Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheese Enchilada's
Tuesday: Hot Dog's
Wednesday: Chicken Pita's
Thursday: Stouffer's Skillet Meal
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Niece's B-Day Party
Sunday: BBQ @ Curtis and Gina's (??)

I need to get back into my menu planning. If I want to get to losing this weight, that is what I am going to have to do.

Hungry-Girl

Have you heard of Hungry-Girl?? If you haven't and you are on a weight loss mission, you are missing out! Check out her website. It's FILLED with recipes, snack finds, tips and MORE. And when you are there, sign up for her daily e-mail. Mention my e-mail - pinguinlvr at roadrunner dot com and if you are her 800,000th subscriber, we both win free vita-tops and popchips for a year!! WOO HOO!! So check it out!

A New Challenge

Oh oh! I just found a new challenge I signed up for! WOO HOO! It starts Sept 1st and runs through Dec 22nd. Perfect to keep me on track through the birthday's and holidays that are coming up! WOO HOO!!! It's not too late to sign up! She's accepting sign up's through Aug. 31st! GO RUN NOW!

Book Review - Rick & Bubba's Guide to a Nearly Perfect Marriage

I did enjoy reading Rick & Bubba's Guide to a Nearly Perfect Marriage. This book is a satirical look at marriage through the eyes of these two men. I found parts of the book funny and parts of the book to make complete sense. They basically wrote this book as they saw it. I really liked the chapter at the end called the Book of Blame. Too many of the items they put in there were so true!!!! While I did enjoy reading this book, it is more of a one sitting book. Due to time constraints, I ended up reading this book over the span of two weeks. When I first sat down with the book, I thought it was HILARIOUS. But since I had to keep putting it down and then starting over from where I left off, I felt I lost some of the hilarity that was supposed to be this book. I think had I been able to sit down in one or two sittings and read the book from cover to cover, I would have enjoyed it more. I also think if you listen to their radio show (which I do not) maybe you would have found this book more funny than I did. Overall, this is a funny, witty book. Will you come away with learning anything about your marriage?? Probably not. This book is strictly for entertainment purposes (in my opinion).

Book Review - Sugar Time by Jane Adams

I thoroughly enjoyed the book Sugar Time by Jane Adams. This book was well written and a joy to read. The main character Charlotte Kane also known as Sugar is a delight and very likeable character. Her job is in the TV industry which can be quite cutthroat which the author is able to portray well. Sugar is trying to get a new pilot developed and sold to a major network. While this is occurring, life keeps happening. Her daughter has a baby, she meets a new love interest and she has a reoccurring medical condition she needs to watch out for. Between juggling everything, she finds herself in jams but manages to make it all work out in the end. This book is definitely a great pool side summer read. It holds your interest and I found myself trying to read it when I should have been doing something else. Jane Adams is a very good writer who was able to hold my attention and keep me wanting more while I was reading this book!

Interesting TidBit

I was reading September 2009 Prevention Magazine and came across an article about living to be 100 or more. It basically lists things that people are doing that are living long. I found the following very interesting:

You run for 40 minutes a day.

Scientists in California found that middle-aged people who did just that - for a total of about 5 hours per week - lived longer and functioned better physically and cognitively as they got older; the researchers tracked runners and nonrunners for 21 years. "What surprised us is that the runners didn't just get less heart disease-they also developed fewer cases of cancer, neurological diseases, and infections," says study author Eliza Chakravarty, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. "Aerobic exercise keeps the immune system young." If you don't like to run, even 20 minutes a day of an activity that leaves you breathless can boost your health, she says.

A very good reason for me to keep running!!!!

Menu Planning

I was doing good with Menu Planning and then, it just fizzled. Well Toni over at The Happy Housewife is doing a series every Thursday for Meal Planning. Check it out! I'm a little late in posting but I did have my meals written out and am ready to get going!!

Week One - Write down 15 meals

1. Chicken Fajitas
2. Cheese or Chicken Enchiladas
3. Pasta (Spaghetti, Ravioli, etc)
4. Tacos
5. Hot Dogs
6. Meatloaf
7. Pizza
8. Chicken Pitas
9. Stouffer's Skillet Meal
10. Chicken Chow Mein w/ Egg Rolls
11. Chili & Cornbread
12. Sausage/Chicken Calzones
13. Bean & Cheese Burritos
14. Breakfast Burrito/Taco
15. Quesadillas

Week Two - Add five more meals and list side dishes

1. Baked Potato Bar
2. Mexican Casserole
3. Hamburgers
4. Baked Ziti
5. House Sirloin Steak

Side dishes

1. Green Salad
2. Brown Sugar Carrots
3. Sauteed Zucchini/squash
4. Mashed Potatoes
5. Mexican Rice
6. Garlic Bread
7. Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
8. French Fries/Tator Tots

I'm sure I'll get lots more ideas as I see what other people put down. I need more veggies! My family needs to eat more veggies. I'm hoping this exercise helps me to start planning our meals better. I hope to start eating as a family of 5. We have yet to do that since the twins have been born. Right now the kids eat and then dh and I eat usually after the twins go to bed. I'm hoping to change things up but if I don't plan, it's not gonna work!!!

The Beginning - It's a Start!!!

Ok, today is the new start to my weight loss. I CAN do this. I'm ready to get back on track and get my booty in gear! I'm going to the grocery store tonight and will be getting lots of good healthy fruits/veggies etc. I'm making my meal plan today and I will do this!!! Back in 2006 when I was losing weight and doing awesome I was using TrimSpa. You know that one that Anna Nicole Smith took. Anyway, it did help me. I've been bummed ever since they went bankrupt and haven't found anything I've liked since. So I went to GNC on Saturday and bought AcaiSlim. I've been reading stuff about the Acai berry so we'll see. I want something to curb my appetite and this is supposed to help so we'll see. The lady was also saying there is chromimum in this one that should help with the sugar cravings so we'll see. I'm just tired of being in the 170's. I've showed I can maintain. Now i want to LOSE!!!! Oh yeah and I bought a new scale. I wasn't liking my old one so NEW scale it is! =) So I'm starting fresh. WOO HOO!!!

Beginning Weight: 175.8

The end of the road

I really need to get my butt back in gear. Life is so hectic I can't let it ruin me. It's always going to be this way. I just need to learn to live and deal with it. :sigh: -So I've decided that I need to quit with my bad habits now. I do. There is no reason why I can't be better. We are not doing anything special for Labor day. We are going camping next month but it will probably just be us so I have no"excuse" to eat a lot then. I can control it. So what better time to start than NOW. I can and WILL do this!

But my question is HOW. I know everyone is busy. That is not an excuse. But let's see what my day is like:

4:45am wake up, shower, dress, get lunch packed, put stuff for day in car
5:45am wake up kids, dress them, feed breakfast, brush teeth, do dishes if needed
6:30am out the door to drop kids off
7:00am arrive at train station
8:00am arrive at work
4:30pm leave work
5:30pm arrive at home, play with kids
6:00pm baths (if needed) and get kids ready for bed
6:30pm Twins go to bed, start making dinner for dh and I
7:00pm eat dinner, clean up, do dishes if needed
7:30pm Connor goes to bed, throw a load in the washer

So If I run, it's usually around 8pm. So by the time I'm done with that it's 9pm. I still have to set out my clothes for the next morning and anything else I might need for the next day. In a couple of weeks I'm going to have to start making THREE lunches for the kids. :ugh: More stuff to do. So when I am supposed to fit time to clean and/or do stuff I ENJOY?? It's a never ending battle.

Gee

My site is becoming a Book Review site. LOL! It's just I'm NOT motivated to lose weight right now. I am and I'm not. I'm trying to think of something that will get me motivated to get out there and eat right and exercise. I've thought about buying the Bodybugg. But it would probably just be a waste of $200. Ugh. What, what is going to propel me to get off my lazy butt and do this?? But the funny thing, I'm not really being lazy. My day is crazy and I would like to relax and I don't know how or when to fit everything in that I want to do. :sigh: Maybe one of these days it'll come to me.

Davey Big Head:Dream Big by Peter Hayden

Davey Big Head is about a boy who - you guessed it - has a big head. This book teaches kids that everyone is different but it's the differences that make us special. The pages of this book are very colorful. It's not your typical white page with drawings on it. The pages are vibrant colors which actually attract my two 21 month old daughters to enjoy this book. It's also a good book to help teach kids how to read. The words are simple and not extravagant. It's lots of words that kids would be learning in 1st through 3rd grade. My son liked this book and it was his book of choice for bedtime reading for about 2 weeks. It's a good book that helps to get the kids thinking and allows them to analyze and think through problems and come up with solutions. "Davey thought of something he can do with his big head - do you know what it is??" Overall, a good book that kids will enjoy and has a message. I read this was going to be a start of a series and I'll definitely get the next ones.

Book Review - Cookie by Lisa Woomer

Cookie by Lisa Woomer is about a little girl that only eats cookies. Her parents try to get her to eat healthy food but she will only eat cookies. This of course makes her turn into a cookie!! This book is a funny, light hearted children's book that will give your child a reason to not eat cookies all the time. =) My 3 1/2 year old son loves this book. The illustrations are not your typical "pretty" artful pictures. The pictures are more what a child would draw but that what gives this book its credibility to the kids that are reading it. When my son and I read it, he says I'm not a cookie! It's pretty funny. I really enjoy this book and so does my son.

Book Review - Across the Pond by Storyheart

Across the Pond by Storyheart is a cute teenage story about a boy from England who visits a family friend in the United States. I have to say I LOVED this story! It was very cute and completely believable. The main characters Fred and Brittany and wholesome teenagers going through life and dealing with typical teenage issues. Doesn't matter he is from England and she is from the United States. This book reminds me of books I read as a teenager and loved.

I only had one problem with the book. There was a BIG continuity problem between Chapters 12 and 13. The author actually repeats the motions of the family waking up in the morning and going to the baseball game. There is also a change in some of the events going to the baseball game (Fred talking about the game of Cricket and not). Other than that. I really enjoyed this book. I can completely see a sequel happening. The author ended the novel with you wanting more. I was satisfied with the ending but if there was a sequel, I wouldn't complain. ;)

Yes I'm Being Horrible

Sorry!! I really really really need to lose weight. But my problem is I'm comfortable! Ugh. Bear with me. We are going camping this weekend so no time to do anything this week. Although I'm hoping I can run while we are camping. I don't see why not. Maybe I'll even get Connor to go with me for a little. That would be nice. We'll see. I'll try and be better about updating. I'm just swamped at work and it's not letting up. :sigh: Makes my day go faster and my eating better but breakfast is the worst of my offenders right now. Ok dinner too since we've been eating out. I will get through this!!!

Third 5K This Year

So I did my 3rd 5K of the year. I didn't run at all last week. Too hot and then too busy so I said screw it. Plus I knew this was NOT going to be my best time since the race didn't start until 9am (right before the fair opened) and it was probably going to be hot.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated and guess what??? ALL TIME PERSONAL BEST RECORD!! Woo Hoo!!! I finally did a 5k UNDER 40 mins. And not just a little, almost 2 mins!! Yahoo!!! Here are the stats:


Bib: 851
Name: Heather
Gender: F
Age: 33
Overall: 451 out of 618
Women: 218 out of 351
F 30-34: 37 out of 55
Age/Grade: 38.80%
Place: 436
Finish: 38:20
Pace: 12:21
Tag Time: 38:20
Gun Time: 39:01

Wow. 38:20!! I knew I was doing good when I hit mile 1 and looked at my watch and I was doing a 12 min mile! =) I did walk a lot but I ran a lot too. No I'm excited to keep training and improving.