Monique Alexandria says…

On my Goal Calendar for today I have written:  MEAL PLAN.  I’m not just looking to better myself on the outside, people.  I want to be better all around.  That means I need to evaluate what I eat and choose better options.  I’d like to be around to see the end of the world…and survive it.  The only way I can do that is by preparing myself mentally and physically, and if my insides don’t look right, I ain’t gon make it. 

The purpose of my meal plan is not to give myself strict, “this is what you have to eat everyday!” but moreso of a guideline.  If I have something visual to refer to, I’m more likely to make those choices rather than having to think quickly on my feet as to what’s good for me and what’s not.  It’s inevitable that someone will invite me to join them at a restaurant or I’ll be in a situation where I can’t prepare the meals on my plan, but by looking at what I have written down, I can cater what IS available to me to best fit that.  Example:  I’m invited to eat dinner at Olive Garden but I have already written out my meal plan for the night.  It tells me that I should eat wheat pasta with olive oil and garlic with a spring mix salad on the side and fresh fruit for dessert.  Well, Olive Garden may have a more fattening version of these items, but they are still available.  There is the Cappellini Pomodorro, which is almost like my pasta dish, but with white noodles and tomatoes.  They have their salad mix that isn’t as nutritional as a spring mix, but asking for the dressing on the side and asking for a ramekin of olive oil to use as a substitute dressing comes close.  Then, for dessert, just ask for a dish of their in season fruit.  That may not be something on the menu, but most restaurants will accomodate because it is something they do have.  You may have a few more calories from the restaurant’s dishes, but it is better than coming to the restaurant with no meal plan nagging you in the back of your mind and choosing a pasta with a heavy cream based sauce and eating their chocolate molten cake for dessert.  I don’t even want to THINK about that caloric intake!

Something that features prominintely on my meal plan is smoothies.  My mother makes them a lot at the house, and when I moved out (for all of 5 minutes), I constently made them as well.  They work great as a breakfast, a snack, or a dessert!  Here’s how I make mine:

I have a blender that my mother bought me last Christmas (well I did until I broke it and had to go out and buy a replacement…it was broken while making smoothies actually!)  In the blender I put two types of frozen fruits.  If you go to the frozen section at your grocery store, you’ll find a ton of choices–even some that are certified organic.  Blueberries and strawberries typically come in the largest sized bags and are the least expensive though.

Next I add an individual sized yogurt cup.  I like vanilla yogurt since it doesn’t compete with the fruits, and I typically choose Stonyfield because it is organic and I learned about their operation from a food documentary I watched over the summer and I endorse the way they do business.  If you want to save money, as this is a little bit more pricey than the store brand, buy the large container.  You can eyeball how much you put in your blender this way.  Usually two heaping spoonfuls does the trick.

The final blender ingredient is a juice of some sort.  I switch between three types of juices.  I either use apple juice, orange juice or coconut water.  These just happen to be beverages I have in my fridge at all times. 

Once you have everything in the blender, blend away!  No ice needed, no milk needed, no nothing else needed.  Once you hear the blender stop sounding like it’s grinding up a body and start sounding more streamlined, your drink is ready.  Enjoy!

You may or may not know that I LOVE “stuff.”  Both of my grandmothers have lots of things, my mother has a lot of things, and therefore, I was destined to become a boderline hoarder…or maybe a full blown one, but I’m not willing to accept that yet.

On my Goal Calendar for today I have written, “IMMACULATE LIVING SPACES!”  I pet sit a lot which sees me staying at other people’s homes, and there is nothing more depressing than living out of a suitcase for a few days and then coming home to a cluttered space.  I start a new pet sitting job today that is going to take me into February, so I decided to clean up my living spaces in my home so that when I do come home, it’s to perfection!

My closet stays fairly organized, but I thought I might share how I keep it as such with you.  As mentioned before, I have a lot of things, and I don’t have a big space to keep them in.  I don’t have a walk in closet, so to best utilize the space, I commissioned my father to put in a double hanging bar a few months ago for me.  I also have several stackable cubes that I keep items in.

This is my closet organized.  It may look like there is a lot going in, and granted there is, but everything is in a logical order.  I have dresses, jackets, and sweaters on the top bar.  The bottom bar is for skirts and shorts.  I also have cubes to hold the magazines I collect (anything with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on the cover, etc.) and one three tiered cube that has t-shirts from different bands that I like. 

Here you can see a close up of some of my cubes.  There are two blue boxes on top of the cubes.  One holds my underwear, the other holds my socks.  It works well for me.  I keep my bangle style bracelets in a little blue box down at the bottom, my very first license plate as a decoration in front of my magazines, and some of my more used bags/purses in the empty space beside some more magazines!This is the other stackable cube I have in my closet.  It holds some of my t-shirts.  One top of it are two small black and white boxes that hold my stockings!  Truth be told, I need one more, but I make do with the two I have 🙂

Finally, the top of my closet.  This is where the design plan didn’t quiiiiite work out 100%.  I’m a fairly tall girl (5’8?), so my clothes obviously hang a little longer.  That didn’t leave much clearance at the top of my closet, but there is just enough to get what I need in and out.  I keep my sweatshirts up here, my jeans, and my work pants.  I also have a box in the far corner that holds beach supplies (I never go to the beach, so it isn’t easily accessible) and the other corner holds stackable boxes that keep some scarves in them.

Now that you’ve taken a peak into my closet, share with me some tips.  Is there anything I can do to make it even MORE functional?  Have I done something in mine that you might implement into your own?  Keep checking back with me to continue on my journey of becoming a better person in 2012!

Well hello again to all my Internet friends!  I know a lot of people make all these grandios plans for the New Year with resolutions that never quite make it off the ground, but I plan on bucking the trend.  Follow me on my journey to betterment!