"And my buns? They don't feel nothin' like steel."

Ok, so apparently Clueless is the only thing I can quote from in regards to weight!  In any event, I am very proud of myself because me and the bf went to the gym this evening where I burned over 300 calories in 35 minutes.  That makes me feel so great!  I'm working my way up to an hour because I don't want to overdo it and burn myself out.  Today I posted a picture on Facebook that I made him take of me with the caption "3rd phase of weight loss begins now.  No excuses."  We may have eaten a lot of Italian food this weekend, but they weren't all bad decisions.  Plus, I did cardio 3 times in a week, which is a really good start, especially for me.  The first phase was diet only, the second phase was exercise only, and now I need to incorporate both!  Hopefully I will reach that goal faster than I think.  I just really have to knock down the carbs and increase the cardio.  Easy peasy, right?  Ha!

So on that note, I've decided to specialize in cupcake making!  Funny, right?  My supervisor joked, "That's great, Chris...start a diet and bake nonstop."  I see her point, but I'm already becoming uninterested in chowing down on the finished results.  Splitting one with my mom and spreading the goodness to others is fine!  It's true though, you tend to be more interested in eating goodies that other people made, but I need to be very careful with that.  Immersing myself in this project may be the best thing!  I know I can bake well, it's a matter of trying new things, diversifying recipes, and learning how to do fancy frosting and decorations.  I also want to try some personal healthier choices, like sugar free and gluten free in case I get those requests. 

I found that I enjoyed baking when I was unemployed back in 2006.  Now I make a variety of cookies every December for my friends, family, and coworkers.  Cupcakes are more fun and you can make lots of fun displays, colors, and varieties.  I'm starting to read people's blogs, research online for recipes, put two and two together about basic recipes, where to find good ingredients, and what goes well together.  I bought one book called The Artful Cupcake and I might try to take a couple of those free classes at AC Moore.  I just really need a hands-on creative hobby.  I know I won't be anything like Magnolia or those fancy bakeries out there, but hey...who knows!  I even have a name picked out for my potential side business (Buffy nerds would be very happy)...I would like to have my bf design the logo and I could put a sticker on the boxes.  As of now they'll just be gifts or favors, but hey...who knows! 

It makes me smile when I master something new like melting chocolate and add something new to my repertoire.  I don't want to just give up when it gets hard, and that makes me very proud.