17 Pounds Later and Feeling Fabulous

You heard me right, BlogWorld, I have lost 17 pounds in 12 weeks! I've always been a pretty healthy weight, but my Puerto Rican genes finally kicked in about 2 years ago and I slowly started getting the curves I DIDN'T want. I tried all kinds of different diets, work out routines, etc. and nothing worked for me. Even before the wedding, you'd think I would have busted my butt to look good, but I just had no motivation to do it. It wasn't until after Jeremy & I got married and he was working out out regularly, and I was cooking healthy meals for him, that I finally looked in the mirror, got fed up with what my body was turning into, got off my butt, and started hitting the gym! With help and A LOT of encouragement from my wonderful husband (and some over the phone workout counseling from my figurative competative cousin) I worked my butt off and made my goal! (see the end of this blog for my workout breakdowns)

When they say working out and eating better is all you have to do to lose weight, they are so right! (whoever "they" are, lol) I worked out 4 days a week (at 4:30am. Yes, you heard me right. It's the only free time before work!) and even on my off days I tried to ride the stationary bike for about 15-20 minutes. I wasn't on any special diet, however, I did count my calories for 2 weeks to give myself an idea of what I was putting in my body and WOW I'm so glad I did that! I thought I was eating healthy and come to find out I was taking in almost 2,000 calories a day!!! I was able to knock that down to about 1,200 per day and was still getting the proper nourishment AND was full. Water is a biggie, too. I made sure to drink about 60-80 ounces of water per day. I finally figured out if I wanted that volcano taco from Taco Bell I could, however I would have to ride the bike for 5 more minutes to burn off its calories!

I also did have the "aid" of supplements (see below). After my phone counseling session with my cousin, Jeremy & I made a trip to Vitamin Shoppe (I seriously never thought I would spend money on supplements!). I got some chocolate protein (which I have within 20 minutes after my workouts), BCAA when I wake up & before my workout, Glutamine (which helps your body retain its current muscle and aids in burning off fat) in the morning & before bed, Arginine (which helps the blood flow during your workout) before my workout, and a daily vitamin. Crazy, right?


Anywho, as a goal bonus, Jeremy let me go on a shopping spree when I made my goal (which I gladly did with my mom) and I got TONS of amazing clothes, since none of my other clothes fit me. It was great girl time and I love not only the way I look, but the way I feel (and my husband can't seem to get enough of me these days ;} )

Hope this helps with anyone out there trying to get back in shape! It's all about how you feel.

Happy Sweating!

Jessica's Work Out:
Day 1: Abs & Back

• 5 minutes jog (tredmil)
• Lat Pulls (use long bar on cables, pull down behind neck)-15 reps of 30lbs (x2)
• Seated Row (machine)-15 reps of 20 (x2)
• Ab Machine (machine)-15, 35 (x2)
• Leg Raises (hard to explain: where you stand on a "stand" and support yourself with your arms while you raise your legs or just do another Ab machine)-15 (x2)
• 5 minutes Eliptical (2.5min forwards, 2.5min backwards)
• Back-ups (another hard to explain: where you lean forward on this "stand" and lean back to work lower back or just do another back machine)-15 (x2)
Plank-30sec (x2)
Shrugs with Dumbells-15 reps of 5lbs (x2)
5 minutes stationary bike

Day 2: Legs---"Superset" means to alternate

• 5 minutes tredmil
• Leg Extensions (machine)-15, 40 (x2) superset with curl
  
• Leg Curl (machine)-15, 35 (x2) superset with ext
• Hip Add (machine)-20, 60 (x2) superset with Add
  
• Hip Abd (machine)-15, 50 (x2) superset with Abd
• 1 Leg leg press (do the normal leg press, but do one leg at a time, not together)-15, 60 (x2)
• Calf Raises (machine)-15, 90 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

Day 3: Chest & Shoulder

• 5 minutes tredmill
• Incline Press (machine)-15, 15 (x2)
• Lat Raises (machine)-15, 10 (x2)
• Dumbell on bench (lay on bench and raise arms above chest)-15, 10 (x2)
• 5 minutes Elip
• Standing Dumbell military (on balance) (stand on a balancer and raise arms above head)-15, 5 (x2)
• Chest Flies (machine)-15, 25 (x2)
• Front Raises with dumbell-15, 10 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

Day 4: Arms

• Arm Curl (machine)-15, 15 (x2) superset with ext
  
• Arm Ext (machine)-15, 30 (x2) superset with curl
• Cable Curls (use bar with cables and pull up)-10, 20 (x2) superset with pushdown
• Tricep pushdown (use rope with cables and pull down)-10, 30 (x2) superset with curl
• 5 minutes Elip
• Dumbell Curls (balance) (stand on balancer and curl)-15, 5 (x2)
• Tricep Kickback (lean on bench and kickback one arm per set to work tricep)-15, 5 (x2)
• 5 minutes bike

*Each week, up your cardio by 1 minute a piece and up your weights. By week 3 or 4, try to start switching things up a bit!

The Worries & Woes of a Designer

Graphic Design can be very filling career field, but also very frustrating. I love my job and I genuinely love going to work every day. I love that I'm getting paid to play on an iMac 8-9 hours a day. Hands down, best degree for me! I hate, however, when clients have no idea what they want and are not satisfied with what I create for them; talk about Debbie Downer. I try not to let these few and far between moments get the best of me, but it's really difficult!

And fonts.
Don't EVEN get me started on fonts.
My professors in college did not prepare me for the printing side of Graphic Design, that's for sure. To all my fellow Graphic Designers, if you choose a script font, please make sure your fine lines and details are at least a point thick, otherwise it creates a world of woes for your printing company (aka ME!). And fonts like papyrus make me want to gag (Ugh..and the ever famous, ever evil Comic Sans). In college, I always thought choosing the cutest fonts is what made the design; yeah, no. Not when you're on the printing side. The simpler, the better. What you see on screen is NOT what's going to be printed. Just some things to keep in mind :)

I think I'm about done with my rant for today. Thanks for listening, BlogWorld.

Until next time...

Recipe Time!

I haven't done a recipe blog yet, so I think it's about time!

Here are some of our favorite dishes! They're cheap and SUPER easy. All of them only take between 20-40 minutes to make! Plus, they are all health-friendly!!!

My grandmother's Easy Chicken Parmesan:
*A Jessica Favorite


1-14oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
6 small boneless chicken breasts
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Pour sauce into 13x9 baking dish. Carefully stir in 4 tbsp. (~1/4 cup) of Parmesan cheese. Add chicken; turn over to evenly coat both sides with sauce. Cover with foil.

Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.

Serve over hot, cooked pasta.

Makes 6 servings.


Saucy Pepper Steak:
*A Jeremy favorite
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 small onion, cut into strips
1 lb well-trimmed boneless beef sirloin streak, cut into strips
Mince garlic to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups hot, cooked brown rice

Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Transfer to large bowl; keep warm.

Add meat, garlic, & black pepper to same skillet; cook and stir about 3 minutes. Add soy sauce; cook 1 minute or until meat is cooked through. Add barbecue sauce; cook until heated through.

Spoon meat mixture into bowl with veggies; toss gently. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.


Chicken Fajitas:

Marinade:
1/4 cup beer (don't worry, non-beer drinkers, I don't like beer in any way, shape, or form and I LOVE this marinade)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Minced garlic to taste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt to taste (Jeremy has some lime beer salt that's just delish!)

Fajitas:
1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
4 wheat tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese
Salsa

Stir together all marinade ingredients and mix well. Cut about 1.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts (or steak) into strips. Place meat and 3/4 of the marinade in a zip lock bag and marinate for 1-3 hours. Place veggies and the rest of the marinade in a zip lock bag and marinate for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Saute veggies in large nonstick skillet until soft/tender. Set aside and cover.

In same skillet, cook chicken (or steak) through. Add veggies and cook 1 minute longer.

Scoop into tortillas, add cheese, and salsa.

Serves 4.

Catching Up

Since I was so terrible at updating my blog last month, I really need to catch everybody up on the awesome garage saleing finds Jeremy & I got! We decided on a whim one Saturday to hit up a few garage sales around town (mind you it was 11:00am and we figured nothing good would be around). The first we went to had absolute crap (which we honestly expected). At the second we found this AWESOM wine rack...for $3.00!!!

No, those are not all full wine bottles. They're actually all empty and will hopefully be filled soon if my husband finally makes some wine again!

The next one we hit was the jackpot. I got 2 five-record collections for $1.00 a piece!!!! Beethoven and Dean Martin. The Beethoven is great, but I've been listening to my Dean Martin records like non-stop!!!!

We also picked up this amazing black leather Lazy Boy recliner for....get this...$25!!!! We don't have room for it in our condo, unfortunately, so we let my in-laws have it. It really was a steal of a deal and the amazing find for the day.

(I forgot to take a picture of it, but this is pretty much it!)

Now on to DIY! I, again, forgot to take pictures of my process, but this is a SUPER simple project!

Jeremy & I plan our meals out every two weeks and to put them on display for ourselves, I had them written on a white board hanging in our kitchen.Not so cute, right? I don't have the most artsy hand writing and I'm MUCH better on the computer (hence the graphic design degree) so I decided to use my talent and create something much better!

All you need is:
cork board
scrap book paper
modge podge
card stock
thumb tacks
clips
some paint
ribbon

I modge podged the scrap book paper to the cork board. While that dried, I painted (yes painted) the thumb tacks and clips. Then I thumb tacked the ribbon to the back of the cork board.

I typed up the names of the meals we eat on a regular basis (we have a large variety; I think I typed up about 20 different meals), and printed them on card stock and cut them into strips.

Make a pocket for the Meals and one for the Recipies.

Put it all together and this is what you get:

("Musgo" is leftover night; Everything in the kitchen must-go. Get it?!)

Last night Jeremy and I went to a store here in town called Vinyl Renaissance to see if we could get Goo Goo Dolls tickets (no such luck). I could SERIOUSLY spend hours in that store!!! I wanted to buy all of the records, of course I couldn't, but I did pick up a good 'ol Abbey Road record by the Beatles for under $10!

Love those classics!

We did finally get tickets online so August 19, we're see Goo Goo Dolls!!!!! (happy early birthday present to my husband!)

Until next time, fair bloggers....

I Married a Genius

I adopted a very bad habit from my father when I learned how to drive: when taking trips, you must drive with a DVD player. When I was 20, he bought me my own travel DVD player so I could do just that when visiting home from college. I never really watched the shows/movies I played (which was 99% of the time FRIENDS), I mostly just plugged one ear phone in (since having 2 in is illegal...and driving with a DVD player isn't :-P) and listened.

Well, the bad habit finally got the best of my husband and anytime we travel, I had to grab my player. The last trip to St. Louis was about 7 weeks ago and we were trying to watch SNL: Best of Will Ferrell when Jeremy starting complaining the volume wasn't loud enough, the screen wasn't bright enough, etc etc etc. It was then he informed me of his next project endeavor: installing a DVD player/screen into his car.

The project took him 6 weeks, multiple versions, and time, time, time!

Check it out!

Jeremy with his dash console out of the car and his new LCD screen! Where his dash console goes...

The final version. He took the motor off an old CD changer he bought at Goodwill for $2! Then add some wood, rods, and a few holes!


Figuring out the wiring...


Really figuring out the wiring...

The electric outlet he installed under the passenger side seat.

We sold our PS2 on Craigslist and bought a PS2 slim for cheaper! Fits nice and snug in the glove compartment.

He wired the whole contraption to a switch which he installed in his center console.


And voila! Our very own screen & DVD player in our car!


Case in Point: I Married A Genius

For the DIY Lovers

Okay everybody! Here are a couple of my DIY projects I worked on last month:

A killer candle holder, a great Lemon-Sugar foot & hand scrub, and an amazing Vanilla-Brown Sugar foot and hand scrub.

Flower Petal Candle Holder:
-Disclaimer: my only warning with this is to NOT use hot glue. Find another adhesive that won't release once it's hot. Mine starting falling apart and I have yet to work on it again, unfortunately.

Supplies:
-1 bag white rose petals ($1 at the Dollar Tree)
-1 pillar candle holder (free! Left over from the center pieces from our wedding)
-1 pillar candle (free! Left over from our wedding)
-Heat-resistant adhesive

Starting from the top, layer the petals facing inward with a dab of glue.
Continue layering down the entire holder.


Finish by gluing last row under the bottom and voila! An elegant (and cheap!) candle holder.



I got the recipes for the scrubs here and here (and borrowed the ideas from my wonderful friend Whitney's blog).

Lemon-Sugar Scrub: I was giving these as gifts, so I bought some mason jars at Hobby Lobby when their 50% off all glassware sale was going on; I got the jars for $1.50! Add a little spray paint, ribbon, and tags and you got yourself a great gift!

All you need to make this delicious scrub (trust me, it really works!) is:
-2.5 cups Sugar
-1 cup Oil
-6 tablespoons Lemon Juice (or however much you seem fit)

Mix together all ingredients (the texture will be a little runny).

Pour into a mason jar and voila!


Vanilla-Brown Sugar Scrub:

All you need to make this delicious scrub (trust me, it really works!) is:
-2 cups Brown Sugar
-1 cup Sugar
-1 tablespoon Vanilla
-1 cup Oil
Mix together the sugars then add Oil & Vanilla & mix.The texture will be a little clumpy.
Pour into mason jar and voila!
Next Post: Jeremy's very own DIY project
Spoiler Alert:


He installed his very own LCD screen & dvd player in his car! By himself! I married a genius!

Hello, again

Hello again, Blog-world!

Don't say I didn't warn you about how terrible I am with keeping up with things like this! I'm going to try harder to keep up with this instead of waiting every 4 weeks to update; too many things happen in that amount of time!

So many things have been going on that I need to update the world on!

Next post (which will be soon after, I promise) will have my DIY b-day gifts on it and Jeremy's own DIY project.

Within the past 4 weeks, we've had many people in and out of our house. Jeremy's buddy, Zac, came to visit us from St. Louis. He's such a great friend to Jeremy & I really wish he found a job in KC so Jeremy would have him around, however, he found a job back home. We're so happy for him, even though we wish he was here!

My best friend in the entire world came to visit me on a whim one weekend. I hadn't seen her since February and she's starting a new life/career in Chicago next month. I am so happy for her and for this new life she is about to embark upon. She is my sanity, my shoulder to cry on, my stability, my best friend. I'm so sad we're going to be 8 hours away from each other, but distance has never stopped our friendship in the past 9 years. I love you, Ash!

So I got a new job position at my work and am now officially a Graphic Designer!!! As I said to my boss, I enjoyed my job before, but I REALLY LOVE my job now! I've never looked forward to going to work and I so do now (it helps that one of my best gals is a lead in my department and I get to chit-chat with her throughout the day :])

We've visited Jeremy's family for his momma's birthday. It was a great weekend in Higginsville, lots of family love!

We were with my family last weekend for the 4th. I was really starting to get home sick and that was a great! pick me up. The best part of the entire weekend, however, was taking a nap with my niece. She's so big now and is at such a fun age! I love it when I go home because we become two peas in a pod. She's definitely going to be one of my best buds in the world. I love that little girl more than I ever thought possible.

This week was a sickly week in the Hoefer house. Jeremy lost his voice for 2 days and had a sore throat. I got what he got then added a fever to it! We're both still a bit under the weather and our house is a big cough-fest. No bueno.

I guess that's all for now! I'll try to post again soon!

Adios for now, Blog world!