Baking: Oreo Truffles...

These are my absoulte favorite things to make (other than cupcakes, cakes, and all other desserts, lol). Trust me, if you ever decide to make these, you will definitely regret it! I mean, they are DIET-BREAKING Yumminess!! I found a website that says these babies are 100 calories each! Wow! That's why I only eat one a day, haha.

I made these for Hubby, so he can take them to a work potluck. Apparently, they were the talk of the day! ;) You should really try these!

I am including pictures and instructions so you can make them yourself for you and your family (or maybe just for you)!

Good Luck and Enjoy!

These are the ingredients you are going to need:

-2 packs of Oreo Cookies

-2 packages of Cream Cheese (8 oz each - 1 per package of Oreo Cookies)

-White and Milk Chocolate for dunking and drizzling! Mmm!

That's it!

You should let the cream cheese sit on your kitchen table/counter for a while so it will be room temperature when you need it later on.

You will need to grind the Oreo cookies to a fine texture. Very fine. (I put 5 Oreo's in the blender at a time and grind until they reach the perfect consistency)
Many people have said you can buy a package of Oreo crumbs, but this is so much better because you get the cream filling and ALL in there! Yummy!!

(Sorry, no pictures of this next step) :(

You will have to add a package of cream cheese per each package of Oreo cookies and mix them together. I do this part with my very hands. It's mushy and fun!

Next, you have to make the Oreo balls thenselves. I also do this step with my bare hands. Don't worry about perfection.. they'll disappear before anyone realizes they're not all the same shape or size.

(Feel free to experiment with shapes as well, though I like the traditional round shape!)

Yum!

You should put the Oreo balls in the freezer (for about half an hour) so that they won't fall apart in this next step...

While the Oreo balls are in the freezer, you should melt the white chocolate (and later, the milk chocolate) on a double boiler for dipping.
I use chocolate chips for quick and easy melting:

I was very excited to get these done that I totally forgot to get pictures of the dipping and drizzling steps, but you get the idea! Cover each Oreo ball with white chocolate and drizzle them all with milk chocolate. Simple enough...right? ;)

Look at all of that goodness!

Mmm-mmm good!!

Want some of this yumminess?? :D

If you want to make these chocolate-covered pretzels, all you have to get is some pretzel sticks. They are easier to make than the Oreo Truffles. Just dip and drizzle!

These are definitely not the healthiest of snacks, lol, but they sure are the yummiest! I hope some of you make these and share them with loved ones!

Weight Loss: 1-Month Update

Hello blog! Just wanted to keep you all updated (so that I have to force myself to stay on track) lol.

I have to mention a quick goal that I met in the past month:

I LOST 10 POUNDS IN 1 MONTH!!
Yay!!

I hope you guys are all meeting some of your goals as well. I am glad to say that I am still losing weight and that I am NOT on a diet. I am just changing my life by eating healthier. Not only am I losing weight, but I am losing inches too, which is more important to me than the weight thing. Especially since I am lifting weights and running and I will probably be gaining muscle (which, as far as I'm concerned weight more than fat). I have lost 2" around my waist, 2" around my belly (!!!), 2.5" around each thigh, and .25" around each arm!! That's a total of 6.75" in one month! Isn't that amazing! =]
I am excited to see how much healthier I'll get in the next month! I'll keep keeping you all updated! :)

#021 of 1001 - Check!


And since no post is good without a picture, here is one of some cousins, hubby, and I at my aunts wedding from an upcoming post:


( Don't blame me for it not being centered, lol, I didn't take it.)

Today was a great day!

I woke up this morning and I decided I was going to work out both before and after school... then I fell asleep. (Aahhh, sleep...) I woke up way too late to have enough time to go to the gym and make it to school on time so I ended up scratching the double-work-out idea almost instantly. :(

After classes ended (I was on campus until 12:45-ish) I decided to go straight to the gym to work out. I used the elliptical for an hour, did 30 bicep lifts, 30 tricep lifts, an 50 crunches. Normally, I would go home at this point, but I realized it was still early and Hubby wouldn't be home until about 4:30... so I ran again! For another hour. I did 30 more biceps, 30 more triceps, and 50 more crunches!
That equals 2 hours on the elliptical, 60 biceps, 60 triceps, and 100 crunches!
Yay!

It was a HUGE accomplishment for me! The second hour was soo much easier than the first, FYI! :) I felt a huge sense of accomplishment! I "lost/burned" over 1,100 calories (almost the number of calories I am allowing myself to eat every day!!). Because of this huge number, I decided to splurge and allow myself a treat!

IN-N-OUT!!
I wanted In-N-Out really bad and decided it was ok, since I was waaaay below my allotted caloric intake! Hubby agreed I deserved it and took me to the nearest In-N-Out! Woo-Hoo!
I was a happy camper and am still way under my alloted caloric intake after eating some yummy grub! :)

P.S. I absolutely LOVE to workout! I really hope this turns into a true lifestyle change!

=]

Week 1: Update

So today marks a week that I've been working out and eating better and, let me tell you, I am feeling soooo much better!! Any, by eating better I just mean less calories during the day. (I think I mentioned this before but I am using the iPhone App called "Lose It" and I just enter the food I eat and the exercises I do and it tracks everything for me. I mean, I ate at Denny's yesterday morning with Hubby and was still under my calories at the end of the day!)

Anyway, I had to work out this morning instead of later today because I have class until 9 or 10 PM and I will be very tired by the end of the day, so at 8:30 this morning you could have founf me running at the gym! PLUS, God blessed me with a very light drizzle when I was finished to cool me off! Isn't life great! :)

Well, to update you and (hopefully) convince you to start working out (or to continue if you've already started) I want to show my progress. I will NOT tell you how much I weigh but I will tell you how much I have lost. In one week, I have lost a total of 4.6 pounds! I am so pleased with this number because, though it is not a very big number I still eat brownies and eat out when I want to and I still lose weight! It's so exciting! Can't wait until a month from now! Woo-Hoo!
Don't give up guys! Anything is possible!

Another Update

For those of you that don't talk to me every day or don't know me on a personal level, I am just going to tell you what I tell everyone I see or talk to every day: I am so sore!!! I almost feel like I'm limping when I walk, lol.

Anyway, I am so excited to say that I have stuck to my exercise routine to-a-T! I have gone to the gym every day since I started! I know, I know: 4 days isn't all that much, but it's a huge step for me and I am so glad I have stuck to it so well! My secret is to go right when I get home.

I walk in, change, and walk out.

I DO NOT sit down nor do I turn the T.V. on
(because then I'll never get back up, haha).

I am enjoying this whole work-out routine because I am feeling a lot better and I have a lot more energy. Though I am still very sore, I love the feeling. I feel like if it hurts, it works. Maybe I'm just crazy but I like it and I hope I keep liking it. I don't want this to just be a week-long-stint either, I want it to be a lifestyle change.

My next thing to overcome is the weekend... oh dear.
The Weekend.

Wish me luck! :)
(I'll keep you posted on that weekend thing, lol)

And because no post is good without a picture I am going to include a picture of my cousins and I after dinner at Tahoe Joe's (one of my favorite restaurants ever) in Bakersfield last weekend:


Love you girlies!

Work-Out Update

Today, I decided to go workout right after classes ended. I was so excited and went straight to the gym here at my apartment complex. Straight to the stationary bicycle I went. I told myself I was going to be there for at least an hour. Well, I didn't realize an hour would go by so slowly and be so painful, lol. It felt so good though. I am the kind of person that thinks: "If I feel it, it must be working!" Well, I don't really want to wake up tomorrow and feel the pain. My bum was sore after getting off the bicycle immediately afterwards... tomorrow is going to be a painful day. At least I can stay in bed and sleep in since I don't have classes on Wednesdays! After the hour, I did 2 reps of 25 arm exercises (one rep for triceps and 1 rep for biceps). I wanted to start low and work my way up over the weeks. Hopefully I can keep to this new work-out routine, unlike the last time I tried it, haha. Hopefully this will help me with my losing weight goals! :)

Wish me luck!

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Valentine's Day is around the corner and I just had to make some cupcakes for my friends! I always seem to make cupcakes because they are so easy and they're a blast to decorate! I'm going to keep the writing short because I have quite a few pictures to post!

Here goes:

A bunch of Cupcakes:


A Close Up:








All packed ready to take to school:





A Heart!
(Corny, I know, lol)






Little Packages!

For our Neighbors:


Guess what's Inside:


Mini Cupcakes!!
(Duh!)

Thanks for looking!

Hope you all have a
Happy Valentine's Day!

FYI: Just because I make cupcakes doesn't mean I am eating them!
I am sticking to my aforementioned diet and am still on track!

Weight Loss: START!

I just decided to start another one of my goals!
I entered this contest for a free photo-shoot by this amazing photographer and, though I didn't win the contest itself, she is giving me a photo-shoot as an early graduation gift!! How amazing is she!
(I can't really say who she is right now, but maybe sometime in the future)


Anyway, I am determined to lose weight for the shoot and for the Senior Ball (which will be around the same time)! I was so excited when she emailed me to tell me about the shoot that I couldn't sleep! I will track all of my workout and everything I eat with you guys here to keep me on track, so expect a new post just about daily! To help me with this I am using an iPhone App called "Lose It" which tracks all of the calories you eat and the workouts you do. I am super excited and can't wait for April!


This also helps me with my 101 in 1001 because I have a few that include losing weight. Yay! Can't wait! Time to see a new, healthier me!

Hiking?

A few days ago, I decided to try and take some sunset pictures and told Hubby I wanted to go to a different location than just from our balcony. Hubby decided to take me to these hills around the corner (that were more like mountains!!). I didn't really know how steep the hill was going to be, so I just wore my flip-flops. Bad Idea! This hill was super steep around the top and it took me for-ever to get to the top. It made me realize just how out-of-shape I really am! It's pretty sad, actually. But once we got to the top, we got some really good pictures of Calabasas and of the sun setting, of course. Here are some shots from that day: Enjoy!

Rattle Snakes?

A Really Cool Tree:

Beautiful Sunset:

It was amazing from the top of the hill:

I don't know why the clouds didn't turn purple/pink, but they were still beautiful:

I really liked this tree:

Here it is again, peeking from the side, lol:

The city and the sun setting:

It was tiresome but fun! :)
Yay!

Health: Day 1

So Hubby and I have decided it was time to start worrying about our health. We decided to go to the local gym Tuesdays and Thursdays, and play a few sports (tennis, basketball, etc.) on other days. Well, today was day one...

...and workout we did. We were there for about an hour, didn't want to over-work ourselves on the first day, lol. =] I ran about 3.25 miles and did a few reps on my arms. I am so excited about this new schedule of ours, and I really hope we keep with it. I wanna loose a few pounds and there isn't a better time than the present!

Wish us luck!!