanism' trying to conserve my energy as I have been working extra hours. I walk a lot during my work day and I have found that my bad ankle ( broken once, sprained several others)seems to be achy most nights.

 I know if I increase my step goal, I will push myself and that may end up in me hurting my ankle bad enough again and going backwards instead of forward. I am afraid I might have to dig out the ole brace and hope it helps. In other news, I have continued to stick to my meat and veggies foods and find that its how I thrive. I am well satisfied and have enough energy for the day when I stick to it so this is where I will be until a need to change comes.

 I had another NSV the other day. It was a painful one haha. My feet have always been extra wide and finding cute shoes that fit well has always been one of the baisn of my existence. In my brain, my feet wouldn't 'shrink' but I have found that my 'spring' flats have become a tad too big since last year and my foot slides. This causes not only to rub blisters but also to make walking and keeping them on uncomfortable. So I now have a great excuse for new shoes yay!

Speaking of new shoes, I have been inspired by Gwen from The Sunny Coconut to organize and declutter. I have now planned to get some decluttering started next week. I have no much 'stuff' that I really do not need. I have also made a deal with myself that if I need to get something new ( like shoes) I will donate or get rid of the ones I will not be needing anymore. Someone else will probably use them, and there is no need for me to have more clutter. I also want to simplify and declutter.

When I moved here, six years ago I had 2 50 pd suitcases. If you told me that I had to move again and repack, well I would need several several suitcases. Why do I need so much stuff? So slowly I will try to declutter and reorganize. The less stuff, the easier it will be to not only keep neat but also be much more zen for the home. We will see how it goes.

Hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy some sunshine wherever you are! Until next time, Stay strong!