Riding boots dilemma

I really want a pair of riding boots, but am struggling to decide if I want black or brown. I also don't want to spend a ton because I'm not sure I'll wear them a whole lot- I don't own but one pair of skinny jeans and I fear they are too skinny for me to fit into at the moment!

Does anybody have suggestions of cute riding boots for a good price? I have been debating the Target ones, but haven't bit the bullet and think I may be too late!
Also, would you go with black or the caramel colored brown? I'm being wishy-washy!

Update

Hey y'all! Just wanted to update you on how the sugar and calorie cutback is going. So far, so good. It is incredibly hard to limit myself to 40 grams of added sugar a day, simply because so many things I eat contain sugar. I have never been a sugar-holic and I generally prefer salty over sweet, so if you love sugar, it would only be that much harder. Sorry, that's probably discouraging, huh?

In any case, I had events over the weekend- one on Friday and one on Saturday- where the meals were bbq, mac & cheese, fried chicken, etc...you get the picture. So my calorie counts were out the window on those two days. I still managed to lose 1.5 pounds last week. I'm not putting a lot of stock in that because my weight fluctuates between morning and night, and sometimes even within 10 minutes it will be different. I did weigh myself at the same time on Tuesday morning as I did last Tuesday morning, so maybe 1.5 pounds is accurate.

I'm still enjoying the snacks and foods I mentioned last week and have done a good job keeping my calorie count to right around 1500 per day during the week. Weekends are definitely harder, but I try to be reasonable without being so strict.

Now, if I could just get motivated to exercise more, I'd be in business! I like to get out and walk, but it has been so rainy here lately that I don't want to go out in it. Also, I have burned myself out with Jillian. The thought of the 30 day Shred makes me shudder. And, WiiFit just doesn't seem to cut it for me. My heartrate never seems to elevate like it should. Besides joining a gym, do y'all have any other good suggestions of at-home videos, etc?

Willpower

On Wednesday, right after writing the post on cutting back on sugar, I went to lunch with my dad. And guess what he brought me? A bag my mom sent to me of my favorite candies- Heath bar, Kit Kats, and Skittles. That bag sat on my desk for the rest of the afternoon Wednesday, and then I took it home, where it sat until this morning, untouched. This morning WEG decided he would take full advantage of my sugar cut-back, and picked up the bag to carry to work.

Willpower is a bitch.

Hidden sugar..it's sneaky!

Does anybody out there worry about your sugar intake? I thought by cutting cokes out of my diet I was doing well, but then I realized what your normal sugar intake for a day is supposed to be. Do y'all know? It's 40 grams of added sugar. According to nutritionists, that does not include natural sugars that are found in fruit, dairy, etc. But, STILL! On Monday I ate like I normally do and added up how many grams of sugar I had- 51 grams. And I was somewhat conscious of it so I cut back...so I guess I can't say I ate what I normally would, sugar-wise, but I didn't watch it as carefully as I am now.

On Monday afternoon I went to the grocery store and shopped by looking at labels. I never do this. I know, I know- not the smartest way to grocery shop, but definitely quicker. My yogurt that I had previously been eating- Yoplait Light- I think was 14 grams of sugar or something obscene like that! And usually for breakfast I'd eat that and a frosted brown sugar pop tart, which is 14 grams, as well. 28 grams all before 10:00 in the morning- I was over halfway to the recommended intake for the WHOLE DAY. YIKES! I thought I was doing well because I wasn't consuming an insane amount of calories.

I am really trying to lose a few pounds that I feel have snuck onto my body when I wasn't paying attention. Or, more precisely, while I was ignorantly eating things loaded with sugar and calories. Now I am planning my snacks wisely. Counting out crackers for portion size, trying not to eat over 1500 calories a day, and only consuming 14 grams of sugar. But, it's hard! I am writing down every single thing I put in my mouth, including a piece of bubble gum (4 grams of sugar!!) and making notes of where I can improve. Maybe that's a bit obsessive, but I have done this before with the calories and lost 15 pounds, so I'm hoping it works.

Here are a few of the items I am eating for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. I find that if I really watch what I eat during the day, I can have a good meal for dinner and still not go over my calorie and sugar intake.

Breyers Light Yogurt- 80 calories/7 grams of sugar (half of Yoplait). I haven't tried the cinnamon bun or strawberry banana split, but key lime and vanilla are pretty good and WEG said he liked the strawberry cheesecake.

Quaker Lower Sugar Oatmeal- 120 calories/4 grams of sugar. Pretty good. Not as good as the full-sugar version, but what ever is?

Crispix- I eat this dry for breakfast. A cup and a half has 165 calories and 6 grams of sugar. I like Crispix because it has a little sweetness to it.

Laughing Cow Original Creamy Swiss Cheese Wedge- 50 calories/1 gram of sugar with Triscuits Thin Crisps (15 crackers)- 130 calories/no sugar. One small wedge pretty much will cover 15 crackers if you don't overload the cracker with cheese. This is a good, filling snack. You could even get the light swiss wedges for less calories. My grocery store didn't have them in stock.

Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers. These are so good! The calories and sugar contents vary from meal to meal, but the ones I have eaten are under 300 calories and right around 5 grams of sugar. Be careful of the whiskey steak and other ones with a "sweet glaze" as those have more sugar. Yesterday I had the Chicken Marinara and it was so yummy! I sprinkled 2 tsp. of parmesan (20 calories) on top to make it even tastier.

I also always try to eat a banana each day for a snack. I need the potassium and love a good, barely ripe banana.

As far as drinks are concerned I am trying to drink strictly water and 2% milk. No fruit juice, soda, or sweet tea except for a splurge once a week.

What healthy, low sugar items are y'all snacking on and eating for breakfast & lunch? I could use some tips!

Friday Fragments

Good morning and Happy Friday!!


I have to start off by telling you a funny story from yesterday. Since Abe has been sick, we have been keeping in the house. So yesterday I got home from work and let him out to go to the bathroom and then decided I'd let him ride with me to the grocery store to pick up a few things. While I was in the grocery store he climbed from the back of my 4Runner to the front seat and was just sitting there waiting on me when I came out. He rode in the front seat home and when I got home, I got out and closed my door and went to open the passenger's door for him to get out. Well, Abe had other plans and those were to be completely stubborn. When I opened the passengers side door, he jumped over the driver's side and wouldn't come back and get out. So, I walked around to the driver's side, opened the door, and he jumped over to the passenger's side and just looked at me. This went on for about 4 times, me walking around the car to the side he was on to try and coax him out, and him jumping to the opposite side to just look at me. Finally I coaxed him back into the back of the car and he got out before I had to pick him up- even with a weight loss of 12 pounds, that would not have been a pretty sight! I wish someone had been secretly videoing the whole seen because I'm pretty sure we could have won America's Funniest Home Videos. Here are two pictures of Abe in the driver's seat. Silly pup!






In other news, on Monday night I went to Hobby Lobby in hopes of buying 2 fall wreaths to put on our front and back doors. I was completely unsuccessful, as they had only one left, and to me, it was overdone and a bit tacky...plus it was $20 for one, and I just didn't want to pay that for something I didn't like. So, I bought the materials to make 2 of my own- ended up spending less than $40, so I was happy. And voila, the finished products below (this is probably my only attempt ever at a craft project, so I was pretty proud of myself). Please note my attempt to get in the Halloween spirit with the jack-o-lantern bucket of mums. I got the bucket at the Fall Festival in Elloree last weekend for $8.00. It's an old maple syrup bucket that a man cuts to look like a jack-o-lantern and then paints. I thought it was cute, and when Halloween is over, I'll turn it around and it will just be an orange bucket for Thanksgiving.

Please ignore the fact that the railings need to be removed, the steps need to be repainted, and we need a new door! Our house is quite old and we seem to always have much more important things to do than those things ;-)

And last, but not least, my Gamecocks are taking on the Crimson Tide from Alabama tomorrow night. I'm super nervous, as they have a bunch of veteran guys and we're pretty wet behind the ears. I hope that Alshon will have another spectacular game, and Garcia will be careful with the football! Most of all, I hope it's a good game and we play them close, and if we're lucky, we "roll" them instead of them "rolling" us...but I'm not counting on it! In any case, GO COCKS!

Update on Abester

Just a quick update on Abe- thank you for all of your sweet comments!

The vet diagnosed Abe's problem as whipworms. Whipworms come from the soil and get into the dog's intestines, causing many of the symptoms Abe has. However, they are often hard to detect, so nothing showed up on Abe's bloodwork and they couldn't use a feces sample because, well not to be gross, but it's not solid. So, we are not 100% sure it's whipworms, but that's what we are currently treating him for. If this doesn't work, the vet will have to re-diagnose. The good thing is, the vet said it wasn't anything serious like the things I mentioned yesterday, although Abe has lost 12 pounds. I'm telling you, Google can be a nightmare when you are trying to diagnose what is wrong and can often scare the crap out of you, making you think the worst! I think I should just stop using it to diagnose a sickness- it always makes me paranoid.

So now, we just have to hope that the whipworm treatment works and we don't have to try something else! Unfortunately, the vet told us that if he gets whipworms once, he's likely to get them again since they live in the soil and can't be treated for removal. Apparently there is a type of heartworm medication that will guard against whipworms, but it's not Heartguard, which he is on now. So we may have to switch that up so he won't get them again. Unfortunately, we have a friend who is a Heartguard rep and gives it to us for a deal, so that will be one more expense if we have to change up his medicine.

Anybody ever feel like having a dog is a lot like having a child? If so, I'm not sure I'll EVER be ready for a child. In the past month and a half, Abe has racked up $1500 in vet bills- I'm beginning to think we should get insurance on him..sheesh!!

Good vibes for Abe

Our poor sweet Abe has had a rough go of it lately. Y'all remember my post about him getting hit and having to have stitches in his leg? Well, when we took him to the vet to get the stitches out, he had developed an ear infection- how that was possible, I'm not sure, since he was taking antibiotics for the leg. So, the ear infection cleared up a couple of weeks ago, and now he is sick again. WEG is taking him to the vet at 3:00, so say a little prayer that it's nothing major, however, I have scared myself to death reading the internet for the possible culprit of the symptoms he has. I've seen everything from parvo to distemper to heartworms. He just had his shots a month ago, so I would hope it's nothing major like that, but it's scary!

On Sunday he threw up three times. He wouldn't come out from under the shed on Monday and wouldn't eat or anything. Finally we coaxed him out on Monday night and brought him inside, gave him a bath, and gave him some food. Between Monday night and today he has eaten a total of 2 cans of wet food and maybe 2 24-oz cups of food. He has been drinking a ton of water, though- we think he may be slightly dehydrated. This whole time he's had diarrhea, and today he started this wheezing/coughing thing and threw up a small amount twice. Also, today, he has developed a warm nose which indicates a fever. You can tell he just feels terrible and has no energy....he just lays around and looks miserable, and he has lost weight because of the throwing up and not eating.

So please, send good thoughts Abe's way and help me pray that it's nothing serious and this visit won't cost an arm and a leg!

Show us your life- Gamecock Style

I have never participated in Kelly's Show Us Your Life series, but I thought this would be the perfect chance for my first time getting in on the fun.

This week, we're showing love for our favorite team. If you read regularly, you know I'm a big Gamecock fan. I grew up in a Carolina (the real Carolina- SOUTH Carolina) family. We bleed garnet. My dad went to USC, my mom's sister and brother went to USC, my maternal grandfather was a big supporter. Both sides of my family all pull for USC (except my cousin who got married to a Clemson boy and went over to the dark side- bless her heart). I was taught that Clemson was a bad word- that we never pulled for Clemson to do well in anything. How I ended up with a Clemson boy, I'm not sure ;-)

I love everything about the University of South Carolina, except maybe the fact that we don't win as often as one would hope. In fact, I got three degrees from here and now I'm employed here. If you cut me, I swear my blood will be the perfect shade of garnet- not red, not burgundy- GARNET!

By far, I am the biggest supporter of Gamecock baseball. One season during my college years I went to every.single home game- that's a lot if you know anything about baseball. I sat through rain, I sat through cold, I waited out thunderstorms. I've watched my Gamecocks play baseball at Auburn, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU and Omaha- the year we beat Clemson twice to send them packing, no less! Here's a picture of our beautiful new stadium.

Football comes second to baseball in my book, but I love to travel with the Gamecocks for football as well. My goal is to make it to every SEC school for at least one sport. I've followed the Gamecocks to Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia for football. Next year, I'm hoping to make it to Auburn. The only schools I've never been to for anything are Mississippi State and Arkansas. Here we are in Kentucky last year- we won at the end!!

And, Tennessee- we lost in overtime. Heartbreaking.

So, you can plainly see how much I love the Gamecocks. The fight song is currently playing through my head- Hey let's give a cheer, Carolina is here, the mighty Gamecocks lead the way. Who gives a care if the going gets tough, and when it is rough, that's when the Cocks get going. Hail to our colors of Garnet and Black, in Carolina pride have we. So, go Gamecocks, go, drive for the goal, USC will win today...GO COCKS!

Here are a few pictures of my Gamecock pride through the years (mostly at our tailgates)...Enjoy! And, by the way- GO GAMECOCKS- BEAT THE CATS!

We hail thee, Carolina, and sing they high praise. With loyal devotion rememb'ring the days. When proudly we sought thee, they children to be. Here's a health, Carolina- Forever to Thee.

Happy birthday, Mama!

I know I'm a day late and a dollar short, as my mother's birthday was actually yesterday, but I was super busy with an event at work, so I didn't have time to post.

And now, this is my 200th post, so I can't think of a better thing to say on it than happy birthday to one of the kindest, most caring people I know- my mom.

I know I haven't always seen eye to eye with my mother. At times when I was younger, I thought she was probably the toughest mom around. Yes, she may have been strict at times, but looking back on it, I can see why. I'm an only child and if something happened to me that was it.

I've seen my mom battle some difficult things in her life. She lost her mother to a cerebral hemorrhage when I was 11 years old. My mother was the one that tried to revive my grandmother when my grandfather came screaming out of the bedroom after finding her. I know this was incredibly difficult for my mother to lose her own mother. And my grandmother was fairly young- in her 60's- when she passed away. Being that my mom is in her 60's now too, I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my rock. But my mom, even on her saddest days, has shown me what true faith and strength are all about.

You see, my mom fights a battle every single day of her life against a disease you can't win against. She has severe rheumatoid arthritis- so severe that knee replacements and hip replacements won't help. So severe that the cartilage in every single joint in her body is wearing down. In most cases, every joint is bone rubbing bone. But, she keeps on going, never asking for pity. She goes to school every day and teaches Latin and English to high school students- which is usually a thankless job. So, even dealing with a debilitating disease that leaves your body so weak, my mom shows amazing strength.

There's not a single thing in my life that I have not been able to burden my mother with. She listens to all my problems and gives me the best advice. It took me a while to see that my mom is usually always right. Mothers do know best. She has become my best friend and confidante through the years, and I wouldn't change that a bit.

So, thank you, Mama, for being a wonderful, Christian example for me in my life. I can only hope that, if the day comes, I'll be half the mom you have been. I love you and happy birthday- a day late and a dollar short.

Wednesday Wisdom...or not

There's a topic I would like to raise because it makes me wonder and I want to know if y'all ever think about this.
This morning an Amber Alert came across the radio. A 5 month old, Cori'anna Heyward, was abducted from Charleston by Corey Heyward, who I assume is her father. It makes me wonder why 5 short months ago the mother saw it fit to name the child after her father, but is now reporting that he abducted her.
Last week there was a similar situation where the child abducted had part of the father's name in his name, and it was the father who had abducted him.
Clearly, 5 months ago you knew this guy was disreputable, so why did you name your kid after him? Riddle me that.
Does this baffle anybody else or is it just me??

And on another note, if the sun doesn't come out in South Carolina soon I am going to go insane. this is the 3rd straight day we have had overcast skies and rain. ICK. All it makes me want to do is curl up on the couch with a good movie and a book! It certainly does not promote motivation in my work. However, speaking of work- we just hired a new administrative assistant to replace the old ice chomper and he'll start in 2 weeks. Things are slowing down here now, of course, but it will surely be nice to have someone to do all the paperwork that I have been saddled with since the departure of our last AA.

And finally, we enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Fripp Friday through Sunday, but I have no pictures. You just have to trust me that it was gorgeous weather. Warm enough to sit on the beach for 3 straight days and get a little sunshine on our skin and cool at night to enjoy hanging out on the porch. We couldn't have asked for a better trip!