Bittersweet News for a Bittersweet Day

Guys! I have some upsetting news today. 

Today was my weekly weigh in. I gained a pound. I went from 144.6 to 145.8lbs. What happened? 

I've been monitoring my calories the same, working out, still cutting back on sweets... I'm not sure what happened. My only guess is that the weight I've gained is muscle, which is what I'm relying on. I mean, I feel like I've lost more fat this week, and I feel good about the direction I'm headed in, but I'm a little thrown but that gain. It's only a pound, yes, but I was hoping that scale would go down! 

It's time like these where I have to remember this pin: 

I'm only on week 3 of my 4 week challenge, but I can definitely see my body changing and am proud of the muscle that I can see and the flat stomach I know I will one day have. I'm halfway to the 8 week mark.

This is another good pin for me to remember.

And so is this one. I just have to keep myself motivated through all this and keep pushing as hard as I can. 

Can you guys think of any reason that there would be weight gain, or do you think it's muscle? I hope it's muscle!

In other news, today was my last day at my social media internship with Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese & Beer Flats. It's really bittersweet!

Me at the Fancy Food Show in Washington, DC from June 18-20, 2012

I really feel like I've done a lot to help the company expand their social media. I can only hope they feel the same way! 

While with them, we launched our new Beer Flats crackers, made with real beer!

Exciting, right?

More about the food show later. I'm off to the gym. Let me know your thoughts on the weight gain! 

Much love, 

NEW GIVEAWAY WINNER & Fitness Updates!

BECAUSE THE WINNER STILL HAS NOT RESPONDED, THERE WILL BE A NEW WINNER OF THE TWO COUPONS FOR COCONUT BLISS ICE CREAM. THE WINNER: LAUREN! CONGRATS! PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP SO I CAN GET THOSE COUPONS TO YOU!

Guys!

Thanks so much for your kind words and awesome support about my weight loss and fitness journey! I have absolutely no clue if I lost more weight this week or not, but I really hope so - I weigh myself tomorrow, so I guess we'll find out then!

I still struggle to turn down sweet treats and stay within my calorie limit - not because I'm hungry, but because I like to snack all the time for no real reason - but I've been doing very well. As long as sweets are not in the house, I don't really eat them. I don't buy them anymore because I just don't want them around me. That is the only way I've found I can stay sane.

You know the cool thing? I don't even crave sweets anymore. I only eat them because they are in front of me, not because I crave them. I think that is so great! I also love that I've been trying to eat seasonal - plums, peaches, berries, and melon are so yummy right now, so go buy a bunch and snack on them! Plus, Bob Harper says you should be eating apples and berries every day, so get to it. It's one of his 20 skinny rules.

Have you read The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper yet? Go buy it. It's great. I'm reading it right now. But more on that later - it'll be in my things I'm lovin post this week, and I don't want to spoil it!

Tomorrow is my last day at my internship with Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese as their social media intern. So sad, isn't it? I hope to make a binder filled with all the stuff I did over the summer for my boss, so she has everything in one place when she needs to refer to a list or some social media tips. Gotta love Twitter and Facebook. And who can forget Pinterest?!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry this was short and to the point. More soon on my continued health and fitness journey, a recipe for some killer apple chips, and reviews of PB2, Zagorra HotPants, Crum Creek, KLUTCHclub, and WayFare products. See you soon!

Much love,

21 Days of Giveaways: Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese

First thing's first - congratulations to the winner of free Earth Balance coupons - #5,CARALYN FROM GLUTENFREEHAPPYTUMMY. She's a Cincinnati girl too! :) You rock! Email me you address so I can get those coupons mailed out to you!

Today's giveaway comes from Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese - the artisan biscuit company that I am currently interning for. That's right, I'm their social media intern! And no, I am not being paid to talk positively about the brand - I like these biscuits regardless of my job with them. They are yummy and perfect for eating with cheese!

As you can see, there are 3 flavors: Pumpkin Seed with Rye, Almond with Raisins, and Hazelnut with Figs. My favorite used to be the pumpkin seed, but now I'm not really sure. I like them all. 

I also got busy in the kitchen and made a couple things with them, like my Grilled Cheese Bites...

Which are really good in tomato soup...

And my Hazelnut Fig Cheesecake!

Recipes for both of those delicious items will be coming at a later date! :)

Here's how to enter for your chance to win a Daelia's Prize Pack...which includes 2 packages of each flavor of our biscuits!...just a leave a separate comment below for each entry. Thanks!

MANDATORY: Follow Passing Daisies and Daelia's Biscuits on Twitter and tweet the following: "Hey @cityxlights13 and @daeliasbiscuits, I want to win artisan biscuits! Everyone enter today! http://bit.ly/nQkq1N #21daysofgiveaways "

If you don't have a Twitter, tell me why you want to try these biscuits.

Want more chances to win? Who doesn't? Here are more ways to enter: 

1. Subscribe to Passing Daisies. If you subscribe, you get three extra entries!

2. Tell me something you would like to see more of on Passing Daisies. Recipes? Reviews? Workouts? Anything?

3. Be creative and write me a snazzy poem or song for my birthday. Bonus points if you make a YouTube video and sing it to me! :) I will feature your songs/poems on the blog if you do this! 

4. Follow me on Blogger.

5. Pin this post on Pinterest and mention PassingDaisies.net in the description.

6. Follow Daelia's on Pinterest 

THIS GIVEAWAY ENDS TONIGHT AT 11:59PM.

That's it! Side note - don't forget to like us on our newly updated Facebook, if you don't already. Thanks kiddos and good luck! The winner will be posted tomorrow morning, along with the next giveaway!

Much love,

Internships & FroYo

Tomorrow is my first day at my new internship!

I am a little bit nervous, but I know my boss is nice and dress seems to be dressy casual (which I like a lot). So at least I have those things going for me! The internship is in Clifton, not far from the University of Cincinnati's campus or my boyfriend's house :). I will be interning three days a week from 9 am - 12 pm. On those same days (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), I will then be heading back to Xavier's campus to work on the campus paper, The Newswire. Except for tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment. Yikes!

I am interning at Daelia's Biscuits for Cheese - a gourmet biscuit company, used to enhance your cheese-eating experience. I will be managing the company's social media accounts and develop a Facebook strategy for giving out coupons to fans - I'm assuming contests, giveaways, and things like that. Do you have any creative ideas for how to award coupons to Daelia's fans? 

I have been doing really well with sticking to working out - I have worked out every single day this past week! I already see significant improvements from all the strength training I have been doing.

This DVD, along with Jillian Michaels, has been really helping me to sculpt and tone (or tone, lift, and cinch as the Tone It Up ladies call it!). I love looking at my thighs and seeing how sculpted they already are after only a work. It's crazy. I love it! I also think I have lost some weight in the past weight, which makes me really happy.

I have also been doing fairly well with eating right - lean, clean, and green - but today I splurged and had some of Ben & Jerry's new Greek Frozen Yogurt.

I got the Raspberry Fudge Chunk. It is super yummy! This frozen yogurt is a bit icier in texture than others, but so good. It really has a fresh raspberry taste to it, and a half cup serving has 200 calories. I started out eating a 1/4 cup serving, and then went back for another 1/4 cup because it was so good. I also indulged in some fresh strawberries and a small piece of pound cake with whipped cream for Mother's Day. Dinner consisted of a salad, Asian glazed salmon, and mashed cauliflower. Yummy. Back to healthier eating tomorrow!

My hope is that this will be my healthiest summer yet. I want to reach my goal weight and have sculpted arms. That's my goal! Think I can do it? :)

If I plan on working out tomorrow morning before my internship, I need to head to bed. Oh! One more thing before I sign off. Look what my boyfriend surprised me with today!

Yellow roses! Aren't they pretty? :)

That's all for now. See you later everyone!

Much love,