Awww – ya’ll sure do know how to make a girl blush! (insert little blushy face emoticon here!) 

Thanks for all your great feedback on my Clean Life Week 3 Recap! I like to think I’m as honest as can be with ya’ll – I don’t like to “beat around the bush” (God I hate that term!)  So getting the response I did made me feel alot better! 

Yesterday morning - I decided to switch things up – and was dressed and out the door by 6:45 to hit up the West Side Market before work.

I know it sounds odd, and you are probably thinking – why not go after work – but here’s the thing.  The Market has really weird hours.  As in Monday, Wednesday, Friday – 7am to 4pm.  and Saturday 6am to ??.  So if you aren’t home to go on Saturday (which we won’t be) – early  morning is your only other option.

I should have snapped some pictures so you could have seen it – the usually busy, bustling market – was COMPLETELY empty – I was literally the only one there (aside from the vendors) – I could get used to that! I think I spent $20 on the nose, and here’s what I came home with:

Brussel sprouts, 5 bell betters, 3 cucumbers, okra, watermelon, pineapple, 3 sweet potatoes, baby eggplant, and asparagus!

Most exciting purchases:  ORANGE WATERMELON!

and BABY EGGPLANT!

I can’t wait to try both! 

I also decided to revert back to my old ways for breakfast – and break out the spicy oats:

Ahh Spicy Oats, how I missed thee!

Lunch was an impromptu purchase – I was planning on running home – but then my doctor was able to squeeze me in to an afternoon appt (my throat is still hurting!), so I didn’t want to leave at lunch and lose valuable work time.  Instead – I went to the caf (I was afraid, very afraid) – and got a chicken taco salad, sans taco shell:

OH.MY.GOD. This was the best thing that could have happened to me.  This sucker was so tasty!  Quite possibly the best taco salad I’ve ever had in my life!!!!

I licked the bowl clean! 

I didn’t find out too much at my doctor’s, unfortunately  – she just thinks I’m fighting a virus, and she put me on z-pak, so we’ll see how that goes! 

When I got home – I made dinner – and munched on the rest of the cantaloupe while it was cooking:

I made the “fettuccine” style shirataki noodles this time:

That “authentic smell” when you open the package is brutal!  Seriously – kick to the face brutal!

But once it’s all said and done – it makes for a super delicious, low cal dinner!

Then – I just got some work done around the house and watch the Bachelorette (god – that is some seriously crappy TV) with these treats:

That about does it!  I can’t wait for Thursday to get here I can’t wait for Thursday at 6pm to get there, because that means I’ll be up at the island – drink in hand, hubby and puppy by my side – AHHHHH! 

Oh yeah!  One last thing!  In other SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!!!! - I won Biz’s 100,000+ Pageview giveaway!!!! I’m the proud new owner of a Newline Kitchen Electronic Food Scale!  I can’t wait to play with it!!! 

If you recall – there’s definitely been some “cheating“:

So what are my thoughts? Ahh, so glad you asked! 

Both Rose and Heather posted their thoughts on the challenge recently, and it was nice to hear that they were finding the challenge difficult as well.  Not that I was happy that others were struggling, just that I wasn’t alone in thinking “Damn, this is hard!”  (TWSS) 

My thoughts:

• I’ve never done well with “limiting” myself.  For example – when I was little – if I was told SPECIFICALLY NOT to do something – I wanted to do it 25 times more.  My mom could have said “Whatever you do young lady, do not even THINK about cleaning your room!” – and I would have snuck upstairs, snickering, and cleaned it.  Change “Clean your room” to anything else, and the Allison law still applies.    Childish?  Perhaps.  But it’s just how I’m wired. 
• I lost all of the weight several years ago, through a balanced diet.  Nothing was off limits – I just needed to remember moderation.  Late night, drunken, Taco Bell run?  I’M IN!  But the next morning – I always say to myself – alright now you have to balance that out this week.  (Kind of like Bethanny Frankel’s whole “bank account” thing)
• The two aforementioned bullets have really made this challenge hard.  And honestly – made me a little crabby.  Mike’s noticed it a lot.  I subconsciously realized it, but didn’t actually process it until he said something.  I don’t like to have rules, where things deemed “forbidden”.  Rules (like laws) – great.  Rules (with food) – not so great. It makes things seem like a chore.  I know you’ve heard me say it before, but it is so true – Life’s too short.  You never know what tomorrow has in store, and you might as well be happy.  (again – within the boundaries of reason)  Go sit in your fancy living room, on your fancy furniture “only for guests”.  Wear your “special occasion” jewelry every day.  All that stuff – you know what I mean.  And if not - Angela had a wonderful post on it – check it out!
  
• I’ve been feeling run down lately – and I think it’s because I haven’t properly adjusted my carbs/protein/veggies mix due to the challenge.  As you all have noticed, I eat a lot of the same things.  But the “rut” that I’m in is a balanced one.  My diet has been seriously lacking in protein (and actually carbs most days) – and I’ve definitely felt the physical effects. 

I know what you are thinking - GOSH ALLISON – don’t you have anything positive to say?!  – I DO!!!

• For a long time, I would just look at calorie content.  That’s how I lost so much weight, so I figured I was good.  This challenge has made me look at the things I eat with a much more critical eye, and actually “study” the ingredient list - AND THAT’S A GOOD THING!  I realized the spaghetti sauce I’ve been buying at Aldi – has HFCS!  It’s no cheaper than other stores – it’s just what we are used to!   Same thing goes for some of my salad dressings!   Because of the challenge – bottled dressings taste like they’ve got the “funk” – and balsamic vinegar and hummus dressing is my new love!  Do I plan on being a slave to ingredient lists?  No.  But I certainly feel like I can now make more educated, (while still budget friendly) decisions! 
• Artificial sweetener consumption.  Splenda was the boss of me.  I loved it, and put it in everything.  Now that I’ve found agave – it seems silly that I used Splenda for so long.  Will I use it again?  Perhaps, in a serious pinch – but as of right now – I’d rather take my coffee black, or my tea unsweetened before I would do that.
• Diet Coke.  Here’s the big one kids.  So I did have one (or 3) over the course of the weekend.   But honestly – it was “out of necessity”.  Okay, now maybe “necessity” is a stretch.  But in the Catawba fridge – there was booze, and Diet Coke.  (and the water tastes funky there).  So when we got there and I was parched – and saw the drink selection, I frowned.  I honestly didn’t want the Diet Coke.  I didn’t skip around thinking “WOOOHOOOO a reason to cheat”.  I begrudgingly took it out, and thought – alright, I’ll drink it.   I didn’t finish a single can.  There were about 50 cans in the fridge too – so “Allison-3-weeks-ago” would have probably had about 30 of those.  Not too shabby. 

So why such a detailed recap now, when the challenge ends next week? Well – I’ve learned a lot.  And I know there will be “cheating” this weekend,so maybe I need to just say I’m done with the OFFICIAL Clean Life Challenge.  Does that make me a quitter?  Perhaps.  Do I feel bad about it?  Not at all.  I’ve learned way more than I expected these last few weeks thanks to the challenge.  I know what makes me happy, I know what I like, I know what I don’t like, and I’m always aware of the areas in my life that have “room for improvement”.  I’ve got HUGE takeaways from these past 3 weeks that have already become part of my every day life. 

You still with me?  Hope so!  Thanks for reading, and thanks to Heather and Rose for the great challenge!

At the end of the day – I’d call that a win in my book!

Did you guys catch Mike’s guest post this Saturday? If not – check it out, it’s too damn funny! 

I’ve got an entire weekend full of food and fun to catch you up on, and I want to give you another Clean Life recap as well!  Weekend first – I’ll post Clean Life recap later today!

I DID run 7 miles Saturday morning – and while my arms weren’t tired – I was a sweaty, hot mess! 

As soon as I got home, I ran to the fridge and grabbed a coconut water (I’m seriously in LOVE with this stuff) – and then took Lando on a 1 mile “cool down” walk.  Then I took a quick shower, and hit the road with my Dad.  I think it’s a pretty perfect morning when you can have an awesome workout in, and be showered and heading up to the islands to relax, all by 9am! 

When we got there – I was hungry – so I went straight to the cupboard and found the best option I could:

These suckers were pretty good! Nice and garlicky! I also was dying for a drink (the water is kinda funky up there) – and when I opened the fridge and saw my choices, I reluctantly chose:

Yep.  More to come on that.

After running a few errands, visiting with some family – it was time for some more food – and Happy Hour! 

I used a Lime La Croix to make a spritzer out of all my drinks – which made for a perfectly refreshing drink on a sunny Saturday afternoon!

We sat outside and both tried to catch pictures of all the wildlife hanging around…

A goose chillin’ in the shade:

Blue Heron:

Egret:

After relaxing and hanging out/swimming at the pool, it was back out to the porch, for a few more cocktails, and some dinero!

Island-livin’s easy!

My dad and I made some pretty sweet salads for dinner (If I do say so myself!) 

Homemade buffalo chicken, with tomato, green pepper, banana pepper, cucumbers, and a little bit of hummus!  Perfectly tasty, and perfectly filling!

We took a quick walk after dinner, and I loved checking out all the cool boats in the marina:

Then when we got back,  some of my parents friends stopped over to visit!  After chatting it up with them for a while – I was definitely ready for bed!

I got up around 8 (which is sleeping in for me!  Lando usually makes sure we are up by 7:30 at the VERY VERY latest) – and made some breakfast:

Eggs with peppers, and a nectarine:

Sunday was pretty boring (my dad had to hang a bunch of stuff around the new place) – so pretty much, I just laid around, went on a quick 2 mile walk, and that was about it.  We grabbed some Subway on the way home:

I got a foot long Oven Roasted Chicken Breast (but only ate half) – Mike got the other half once I got home!

Everyone’s headed up to the island for the long holiday weekend, and I can’t wait!

Once I was settled at home, and Mike and I were done catching up – he informed me how sad he was that he had to fend for himself all weekend.  He said getting something delicious to eat from a restaurant would make that better, so I happily obliged. 

We ordered the 2 for $20 from Applebee’s – and I went all out and got the chicken finger platter:

Not very ‘Clean Life’, but pretty damn delicous! 

Happy Monday!!!!!