I'm soooooo tired

I even took a nap today. I felt 'off' all day, but hopefully I'll be back to my normal self tomorrow. Although I'm REALLY sore from my workout I had on Friday with my trainer. Ugh.

So again, another short & lame post this weekend, but Monday... I'll get back into it. I promise.

Good night!

Sorry for the delay...

... I think I ate something 'bad' last night. We went to the mall and I ordered a rice/veggie/chicken bowl and last night I was MISERABLE. I'm still feeling really 'off' and miserable. So I apologize for not posting last night but let's just say, it was the last thing on my mind.

Oh - and I gained 1.6 pounds.

Okay... be easy on me...

Alright. I know I've had this conversation before. And to be perfectly honest, I'm terrified to have it again. I'm super scared that you guys are going to be annoyed with me, or frustrated, or just disappointed. But the truth of the matter, is that I know I'm going to gain weight at my weight in. I have a scale. And granted, it's not the same as the one I weigh-in on, but it's definitely gone up. 

I'm pretty sure SOME of it has to do with being bloated. Yet again, I haven't been drinking my water, and did eat some salty foods this week. I know I took extra 'bites' here and there, and I have to STOP doing that.

So I'm humiliated, ashamed, and just plain ol' embarrassed. So please don't make any comments on this post. I don't want to hear you get mad at me, and I don't want to hear you say 'don't worry, it's okay'. It's not okay, and I just going to keep moving forward, and try again. 

Tomorrow I'll have my weigh-in, I'll stay for the meeting, and then I'm going to my training session and doing my cardio. 

I'll see you guys tomorrow - and I'll post a recipe then. Have a good night.

Don't Know Where the Evening Went ...

... but I gotta get to bed. 

Nothing much to say really. I showed up to my training session to find that I actually didn't book it on Monday. Apparently I told him that I couldn't make it today (which makes sense since the kiddos had gymnastics, so I had to cut out my cardio time) but fortunately he didn't have anyone booked so he took me on.

He also told me that if I wanted to hit my goals, then each day I should be working out for 90 minutes and drinking 100 ounces of water. Sounds daunting. I really want to achieve my crazy huge goal... but right now, it seems so impossible. I get so overwhelmed with the 'big number' that I need to lose, that I kinda can't appreciate hitting anything 'less' than that. 

Anyway... that's what's going through my mind. Good times. Good times.

The Magic Pills (cont...)

Okay, Okay. I'll tell you about the pills. Honestly - I promise that I wasn't trying to keep you guys hanging. Or 'tease' you by not giving you information. For reals!

So here's what the stuff is:

FAT RELEASE

Natural Fat Fighter

Up to 3x More

weight loss

Increases 

Calorie Burning

Decreases

Dietary Fat

Absorption

Promotes Healthy

Liver Function

Here's a link:

http://www.dotfit.com/Fat_Release-pid-1100.html

Oh - and I can't remember if I told you that after I do

the Fat Blocker for a month, then I'll switch

 to the Carb Blocker. I'll be interesting to see what happens. 

Let me know if you end up doing it too!

Magic Pills

I had a 'talk' with my trainer today. Just talked to him about how I hate to exercise, I'm addicted to food and I feel like I'm going to be fat forever. My trainer is this super cute young boy who is just about the nicest kid you'll ever meet. He's always chipper and the best part - he used to be overweight in highschool and lost all his weight on his own. Now he's in incredible shape and loves being a trainer. (but he's also taking online college courses... so who knows how long I have left with him) 

Anyway, he told me that I needed to find motivation (which honestly - nothing motivates me) and if I couldn't find it, then I had to create a motivating environment. He asked me all these questions about what motivates me with my business and what I enjoy about doing that. I think he was trying to take that information and transfer it over to the 'gym' for me. 

But then ... somehow we got on the topic of supplements. Um ... so there are these fat blocker and carb blocker supplements that he 'approves of' (and let me tell you - he doesn't approve of much past plain ol' clean eating and old school exercising). I told him, 'WHAT?! Why have you been holding out on me for so long! What are these magic pills - I'll take them!'

So today I came home with my first bottle of magic pills. I'm supposed to take them a half hour before I eat, and I was made to promise that I fully understood that this does NOT mean I can eat whatever I want, but I still need to make wise choices and continue with my exercise. Which yes - I totally understand. 

If these bad boys end up working ... then I might have just found my new motivation. Wish me luck - I'm headed to the gym again tomorrow. 

Monday Monday

Okay, so I'm ready to roll. In the morning I have a training session and the husband works late so I can go sans kiddos. Just me, my ipad and my kdrama. Lovely.

I'm super duper tired. So I'm going to head to bed early. And I sooooo cannot wait. 

Goodnight!

(oh - and I forgot - let me know what you accomplished this past week!!!)

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

I'll be spending it up at my parent's house.

and Mom is making a Weight Watcher's meal.

(which I'm super excited about)

what were your plans?

Really?

I gained

.6 lbs

whatever

I'm annoyed. So I'm going to bed. No - I'm not giving up. Yes - I'm still going to continue. But I'm annoyed. 

Good night.

Food Friday

Sesame Bok Choy

Points Plus value: 1

Prep: 2 minutes

Cook: 12 minutes

Low in calories and a good source of calcium, bok choy has a milder flavor than most other dark leafy greens. Bok Choy is an ideal accompaniment to any Asian-inspired dishes.

6 baby bok choy

cooking spray

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

1. cut bok coy in half lengthwise, leaving core intact. Steam bok choy, covered, 4 minutes or until tender; drain well.

2. heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Drizzle cut sides of bok choy with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place bok choy, cut sides down, in pan; cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn bok choy over; cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or unitl lightly browned. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 bok choy halves)

********************

So I roasted some bok choy the other night and I LOVE it! I think I want to make my new dinner: rice and roasted veggies. LOVE that. And it's relatively low in points. 

I have my weigh-in in like 10 hours. I'm not feeling it. I know that I'm under my points for the week, and I've had some decent exercising as well, but I haven't been drinking my water like I should. I've been weighing myself and I'm not seeing any change. I'm a bit frustrated. Granted, I had that womanly thing going on as well, but ... I'm not expecting much this week. 

At least a new week is about to start. I like my new exercise routine (even though I didn't get to the gym today - had that Easter Egg hunt) and I'm going to continue with that this coming week. One day at a time... that's how it's going to go down (and hopefully the scale will too).

And on that note. I shall now go to bed. Good night all.

One more day...

... and it's time to weigh-in again. 

Things have been going pretty good so far. Today I went to my training session and then walked again for another hour. I wanted to get another work out in tomorrow but I'm supposed to take my son to an Easter Egg Hunt playdate (the eldest child is at the grandparents for the night).

I will say that today my legs were really sore. Just super tired. But I'm not going to give up. I think this workout schedule is going to work out for me. And once I get more and more into my routine, I can start making adjustments to the intensity. But for now - I think it's totally doable. 

So what's been working for you? Have any tips to share?

Another Quick One

Nothing ruins your day like when you TOTALLY forget that you made plans with someone and you don't show up. And yes, I'm speaking from experience. It totally threw my morning today when I saw I was supposed to be a good 30 minutes away in the next 5 minutes. I stressed, but was able to 'fix' the situation (by meeting up later and at a different location). The only problem is that my morning trip to the gym I had planned got axed. 

But the good news is that the husband and I went for a walk this evening after dinner (and of course we brought the kiddos along).  The weather was soooooo incredibly nice and it was really enjoyable.

The plan for tomorrow is to hit the gym again. The husband is going to take the kids to gymnastics so I can still work out. And I'm planning to do my hour long walk again. So wish me luck. My legs were actually pretty tired after my evening jaunt, so I'm kinda nervous about tomorrow. But don't worry. I'm still going to go. 

Oh - and a funny tidbit about my new kdrama that I forgot to share:

One of the main characters in the show is named 'Go, Jin Pyo'. Now - for those of you who don't know, my boyfriend's name from BOF is 'Gu, Jun Pyo'.  Coincidence? Who knows. But it definitely was a factor in my decision to continue watching. There will always only be room for ONE Jun Pyo in my heart, but I'll let this new guy try out for first alternate.

Just Keeping It Real

Hey, hey, HEY! Guess who went to the gym today?! Yep. It was me. Granted, we were a bit late, but I still got in a short workout with my trainer. And after that I pulled out the ol' ipad and used my 'crunchy roll' app and started a kdrama. Unfortunately Crunchy Roll doesn't have a ton of kdramas... and there was NO descriptions, but I started one called 'Someday'. Not bad. Although I wasn't sure how the story lines connected. I was actually debating in my brain whether or not I should start a new one, when they went into this video montage set to music. Apparently it showed clips from series and it actually made me really into it. So I'll be stickin' with it. 

Walking the treadmill and watching a kdrama isn't that hard either. I walked at a slow pace as I've NEVER walked for 60 minutes before and I didn't want to go too fast and then quit. So I started slow to feel it out. Honestly - I think it was a good walk. I'm not looking to go too much faster at this point... just so I can keep it up. 

I don't have a training session scheduled for tomorrow, but I am going to go and walk. So I take that as a WIN!

Oh - and I bought a TON of Weight Watcher's desserts tonight (of the ice cream variety). I actually had a pretty decent cushion of points tonight, so I splurged. I had TWO desserts. 

The first - some raspberry sorbet/ice cream thing dipped in dark chocolate. Hands down the best thing ever. It's a decent size (its one of the smaller desserts, but I didn't feel deprived) and it's only 2 points! So worst case scenario I can have two if the need arises (HA!)

The second was the 'wannabe snickers ice cream bar'. As soon as I bit into it I noticed that the texture of the ice cream was totally different from the 'real' one. Also - way less peanuts and caramel... but truth be told - it wasn't that bad! When having a craving for the real thing (which I actually LOVE those!) this is not a bad option. One bar is 4 points. So it's definitely a 'higher' value dessert. 

So while I had 6 points worth of dessert tonight - don't fret. I still actually have 5 points left for the day, but I'm choosing to just go to bed instead. 

Here's to a great tomorrow - and I can't WAIT to watch my next kdrama episode!

Accomplishments Anyone?

Okay you guys - time to share what you're most proud of this past week! Me? Well, I'm hoping my most proud moment will be my session with my trainer and my hour on the treadmill watching a kdrama! I've been super excited getting mentally prepared and I'm hoping it won't make me pass out afterwards (or  render my arms useless where I can't drive home). So wish me luck, I could use it!

Sorry this post is so short, but last night we had a doosey of a night with our son. He had a super rough night (which resulted in me being awake from 1-4am) so I feel a bit out of sorts right now. So off to bed I go - as I gotta get my game face on at 10am. Get ready body, I'm about to show you who's boss!

Tired

Super tired again. I was up late working on costumes for the kids. We had a Super Hero birthday party to go to this morning and I have a 'vision' I was trying to create. It worked out well (not totally perfect, but considering what I had to work with, and the amount of time I had, I was happy with the results).

Our last Post Placement visit happened tonight. And I'm soooooooo happy to know that we're done! We just need to have a final report written by our agency, and then we can get a court date for finalization. Amazing. 

Still thinking about Monday morning and my workout. Still figuring out what kdrama I'll watch. 

I'm watching an episode of 'Hoarders' and it's making me want to clean my kitchen. And office. And house. 

So I think it's time to close the computer. But before I do, wanna see my Super Heros?

PLEASE tell me you know who they are ...

and you're not so young that you don't recognize them ...

'cause that would mean that I'm getting old

(or just a lot older than you)

3 days left

... and then I start my new workout regime. I'm super stoked about it too. Things have been so busy the past couple of days that I haven't had a chance to do my walking again. My son is either sick or has really bad allergies. He's gotten progressively worse over the past few days and he's sleeping later and super grumpy during the day. 

Also... we have our last Post Placement visit tomorrow and there was a ton of running around I had to do the past few days as well... why? Because like a loser I didn't turn in all the forms I was supposed to when my son first came home (but in my defense there were some communication issues and I didn't know I was supposed to). The nice thing about doing it 'late', was that I found out my county is pretty quick in setting Finalization dates with the court. So hopefully my son will legally be ours really soon!

oh, and how could I forget?

I lost

.8 lbs

this week.

I'll take it. I know it's not much, but crazily it was the same amount I GAINED last week. So I'm kinda back at square one (even though I've lost around 13lbs since I started). I'm really interested to see what happens with all my 'work out stuff'. I have to say - I'm super excited about it. 

Alright - I have to run. I'm supposed to be making super hero costumes for my kids to wear to a birthday party tomorrow. And I gotsta get busy.

Food Friday

SESAME PHYLLO HALIBUT

points plus value: 7

prep: 8 minutes

cook: 12 minutes

4 - (6 ounce) skless halibut fillets (11/4 inches thick)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 - (14x9 inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

butter-flavored cooking spray

4 teaspoons sesame seeds, vidided

4 teaspoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board to work surface (cover remaining dough to keep from drying). Coat phyllo sheet generously with cooking spray, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds. Fold sheet in half crosswise; drizzle with 1 teaspoon butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds. Place fish at 1 narrow end of sheet; fold sheet over fish, folding sides in envelope fashion. Coat envelope generously with cooking spray and place, seam side down, on a nonstick baking sheet. Repeat procedure 3 times. Sprinkle envelopes evenly with remaining 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. 

3. Bake at 425 deggres for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 envelope)

*** use either white or black sesame seeds in this recipe or a sprinkling of both ***

Oh - and today was a SUPER long day trying to get all my adoption stuff done. So I'm super tired. Will write more tomorrow. Good night!

4

Today my sweet daughter turned 4. And we had a super time celebrating. I told her she could pick any restaurant to have dinner at, and she chose Benihana. (with absolutely NO prompting ... I couldn't be more proud!) So while I know I went over my points today, there is no possible way that I went over my 'extra' weekly points. It's just hard to figure out the points I used because the serving sizes were all wonky... like I'm pretty sure Carlos gave us more chicken and shrimp than he was supposed to. And I didn't eat all my rice, or my chicken, or my shrimp... so I'm not sure how to even being to calculate. 

But the good news is that I didn't eat the cupcake we had gotten for her birthday. I had picked out 4 cupcakes (one for each of us) but we never got around to eating them. And now that I only have one more day before my weigh-in, there's no way I'm going there. So while I know over all that I'm under on my points, I do hate that I'll have some mad water retention going on from all the sodium. But what can you do. 

Oh - and it was RAINING this morning, so I couldn't get my walk in. But I'm pretty sure it should be sunny tomorrow (or at least no rain).

I've also been thinking about what kdrama I should start watching on Monday when I go to the gym. I'm thinking that I'll do Spring Waltz as I loved SO MUCH about that story and I haven't seen it in forever. I know there are some new ones that I'd like to check out - but I'm not willing to 'waste' any time on discovering which ones I'm not fond of. But if any of you kdrama fans out there have any suggestions for me - do tell. I'm totally open to suggestions. 

One more thing - I decided to take off one more week of doing a Challenge since it was my daughter's birthday (and I won't bring up the fact that no-one wanted to throw me a bone and give me some suggestions as well ... hahahahahahaha).

What A Difference A Day Makes

So just a couple of days ago, I was doing nothing (as far as my exercise regime went).

And then yesterday I went for a walk.

Today, I went for a walk again.

And guess what's going to happen NEXT WEEK. 

Um ... I'll be like an exercising freak.

Here's the dealio:

I actually got a new stroller. Which those of you who know me, know that strollers are a weakness of mine. I don't question the insanity - I just accept it. But the truth of the matter is that I needed a new jogging stroller. (since I think I'm going to become a runner - even though I can't even jog right now) Part of the promise I made myself, was that if I bought this new stroller, then I HAD to be committed to walking/jogging/running/whatever. So for the past two days, I've done that.

Well. Today I got a text from my trainer (who I haven't seen in ... well... maybe 8 months?). He wanted to check on me and see how things were going. I told him good (which means: please don't ask me to come in, I really don't feel like it) and then I started telling him that I needed him to get wireless internet at the gym so I can watch kdramas on my ipad. I told him how I called other locations to see if they had it (and they don't) and that I called the Apple Store to see if the new ipad 2 with 3G would allow me to watch the kdramas by streaming it (which drains the battery and your data plan very quickly) and then I called back to see if my iphone could serve as a 'hot spot' and would that allow me to watch them ...

Anyway, through all my 'research', it came down to the fact that I needed wireless internet if I was going to watch my kdramas. And you'll never believe what happened next. He said he would give me the 'code' so I could have access. 

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!

So starting Monday, I'll be going back to the gym in the morning. I'll be doing a 1/2 hour training session, and then I'll watch a kdrama for about an hour. I'll either be on the treadmill, or on the bike. Or maybe I switch it up half way through. We'll see what happens. But not only that - I'll still go for a walk in the evening after dinner - since I still have to use my stroller. Plus, I have my 5K training starting in a couple of weeks. So I'm REALLY getting my exercise on. 

I'm actually SUPER excited about this. I would start sooner, but tomorrow is my wonderful daughter's birthday, so we have things planned all day. And then I have a ton of adoption stuff I have to finish up in the next couple of days as we have our last post placement visit for our son. So Monday is the perfect start day for that. 

Oh - and another reason I'm excited about it all, is that I came up with a super huge 'prize' for myself. The second weekend in December (which is a week after my Finish Date), I'm headed to Vegas! I'm SUPER PUMPED ABOUT IT. And I have another mini-goal - I'm headed to an Adoption Picnic in August and that is EXACTLY HALF WAY between now and my final goal. How super cool is that?!

So I know I just wrote a novel, but I feel like so much has happened - and I'm just so excited about all of it!

Momentum

So I am more than pleased to tell you that I went for a walk this morning. Did I run? Well ... I tried to jog, and then quickly realized that I couldn't do it. 

First off, it's SUPER hard to watch a clock while walking. If you watch a clock the entire time, then it goes by really slowly, but then if you don't look often enough, your timing is all off. I was going to get a little digital watch, but didn't have time, so I took my iphone (as it has a timer on it), but my phone would 'go off' since I wasn't using it. Frustrating. 

I did a 5 minute warm-up walk, and then with perfect timing, I rounded a corner where there was a straight away. So I decided to give my '60 second jog' a try. After about 10 steps, I realized that this was going to be hard. There was a slight 'incline' and even though the stroller has wheels, pushing 50lbs isn't super easy. I thought about giving up, but there were houses lining both sides of the street, and it's not a very wide street. So I thought if anyone saw me when I started to jog, they'd think I was a loser if I stopped jogging so quickly. So I kept going till I hit the main road. 

It took me 2 minutes (um... passed the 60 seconds that I was initially trying for) and I thought my lungs would burst. I also realized that it would take me MUCH longer than 90 seconds to 'recover' from a jog. So I have come up with a new plan:

The plan is that I'm going to walk for 30 minutes every morning for at least 5 out of the 7 days. (which basically translates into me walking Mon - Fri.) I will do this for the rest of April and then start the 'Couch to 5K' program on May 2nd. 

I just really think that I need the next few weeks to transition myself into exercising since I wasn't doing anything. I do think I'm up for the challenge, but I want to  make sure that I'm setting myself up for success, and not failure. 

So who's with me? You have plenty of time to prepare before May, but it's not like it's forever away. When I start on May 2nd, that will be Day 1 of the 'program' and then we'll do Days 2/3 on Wed/Fri. Does that make sense? 

So sign up now - and just because I'm nice, I'm waiving the registration fee.  

*** just wanted to add that I bought this timer thingy from the running website that was listed in yesterday's comments. I can set it so an alarm will go off for when I need to run, and a different alarm will go off for when I need to walk. BRILLIANT! And it was only $20. AWESOME. ***

Let's DO IT!

If you read the comments on my blog, then you know that earlier today the 'Couch to 5K' was brought to my attention. And guess what. I'm actually considering doing it. The problem is that I can't run. For reals. I lack the endurance and the lung capacity. I pretty much stop breathing after 30 seconds... and no, I'm not referring to actually running, but a light jog. 

I looked at the program and I think it's doable... but I'm a bit skeptical on whether or not I can accomplish running a 5K in 2 months. Part of me thinks I need to 'ease into' the program. (which isn't THAT intense to begin with)

Part of me thinks that I should just take this coming week and walk every day JUST to get myself into the habit of doing that (since I haven't been doing ANYTHING - and that's not an exaggeration). Then next week start the program. 

Any thoughts? Comments?  I'll weigh in on what I actually think tomorrow, after I get my first walk in. 

The plan is to go for a walk first thing in the morning. I'll make the kids a sippy cup, and then off we'll go. They can have a 'real breakfast' when we get back. It sounds doable. So now I just have to go do it. 

Wish me luck.

Almost Forgot ... again

But I didn't! The husband reminded me as we were brushing our teeth. So it's a good thing there's a computer in our bedroom. 

Anyway, this is the husband's weekend to work, so I'm on full time duty with the kids. But this evening I spent some time thinking up goals (and prizes) for myself. It was actually really fun and made me SUPER excited again. Of course I started counting out weeks ... multiplying numbers to see what I had to lose to reach certain goals ... and it's doable. But I REALLY have to be focused from here on out. I have some aggressive goals to hit ... so wish me luck. 

I'm sure I'll expand on that stuff later, but for now, I'm headed to bed.

Moving On

So I GAINED .8 lbs this week. And honestly - I'm STOKED about it. I knew I would gain this week and taking in less than a pound for the damage I did on vacation? I'll happily accept it. It kinda reminded me of the Biggest Loser episode where Jen and Courtney had to go stay by themselves away from the ranch and they splurged and got massages and ate out - only to find that they lost nothing and Jen went home. Tough lesson to learn. And for me - I realized that there is a REASON why I'm still on a program. I have no restraint and I'm not ready to be 'let back into the wild' just yet.

I love the feeling of a new week. I love knowing that my points have re-loaded and I can start my figuring again. The past few days have just made me want to get as far away from the vacation as I could. I just wanted to start over. And now I can.

I've been really slacking on the exercise department. Like ... I haven't done any. So that's something else I need to get going on. I think I'm going to take this weekend and just start planning out my week. I don't have any orders to do (well, I do, but they aren't paying customers... more like gifts, etc) so I should have more time. The daughter's birthday is on Wednesday, and I do have some brief planning to do for that as well. So hopefully I'll be able to get everything organized for the week. 

You know, it feels good to start over. Even though it's just starting another week. In fact, it makes me think of a quote by my good friend Anne Shirley:

"Tomorrow is a new day ... with no mistakes in it"

so here's to a great tomorrow!

Food Friday

PROVENCAL TOMATO TART

level: intermediate

prep: 20 min

bake: 20 min

serves 12

points: 2

5 large plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 onion, very thinly sliced

12 pitted kalamata olives, quarters

2 teaspoons herbes de provence

8 (12x17 inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

1.5 cup grated parmesan cheese

1) Place tomato slices between sheets of paper towels and pat dry. Let stand 10 minutes. Mix together onion, olives, and herbes de provence in small bowl.

2) preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

3) lay 1 sheet of phyllo on baking sheet; lightly spray with olive oil nonstick spray. (keep remaining phyllo covered with damp paper towel and plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.) Repeat layering with remaining phyllo, spraying each sheet with nonstick spray. Roll edges of phyllo in, to form rim.

4) Arrange tomato slices on phyllo in single layer; top with onion mixture. Lightly spray with nonstick spray. Bake until edges of phyllo are golden brown and tomatoes an onion are softened, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan. Cut tart into 12 equal pieces. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. 

*** HERBES DE PROVENCE are a mix of dried herbs that are grown in the south of France. Packed into decorative red clay crocks, they are available in some supermarkets and in specialty food stores. Herbes de Provence usually includes basil, fennel, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is a very fragrant blend, so a little goes a long way.

So if anyone is still reading, I'm just wanted to say that I'm not holding out hope that I lost weight this week. In fact, I'm thinking I probably gained some. But after having a little chat with my friend Jess in the 'comments' area, I feel like I'm super pumped again. 

I think part of my problem is that I'm trying to conserve my points for night time. I start my day later (we are not early risers here) and I end it late into the night. So I like to eat something around 9-10p when I stay up until midnight - 1am. 

But I after a few pep talks from friends (and my Mom) I feel like I'm back at a good place. I'm ready for this week to be over, and I can forget about the 'mistakes' I made and just focus on the future. And I think I'm going to copy my friend Jess and buy myself something super fun for every 10 pounds I lose. And of course I'll take pictures of my purchases and show you guys what I get. 

So now I shall go to bed and hope that I didn't gain too much weight this week.

hmmm...

So no-one had any suggestions for new Challenges. I feel you on that one. 

Today I read another friend's blog and she talked about her on-going battle with her weight. She's lost over 40lbs (which I'm super jealous over) but the past month was a bit tougher for her to lose. (I think she said she did 3 pounds during that month)

You know, it just got me thinking about weight loss in general. Why is it such a tough thing? Or I guess the question is, why is it so tough FOR ME. Why is it that some people are blessed with super fast metabolism or they naturally are drawn to exercising or running?

Tonight was a tough night for me - eating wise. Dinners seem to be the hardest meal for me to make. My kids dietary needs are polar opposite from each other, and the husband's schedule fluctuates every week. Tonight was a late night - so I can't do one of those 'make one meal for everyone' type of thing. And if I'm being honest. I don't cook much. So I need things that are quick and easy. By the time I'm finished feeding the kids, it's late, and I'm tired, and that's when I want to snack or grab quick foods that aren't the best choices. 

And tonight ... I let myself get in a bad mood. I really felt like a good deli sandwich. I never put mayo on sandwiches, for reals. So I feel like it can't be ALL that bad. I just craved some type of really good bread, and some type of 'meat', lettuce, tomato, pickle ... maybe a slice of cheese. But that would be a ridiculous amount of points because of the bread (and cheese). And I kinda just got mad. I mean, will I NEVER be able to have a freaking sandwich again?! Will I NEVER be able to eat a slice of bread (and not some bland tasting low calorie, low carb junk, but REAL bread. GREAT TASTING bread!)

But the good thing is that my Mom helped put it in perspective. She said that I'm just focusing on losing some weight right now. It's not forever, but it's going to take some work. So to say 'never' about eating certain things can be a bit much. Which I agree. And I appreciate her talking me off the ledge. 

But losing weight is still hard. But if it were easy, I wouldn't be writing this blog.

Were You Up For The Challenge?

Did you see Biggest Loser tonight? Courtney? I feel so bad for her. LOVE that girl. Just a neat person. Just like her Mom. I will admit, many tears were shed tonight. Crazy episode. 

Anyway ... I didn't get my walking in. Of course. Once I got home from our little vacation I had a ton of 'catch up' that I had to do for my work. Stuff I couldn't put off, and it was time consuming. So what are you going to do? Well, you just try again. 

Which brings me to a question: what Challenges do you guys feel like doing? I'm feeling like I'm starting to run out of ideas. I know I asked before, but I haven't had a chance to look back on them (which I'll do at some point), but I figured it would be faster to just ask everyone direct. So if you have an idea, post it in the comments. Preferably something that all 'athletic levels' can achieve. It can be silly, or serious, timed, or not. Hopefully it's something that gets us moving and have fun while we're doing it. 

So there you go: 

Your Challenge is to come up with new Challenges

Let's DO IT

okay. back from vacation. yes I did some splurging. but hey - I already know what I did wrong so instead of trying to justify my behavior I'm just going to focus on what I need to do for the rest of the week. 

I'm pumped. Ready, and got my game face on. It's time to get down to business. So with that, I'm headed to bed. 

PS - how are you doing on your challenge? You got one more day!

Accomplishments Anyone?

So how was your week? What did you accomplish? It's time to share it with everyone!

For me, it was having my 1.8lb weight-loss at WW. But here's the thing. Because of my weight loss, they somehow have formulated that I need to also decrease my point intake. Here's how that conversations went:

Weight Watcher Lady:

Congratulations! You lost 1.8 lbs!

ME:

Nice! Thanks so much!

Weight Watcher Lady:

Oh - and I'm seeing that you need to decrease your 

points by one. You're now at 31 points per day.

ME:

Wait - WHAT?!

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Weight Watcher Lady:

oh... um... but you lost weight. So that's a good thing.

ME:

UGH! But I don't want to eat less!

I guess this means I have to start exercising so I can earn more points ...

I did do some walking during my vacation, but not like I had hoped. So I still have a few more days to get my walking in. Bonus for me. 

Alright, time for bed. But don't forget to let me know how your week went!

and the vacation continues ...

Well, today was interesting. Had a good breakfast, not so good lunch, great dinner and snacks. So I'm good with it. 

But the kiddos both woke up an hour and a half earlier than normal, and they both had melt downs during our outing. So that wasn't good at all. 

Tonight is the last night and then we head back. A short trip, but it was fun over all. Plus, it was a great way to break the youngest into staying somewhere other than our house. (as this is the first time we've done it!) He did great. And not only that, but the kids slept in the same room together. Which I have to say was SO incredibly cute to hear them talking to each other in the morning. It's amazing to see how far they've come. 

Well, enough of all that. I need to get back to vacationing.

Not a Bad Day ...

So today turned out to be one of the best days I've had in quite a while.

1) I lost 1.8lbs at my weigh-in (whoo-hoo!)

2) My cousin is pregnant with TWINS!

3) We got a totally awesome & unexpected tax return

4) I'm on vacation

5) While driving to said vacation I got to lay in the back of the car, with comfy pillows and blankets while falling asleep to my ipod. 

It doesn't get much better than that. Well, I guess it can, but I'm totally cool with what I got.

So with that, I'm signing off so I pick up where I left off on that sleeping thing.

Food Friday (a few hours late)

Whoops. Look who forgot to post (again). Last night I was doing my last-minute-get-my-tax-information episode and I had my WW cook book next to me ready to post. But then the husband got back from the airport picking up his friend who is visiting from back East. So I got side-tracked. 

Anyway - here is the first recipe I opened the cook book to:

Grilled Nectarines

w/Raspberry Sorbet & Berries

LEVEL: Basic

PREP: 15 minutes

GRILL: 5 minutes

SERVES: 4

POINTS: 5 (per serving)

{ingredients}

4 large nectarines, halved and pitted

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1 pint raspberry sorbet (slightly softened)

1 (6 ounce) container of raspberries

4 fresh mint sprigs

1) Preheat grill to medium or prepare medium fire using direct method.

2) Spray cut sides of nectarines with olive oil nonstick spray and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Place nectarines, cut side down, on grill rack and grill, turning once, until slightly softened and nicely marked, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

3) Place 2 nectarine halves on each of 4 plates. Place 1/4 cup scoop of sorbet in each half. Scatter raspberries around nectarines and garnish each serving with mint sprig.

*** and let me just add that the photo looks divine! ***