Snowed In

Reno has been a blizzard for the last few days.  Today I took some photos of the aftermath.  At least 3 feet of snow is covering my lawn and driveway.  It's a great time to pull out the snow shovel and get some exercise!  Today was a good and a bad day.  I play drums in a band called Sleepy Sunshine and we had band practice today which was awesome.  I put a pic of my band mates below.  Playing drums has always been a passion of mine.  It's cathartic as well as a workout!  Banging and kicking for 45 minutes breaks a sweat!  After band practice I settled down to dinner with my parents. My mom made a really good chicken and mozzarella ravioli with bechamel sauce.  The bechamel sauce is made with butter and whole milk so it's a little rich, but I just used it sparingly.  After dinner I got really depressed for no particular reason.  I guess being unemployed and not in school gets to me after a while.  I've been filling out applications left and right so fingers crossed!  It will be so nice to have some purpose back in my life (besides the blog:)).  I'm feeling much better now though.  I could have easily pigged out and drowned my sorrow with carbs but I just lived it out.  I think people have a hard time just living out their negative feelings sometimes.  I've been in recovery for drug addiction and my counselor was always telling me to accept your feelings and sit with them, rather than try to escape from them with drugs, alcohol, food, sex, etc.(Name your poison)  At first I thought that it would just be too hard, but have recently accepted that life isn't always on the up.  It is a roller coaster and accepting that makes it a hell of a lot easier!  I think this plays a huge part in weight loss and health. We all turn to something to fill that void sometimes.  I always turned to food, until I discovered drugs, but now that I'm clean, I turn to food again.  Staying on top of our emotions and letting ourselves feel them is the key.  You don't always have to push them away, because if you keep doing that, you'll just keep getting what you always got.  There is no true happiness in that.  Anyway, I thought it would be nice to touch upon emotions because a lot of us are emotional eaters.  I'm trying harder every day to be in sync with my feelings and know that they don't require an ice cream binge.  That in itself is a huge accomplishment.  See you guys tomorrow!

BREAKFAST

3 homemade low-fat pancakes (from Bisquick) 4 pts, 190 calories
1/4 cup pancake syrup, 2 pts, 100 calories
1 tbsp. whipped lite butter, 2 pts, 70 calories
BREAKFAST TOTAL: 7 pts, 360 calories

LUNCH

Turkey Polish Sausage (on a white bun with ketchup, mustard and relish), 11 pts, 570 calories
Diet Pepsi
LUNCH TOTAL: 11 pts, 560 calories

SNACK

Greek Strawberry Yogurt (my new obsession, see below) 3 pts, 160 calories
SNACK TOTAL: 3 pts, 160 calories

DINNER

1 cup Chicken and Cheese Ravioli, 5 pts, 230 calories
1/2 cup Bechamel Sauce, 3 pts, 140 calories
DINNER TOTAL: 8 pts, 380 calories

SNACK/DESSERT

Low Fat Ice Cream Sandwich, 6 pts, 320 calories
SNACK/DESSERT TOTAL: 6 pts, 320 calories

DAY TOTAL: 35 pts, 1789 calories

My only regret today was that I definitely skimped on fruits and veggies. I will increase my intake tomorrow.

 View from my front porch.  This photo doesn't even begin to depict the true amount of snow we got.  This is after the street and driveway were plowed.  We honestly got 3 or 4 feet total.

 My new favorite food/treat.  Greek yogurt rules!!!  It's tart and tangy and creamy and dreamy.  It has a couple more calories than regular yogurt but it totally surpasses it in flavor.  YUM!!

This is our band's practice space, in the basement of my house.  Ashley sings and plays keyboard and Billy (in the back) plays guitar and bass.  I'm the drummer (more pics coming soon).  We are working on some new material for a show we have in downtown Reno on March 22nd, 2011.  Check us out at myspace.com/wearesleepysunshine.