Am I Supposed to be able to do everything???

I am SO tired this morning. I did not end up eating dinner until almost 9pm last night. Got home, the kids were eating dinner. Dh decided he needed to go to urgent care because he sprained his ankle pretty bad the weekend we were camping and it still hurt like heck so he wanted to make sure he didn't break it. So he left. I did baths, got the kids ready for bed. Started cleaning up the kitchen. Put the girls to bed. Kept doing stuff in the kitchen. Put Connor to bed. Did laundry. Made dinner for tonight. Cut up cantaloupe for the week. Dh came home. Made him dinner. Finished up in the kitchen. Then heated up my leftovers and ate. By that time it was 8:45pm. Finished laundry. Got my clothes ready for today and by the time I was done it was almost 10pm. Shhesh!! Where am I supposed to find time to exercise?? I didn't even have to do lunches for the kids today because I bought it for them today. :sigh: I know there is this whole debate on working mom's and should we or shouldn't we. I have no problem working. I enjoy working. I am a better mother because I work (I can get centered and build up patience while at work!). But how I am still supposed to have a clean house, prepare food, have clean clothes, buy food, buy necessities for the house, etc etc etc??? And then STILL take care of me and my need to exercise? I know I've brought this up in the past and I will probably keep bringing it up. This will be an ever -going problem in my life. I guess I'm just supposed to deal right??

GAG Challenge - Week 4

Whew! This week's challenge isn't hard but it is time consuming and makes you think! It's a 3 part challenge with multiple items for part #2. I know Sheila said we didn't have to post it on our website, we HAVE to e-mail her but I'd like to get everything together for me. =)

#1 - Survey

Week 4 Challenge Survey - DONE

#2 - Christmas Planning (serisouly?? It's like only 13 week away! YIKES!)

• Christmas Card List (Thanks Shiela! I do this normally but you spurred me to make an excel file that i quickly update every year! YEAH! Now to just take pics for the card - scheduled for Oct. 24th)
• Christmas Gift List (I had already started this but I updated based on some stuff I recently bought.)
• Christmas Get Together - Never got a chance to post my idea. Oh well.

#3 - Soup/Stew/Casserole Recip - Shared my Crockpot Taco Stew - DONE

WOO HOO!! It's all out to you Sheila! Have fun going through all the e-mails. LOL!

What a Weekend

:sigh: And it wasn't a good weekend. At least not eating wise. What is UP! Well I think I know what triggered it. Twinkies. Damn 100 calorie pack Twinkies. NOT WORTH IT FOR ME. :sigh: It's just tickles that feeling. Makes me want more. And I cave in. And then I want to eat more of other things to get the sweetness out. Actually, you know what? I think I need to get rid of all sugar. No cookies, no twinkies, no nothing. Maybe chocolate. I was able to eat one chocolate covered macademia nut and be ok. It satistified that sweet tooth. But from now on (and this what I had been doing all week), I eat a fruit when I feel like something sweet. That satisfied it. You want to know how this downhill started?? On friday at work we got an e-mail they were giving away free Quizno boxed lunches. Sandwich, chips, cookie and soda. So my coworker and I went down and got one of the last boxes available. The cool - there were BAKED lays inside! The bad - there was a cookie. And I ate it. And it was delicious. And THAT is what set me off. Ruined me for the whole weekend.

The good that came out of this weekend?? I journaled EVERY LAST BITE. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were not pretty, but it's there. It's in sparkpeople for everyone to see.  And I learned. Sugar sets me off. I should know this. I can say no. I have said no. I will say no. Once I say yes, it's all over. I will not let that happen again.

Damage - so far NONE. I weighed in this morning and I'm the SAME as last week. Holding steady at 166.2. I"LL TAKE IT!!! Whew. Now time to start a new streak. I lasted 24 days. I want to go to 30 this time. I will. I need to start getting some exercise in. I have my next 5K in 3 weeks. I CAN train for it. I will train for it. We have a camping trip in the mix during that time but I have to do this. This week is low key so I can get some exercise in. Next week I will force myself.  But I will. Back to the drawing board.

A Look Back

I was just trying to figure out what my lowest weight was (before I got pregnant with the twins) and decided it would be kinda cool to look back and see where I've been. I started this journey in 2004. That was the year I fondly refer to as my going places year. I went to Hawaii, Cancun & Buffalo (yeah not as exciting but family is there!). We had also planned a cruise that year with friends but that fell through and we never ended up going. Oh well. It was still motivation at the time to lose weight! I keep a record in my calendar of my weekly WIs. And I keep my calendars so I have them all! There were times when I didn't keep track of my weight (like when I was pregnant) but there were reasons. So let's look back:

Beginning of 2004: 202.0
End of 2004: 184.2
Last Weight of 2005 before I found out I was pregnant: 179.3
Beginning of 2006 (first weigh in after giving birth in November): 210.6
Highest weight of 2006: 213.6
End of 2006: 164.6
LOWEST Weight recorded - January 2007: 160.3
Last Weight of 2007 before I found out I was pregnant: 166.0
Weight before giving birth to twins: 207.0
Weight after giving birth to twins: 187.7
End of 2007: 179.4
Weight One Year after giving birth to twins: 172.3
End of 2008: 178.1
Today: 166.2

What has all of this taught me? I am actually at the steps of VIRGIN territory. I am actually AT my pre-pregnancy weight with the twins. It's "only" taken me 22  months but who's counting. LOL! My weight has been all over the place. It doesn't help when you have two pregnancies in there. =) I also never realized how heavy I got with Connor. 213 lbs! No wonder I was finally fed up with myself. I actually remember the photo (I'm sure it's on here back in 2007) that spurred me to lose the weight. I didn't want my picture taken with my newborn son and that is NOT how I wanted him to remember me by.

So in hindsight, I've come a LONG way when you look at the numbers. I guess I should actually change my start weight to 213.6 since that was my highest ever recorded. Not going there again EVER! But I will get to my lowest and I WILL get lower. Wow, looking at all these numbers is mindblowing.  Hope I didn't confuse you but I will look back at this post and it will spur me on!! =D

Ending the Year with a BANG - 100 (well now 99) days left

I logged on today and saw a couple of my fellow GAG'ers referring to some 100 days left challenge. First, what the heck happened to 2009??? Can anybody tell me?? I was supposed to be to goal by now, then by the end of the year now it won't happen (but I'm gonna get CLOSE!). There are only 99 days left today. Well, Steve at logmyloss is challenging us to make these last 100 days a success! And even though I'm a day late, I'm going to TAKE that challenge!!! So the rules:

1. You have to come up with some goals.
2. You have to publish those goals.
3. You have to give a status follow-up on those goals at least every ten days.

I can do that! So here are my goals:

1. I will stay between 1200 - 1600 calories each day.
2. I will journal my food every day.
3. I will exercise 3xs a week. Even if it's only a 15 min walk.

I think that is a good base to get me through the end of the year. Especially the exercise thing. I'm having a hard time fitting it in but I WILL. No matter what. Even if I have to start taking my break at work and walking around the block - I can do it! Anybody else want to join in???

Week Four of the GAG Challenge

So this is the beginning of Week Four of the GAG Challenge. Woo Hoo!! I can't believe we almost 1/4 of the way done with this challenge. Mind boggling. The weeks are going by and I'm having fun and losing weight!! That's the important part right?? I'm looking forward to see what the weekly challenge will be. I earned ZERO points last week since I was not able to exercise at all last weekend. We went camping and when we go camping, although I have great intentions, after running around after the kids all day and going in and out of the motorhome, and fighting with them to take naps (which they didn't) I'm exhausted. PLUS they don't want us to leave them alone in the motorhome (even though we have the baby monitor) so we can sit out ouside by the campfire. Oh well. I'm sure running around after them and playing with them and taking them on walks is some form of exercise. I just don't count it as I can't "measure" it.

My plan for this week:

1.) Continue journaling
2.) Stay OP! (Don't want to ruin my streak now do I???)
3.) Exercise at least once this week.

We have my dh's family coming into town this weekend so it's going to be sketcy on our plans (especially food wise I have NO idea what we are doing or what is planned. And knowing his family we won't know until the LAST MINUTE. :sigh:) But I'm still going to chose healthy and I'm still going to stay OP. I WILL I WILL I WILL!!!

Book Review - Wally the Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper

Wally the Walking Fish by Gary Lamit could be a really cute book. My 3 1/2 year old son liked the story and asks to have it read to him again. I liked this book because it included different facts about some of the animals we meet along the way while Madison and Cooper go fishing. The dialogue in the book is confusing. The first time I read it, I couldn't tell who was talking. The book is basically written like a script but with no names to tell who is saying what. Once you read through it once, you can figure it out but it was a little bit of turn off at first. Once I got past that and was able to understand who was saying what, it's actually a cute story that you can read to your child and make different voices for the different characters. The illustrations in this book are very good and my son liked looking at the different antics of the characters and asking what they were doing. Overall, a cute book with some fun facts thrown in which make it worthwhile.

EDITED:

I was contacted by the author (see his comment below) and he has since updated his book based on some reviewers having the same problem understanding who was saying what. So now there are character id's for all dialogue. Based on the updated book, I do highly recommend this book now. I really liked that he had the different facts interspersed throughout the book about the different animals they meet so it's fun and informative all at the same time. Plus my son asks to read this book all the time. =)

Book Review - The Turkey's Treat

Well what can I say about the Turkey's Treat by Marie Sanderlin Metroke. I didn't really "get" the book. I thought it would be a cute Thanksgiving/Christmas type book but when the main character in the book gets bitten by a runaway Turkey and lands in the emergency room, I was kinda taken aback. I really didn't like the whole tone of the parents towards Christmas or towards their children. All in all, I really didn't like this book and won't be reading it to my children again.

Book Review - Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains

I read Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains to my 3 1/2 year old son. While he did enjoy it, I think this book is definitely for older children. This book touts teaching children the months of the year, the days of the week and the seasons through this story. It does teach all that but by doing that, it also makes it a very long book. Each friend that visits Queen Vernita comes each month and they do something each day. So that's twelve pages plus at least seven sentences each page. A little more because the author does have to set the stage. It seemed a little forced to get everything in this book to teach all the months, days and seasons but she did get them all in. While I don't agree this book is for young children (I found my son turning pages before I was done reading or myself reading only a line or two on each page), this would be a great book for elementary school students that are learning the months, days and/or seasons. I did like the illustrations as they were fun to look at (my son really did enjoy the pictures!). Overall, it's a good book but make sure you are reading to the correct audience.

Weigh In

Weighed and the number is:

166.2


Not bad. Considering I was freaking out last week that I lost too much and would re-gain as it was an "artificial" loss. So I lost .6 lbs from last week and am down 7.6 lbs overall for this month (and since the GAG challenge started). Wow! Not bad and there is still one more week left this month!! Let's see if I can get into the low 160's next week.

There are a few things I need to work on. I need to get more exercise in. I know this. My problem is I can just only do one thing per day. So if I have to go grocery shopping - forget exercising. If I have to pack the motorhome with the clothes etc - forget exercising. If I need to get something together for the kids for school - forget exercising. It's almost like I need to forget exercising. But I can't. I won't. I will make it fit in. I will.

And I did Menu Plan this week. =) I just haven't posted it. But I've menu planned so far this whole month. I can tell by my weight loss! Can you?? AND I have been OP since September 1st so 20 days so far!!! YIPPEE!!!! On my way to 100!!!!

Team Prancer - Final Say!

Ok guys! Final say on what we are going to do before I have to e-mail Shiela tomorrow. This is where it stands:

1.) Move someone randomly

2.) Move Shiela to Team Vixon

So far I have the following votes:

1.) Hadley, Heather, Mary

2.) Christine, Shelly, Chupsie

Lynn did not say one way or the other since she really was the first to weigh in (no pun intended!) on the discussion. So Lynn you are the tie-breaker unless someone else wants to change their vote. Please let me know TODAY! Thanks guys!!


EDITED:

Ok now that Hadley changed her vote, no matter what Lynn says, it would still be Choice #2, so we are going with moving Sheila to Team Vixon. I'll e-mail her and let her know! Thanks guys! Let's be #1 again next week!!

Go Team Prancer - Go Team Prancer

Yahoo!!! As part of the GAG challenge this past week, whichever team lost the most weight got control over the teams. And guess what? That was Team Prancer!!! We ROCK guys!! Congrats. Of course, this now means we have a big decision to make. We get to move one team member off of Team Dasher. Those people are as follows:

Dani
Sue
Heather (jrmiss86)
Hayley
Kalena
Vickie
Sheila
Dana

and move then to either Team Vixon or Team Cupid. I think the easiest thing to do is for everyone to vote. Everyone put down two things: 1.) Who you think should be moved off of Team Dasher and 2.) Which team that person should move to. I'll take the votes and whoever gets the most votes moves! If you think of a better way, let me know. Please vote by Thursday night so I can e-mail Sheila on Friday!! THANKS EVERYONE!

Oh yeah, and to my team members - you better watch out! Because I'm NOT letting go of this captain position. K?? Come and take it from me. =D (A little healthy competition. I LOVE it!!

I am no longer Obese

It just occurred to me that with my WI this week, I AM NO LONGER OBESE! And I want to shout it from the rooftops! I AM NO LONGER OBESE! And I am going to kept it that way. My BMI is now UNDER 30 so I am only technicaly overweight. YEE HAW!!! Sweet. Cool. I don't ever want to be Obese again.

Week Two - GAG Weigh In

Drum Roll Please . . . . 166.8!!!! WHAT?!?!?!? Yeehaw! That is a 4.6 lb loss! YES!!!!! I am no longer in the 170's and I NEVER will be AGAIN! That's right. I am staying out of the 170's forever! =) Well I made my goal of 170 two weeks early. I'll wait until next week and then redo my goals for the end of the year. Maybe i can reach 140 by the end of the year?? We'll see.

I do need to work on a few things this week. I need to work on exercise. I don't know how successful I'll be about that since we are going camping this weekend so that means I have to pack for the kids and myself and pack food too. I try and do a little each night so it's not so overwhelming come Thursday. But that means I don't really have time to exercise. I'm gonna try and get out and run tonight. The weather has cooled down for like two days (it's gonna heat up again soon) so I can actually run otuside. Yeah! I still need to try out my app on my iPhone for running. LOL!

So I'm on cloud 9 today. So excited!!

GAG Week Two Point Challenge

1 - For every 8 oz of water you drink, you will give yourself 10 points.
2 - For every 15 minutes of activity (NO house cleaning and "normal" activites should be counted here) outside of your normal routine give yourself 10 points.
(For clarification purpose: do not count housecleaning or regular daily activities. DO count all forms of exercise. )
3 - For every day that you track your foods whether it be on your blog via in text or photos, give yourself 20 points.
4 - For every evening you sleep for a minimum of 8 hours, give yourself 20 points!

Day One (9/8/09)

1 - 20 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts
4 - 0 pts (HA! I NEVER get 8 hours sleep, I actually work best on 7 but I'm lucky if I get that too. I would actually have to go to bed at 8:30pm since I get up at 4:30am).

Day Two (9/9/09)

1 - 80 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts
4 - 0 pts

Day Three (9/10/09)

1 - 80 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts
4 - 0 pts

Day Four (9/11/09)

1 - 100 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts
4 - 20 pts (the hubby let me sleep in!)

Day Five (9/12/09)

1 - 100 pts
2 - 0 pts (unless you count climbing all over the jumpers at a kid's bday party a workout. Going through the obstacle course with Taylor 4 times was a heck of a workout!!!)
3 - 20 pts
4 - 20 pts (got to sleep in AGAIN!)

Day Six (9/13/09)

1 - 80 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts (it wasn't pretty but I journaled!)
4 - 0 pts (back to work, no time to sleep!)

Day Seven (9/14/09)

1 - 100 pts
2 - 0 pts
3 - 20 pts
4 - 0 pts

Total Pts:  740 pts

Food Log

Menu Plan Monday

From Heather's Weight Loss Journey

Monday: Ravioli, Pasta Sauce & Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Quesdaillas w/ Guacamole
Wednesday: Teriyaki Noodles w/ Egg Rolls
Thursday: Stouffer Meal
Friday: Eat Out
Saturday: Hamburgers/Hot Dogs
Sunday: Pizza & Salad

Check out Orgjunkie for more Menus!!!

MUCH better mood today

I don't know what it is but I'm in a much better mood today. I could just feel the bad mood lift away. How weird is that?? On the phone front, after spending about 1 1/2 hours at the at&t store, going back and forth about needing to get it exchanged at the at&t store or the apple store I will be getting a new phone from the at&t store once they get shipment of black 3gs's. So at least that monkey is off my back. I have to give props to the employee's at the La Habra at&t store. Very friendly and helpful.

But anyway, I haven't been eating at my calories lately. I've been under. I have to stop that. I have a feeling I won't have a problem next week. So having these few days of low calories may not be bad since it'll keep my body guessing. I do have to figure out the menu plan for next week ASAP. And we are going camping next weekend too. So that means I have to hit up the grocery store tomorrow and I have a baby shower to go to. I better eat before I go there so I'm not tempted with the food. We had a birthday party today that we just got back from. No cake for me!!! =) But it was chocolate cake and I don't like that so it wasn't hard to say no. LOL! I know I know, I'm so unwoman. =D

Well, I'm all over the place and I need to figure out what I'm doing for dinner's next week. I'll be back on Monday (if not sooner) to update!

Annoyed . . . beyond annoyed

And so the saga continues. I have a feeling that I will be going to Verizon and getting two phones and then returning my iphones tomorrow. UGH!!! AT&T keeps telling me I cannot return the iphone to them even though it's within the 30 day period. I have to return to Apple. But Apple tells me they cannot exchange the phone unless they witness the problem (which is intermittent - i mean SHIT how intermittent is it that it is pissing my dh off. I mean seriously, this is INTERMITTENT!!) and that I have to take it back to the AT&T store to exchange. What the hell!!! Had I bought it at the apple store, then they could exchange it. You know what. I knew there was a reason that I didn't want to switch to AT&T. Thier customer service SUCKS. So we'll see what happens when I go down to the store tomorrow. Wish me luck but all I feel like doling right now is crying and drowning my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream. I'm NOT gonna do it though.

And this whole switching daycares is just a pain. I don't like change. DH HATES change. I think I need to think about making a permanent change for him because I'm really getting tired of all the "demands" he has but doesn't get off his lazy ass to do shit. I do have to say though after my little jaunt to the apple store, the dishes were done and Connor's clothes were washed, dryed and put away. SHOCK. I don't know why he didn't start his own laundry. But i'm home and he asks me did you have the apple guy make sure the software was updated? WHAT?!!? I had other problems on my mind about HIS FUCKING phone that I wasn't thinking about the software nor did the guy mention that would be a software people. He was like you were there why didn't you think of it. I so wanted to say if you have better ideas on how to handle it DO IT YOUR FUCKING SELF.

Ok, I'm really not a swearer. Although you would never know that by this post. So sorry for all this venting but it sure beats eating and getting fat. LOL!

Struggling

Why does life have to get in the way?? I've barely eaten 1000 calories today and that is not like me. I'm still "upset" about the first week at preschool. Doesn't help that I was told by dh that the girls were "emotional" today. Great. Even Connor said they were crying but they calmed themselves down. They had a jumper at school today and Connor said he and Taylor went in but not Emily. Emily even confirmed this. How funny is that. LOL. Anyway, but between that and then dh wants to return his iphone because the internet is intermittent but I'M going to have to do it because it's under my name but he won't get off his ass and call and ask if he can or if the store even has anymore iphones in stock right now. No instead, he'll wait until I'm done putting Connor to bed. UGH!! Can you tell I needed to vent??? It pisses me off that he can't get off his lazy ass and do something as simple as calling the FUCKING at&t store. Is that too much to ask when I have to make lunches, cook dinner, do dishes and crap, I need to go put the laundry in the dryer. Be back. Not to mention I have to set out all the kids clothes. When dh got this new job what did I get out of it??? Nothing but more work and it pisses me off!

Ok, some of this ranting might be hormonal. Af just started. Sweet. Not. Whatever. Oh well. I'll hopefully be back to normal after this weekend. But I WILL stay OP and stay within my calories. I will NOT let this mood derail me.

A Stressful Day

You would think after a great WI that I would continue on the path that I was on. Ha! But, in my defense, it was the kids first day at their new preschool. Connor loved it. No problem from him at all. Yeah!! Emily wouldn't leave my arms at first. Then she was fine, Then Taylor kept crying everytime I'd put her down. I ended up staying at their preschool for 1 1/2 hours. Then I left. Taylor cried. But I guess she was fine after about 5 mins. That was good to hear. She did cry when they went outside to play but Miss Olympia (their teacher) said it was because she was inside cleaning up and she didn't see her. As soon as Miss O came outside, she was fine. And I guess the only time Emily cried was when she got knocked down by some boys on the playground that were running (where they weren't supposed to be). But she was fine.

AND, they took naps with no binkies!!! Wahoo!! This means, no binkies for naps at home anymore either. So hopefully within the next month or two we will be binkie free!! So needless to say I've been crying all day and they were fine. LOL! So hopefully tomorrow will go smoother and so on, as the days go by. I will have my meals planned tomorrow, especially since I'll be at work and I have an afternoon meeting, I'll be fine tomorrow (food wise). Let's hope the girls don't freak when I leave tomorrow.

GAG Week One Weigh-In

Well today was the test on how well I did last week. Drumroll please .  . . .

171.4

Yahoo!! I can't remember the last time I was flirting with the 160's. It's been a LONG time. I did awesome last week and plan to do the same this week!! Even though this is going to be a stressful busy week I'm not going let that derail my efforts. I've come to the conclusion that life with twins will also be stressful and busy and I just have to learn to roll with the punches. My goal for this week is to get into the 160's next week. YEAH!!!!! By the way, that is a 2.4 lb loss! =)

Results of Week One Challenge

So our challenge this week as to come up with a game plan for this weekend. Well I did. And how did I do? Not bad.

So what are some things I can do to minimize the "damage' of the birthday party. I can:


Eat before I go. (Make sure my tummy is full so I'm not tempted to eat). Didn't have time to do this. =( But the food ended up being dinner and I chose pretty well!
Bring along healthy snacks to eat - low fat chips, veggies and/or fruit Did not do this.
Since it's at a park, run around after the kids the whole time (may not be pratical!) Sure did this. Walked to the playground (all three by myself mind you! That was a challenge). Walked to the pond to feed the ducks. Could have been more active but it wasn't bad.
Bring water with me to drink. When I feel like munching, drink water instead. DID THIS! YEah. I finished all my water and then I allowed myself to have Diet soda.
Chew Gum!! Forgot about this one!

So all in all it was a good time. The bday cake I fed to the girls and had TWO small bites. It was an ok cake so it wasn't hard to stop. ;) Although the kids LOVED the cake! I'm picky. LOL. So I think I did ok today. I'm a little hungry right now but I have a feeling if I drink some crystal light or a diet soda I'll be ok. Still debating on doing the Wii Fit but I think I need a night off. Especially since I've been on the move from 6:30am until 8:30 pm. I don't think I've really sat down the entire time. :sigh: Tomorrow is another day. =)

Lunch

This was my lunch today. And yes Mandie - no veggies or fruit. I know you would say that! I did have a bunch of fruit for a snack earlier. I wanted to take a picture but a coworker came over and I had to work while I ate so no picture. =(

Yesterday

Was another sweeping success!! Sorry no dinner picture. TOTALLY forgot! Woops! But I have to toot my own horn. I get home last night and dh is like what's for dinner. So I point to the calendar posted on the fridge and say stouffer's meal. He says how about Jamba Juice and a wrap. I'm like ok (thinking I will have to wait until after the kids baths and I am starving!). So I said fine while getting the skillet meal out of the freezer. He's like are you still going to have that? I'm like yeah. He's all fine. I'll have that too. So as a "peace" maker, I made him a salad with it. But yeah!! Heather 1 Dh 0!!! =)

I even made it to the gym last night even though I DID NOT WANT TO GO. I was so hot. This weather SUCKS. Anyway, I was on the treadmill for 40 mins. Yahoo! I tried to do 4- 5 min runs but succeeded in doing 2-5 min run, 1-3 min run and then a final 5 min run where I pushed myself for the last minute at a faster past. I was dripping sweat. I felt sorry for the people next to me. LOL! I won't be able to hit up the gym this weekend. Too too busy. Tonight I am planning on hitting up Kohl's. Major deals and I need a birthday present. Tomorrow is the "dreaded" (not really) 1st birthday party for my niece. Sunday we are going to a friends house to hang out. No BBQ but will probably order pizza. Oh, maybe I'll bring a Salad. Hmmm. Monday will be recouperating at home I'm sure!

I'm working on  my meal plan for next week. Gotta plan! That's the only way to survive!!

iPhone post

Trying to do a post on iPhone but it doesn't seem to like the advanced editor. Oh well. This can be used as a last resort.

GAG Team - Team Prancer

WOO HOO! Team's have been announced. I wanted one place I could go that would give me links to everyone on my team. So here are the gals on my team. =)

Chupsie
Hadley
Lynn
Christine
Mary
Shelly

So those are my teammates. Now i'll be able to definitely hit them up whenever I need to!! =)

Today's Lunch

Is boring! It's just the end of the insides left over from my pita's the other night. And some chips (that were measured out!). Yeah! I am very proud of myself this week if I do say so myself. I forgot my drink at home (or i should say I forgot to get one from the outside fridge in the garage since there were none in the house) so no soda today. But I do have some of those crystal light packets to put in your water bottle, hence the dark looking water. LOL! =)

GAG Weekly Challenge Week One

Here is this weeks challenge:

Part One:


Map out a game plan for yourself for that special day. (If your NOT going to one of these, or any other special event this weekend ~ map out a game plan for something similar to have on hand when a special event comes up.) On this game plan ~ you should include healthy dishes you "could" take, and things you will do to avoid eating the stuff that is really not worth it. (I realize that get togethers are okay for some, but challenges for others. Some will indulge and then work it off later at the gym. But the point of this challenge is to have a plan in mind, so that you don't go overboard out of pressure from others, not enough control, etc..) Post this game plan on your blog!

I have a birthday party to go to on Saturday for my niece's 1st birthday. Should be fun but of course, there will be food, food and cake! YIKES! Cake is BAD. Well, I can hope it chocolate cake because I don't like chocolate cake and I can resist eating that LOL! So my game plan is hoping for chocolate cake! Just kidding!

So what are some things I can do to minimize the "damage' of the birthday party. I can:

• Eat before I go. (Make sure my tummy is full so I'm not tempted to eat).
• Bring along healthy snacks to eat - low fat chips, veggies and/or fruit
• Since it's at a park, run around after the kids the whole time (may not be pratical!)
• Bring water with me to drink. When I feel like munching, drink water instead.
• Chew Gum!!

Food I can bring if it were a pot-luck:

• Cut up Fruit (It's always a hit!)
• Veggie and Dip tray - make sure you have a low cal ranch or dip option
• Reduced Fat Cream Cheese with Salsa on top and low fat (baked) tortillas
• Reduced Fat Spinach Dip (same recipe but with reduced fat mayo and sour cream, most peole can't tell the difference!!!)

So what do I plan to do?? I will make sure I eat a healthy snack before we go (the party starts at 2pm) so I'm not tempted to eat the snacks and chips/dips that are bound to be there. I will bring a bottle of water and a piece of gum to munch on. I will also make sure I sit as far away from the food as possible. The party is also at a park so I will attempt to get the kids to go to the playground, if it's nearby, to work off some energy and keep my mind off the food. When it comes to the cake, I will pass up having my own slice and I will eat ONE bite of the girls while I am feeding them. (This worked for me last weekend at a birthday party we went to). So that's the game plan and I'm sticking to it!!

Part two



The second part of this challenge is to post (on your blog) a healthy alternative type recipe that you can take to a BBQ, Potluck or Family Gathering.

I've been so wanting to try this recipe since I saw it in an e-mail I got from Hungry-Girl. I think I will try it this weekend! Perfect challenge for me to try this!

Pump-Up-the-Jam Cocktail Weenies


PER SERVING (3 cocktail weenies with sauce): 75 calories, 1.5g fat, 619mg sodium, 12.5g carbs, 0g fiber, 3g sugars, 6g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

Ingredients:

14 Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks (or another brand of nearly fat-free hot dogs with 40 - 45 calories each)
1 cup chili sauce (the kind found by the ketchup, like the one by Heinz)
3/4 cup sugar-free grape or seedless blackberry jam (like the ones by Smucker's)
3/4 cup very finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Directions:

Place all ingredients except for the hot dogs in your crock pot. Stir until completely mixed.
Cut each hot dog into thirds, leaving you with cocktail-sized franks. Add those to the pot, and gently mix to coat.
Cover and cook on low for 3 - 4 hours, occasionally giving it a gentle stir (if you're around to do it; if not, it's okay).
Stir well and then serve up franks with extra sauce on top!

MAKES 14 SERVINGS

Dinner Post

We had Hot Dogs w/ French Fries tonight for dinner. Yum!

I had Fat Free, dh had regular. The Fat Free really is not bad. Especially since I put ketchup, relish, and lots of onions on top. YUM! So I'm doing excellent as far as eating is concerned right now! Woo Hoo!!

And guess what? I WENT TO THE GYM! In the almost three years we have had this membership, this is the FIRST time I have used it. Now, you can't fault me entirely. We got the membership in Oct or Nov 2006. I got pregnant with the twins in February 2007 so I couldn't very well use it in 2007. Then for the first year of thier lives life was just too hectic to do anything except keep my head above water. This year I really don't have any excuse. And let me tell you - it felt GOOD!! I missed going to the gym and didn't really realize it until right now! Weird huh?

Hungry-Girl 200 Under 200 Cookbook Giveaway

Jessica over at Pudget: Losing Weight On A Budget is giving away the new Hungry-Girl Book 200 Under 200! Go check it out HERE and enter to win!!!

Lunch Picture

So today's lunch was leftover insides of the pita (i know sounds gross!). And a Mac-N-Cheese cup. I had to eat the Mac-N-Cheese because as part of me being a 100 panel reviewer for SheKnows.com I got it to eat and review. WOO HOO! It was actually delicious I might add. Better than the instant packets I've had in the past. I would say this was right up there with actually making a full box! Well enjoy the pic!

Dinner

So dinner was Chicken Pitas tonight. Basically they are a salad in pitas. I use already packaged chicken so it takes me a total of 10 mins to make. It all depends on how much I want to cut up (onions, tomatoes, etc). I then add some Baked Lays and Whew! What a great dinner:

I then got out my Wii Fit once I put Connor to bed and I actually worked out tonight! Woo Hoo!! Now it's time to spend some quality time with dh. =)

LUNCH

So since now I have an iPhone. (WOO HOO!) I can take pictures and send them more easily to myself - although I'm still not happy I can't "text" pictures. The only thing I am not happy about. Anyway, so I took a picture of my lunch. I plan on taking lots of pictures from now on to document. Especially during the GAG challenge. Enjoy!

I had a Lean Cuisine - Tortilla Crusted Fish and 1 cup of Corn. Plus my Diet Snapple. I usually only have a drink at lunch and then at dinner and after. Otherwise, it's strickly water!

GAG Challenge - Week One

Week One GAG Challenge - September 1st - September 7th

Goals For the Challenge:

1. Journal EVERYDAY!
2. Drink 64 ozs of water every day.
3. Exercise at least 4 days a week.
4. Menu plan dinner and STICK WITH IT!
5. Update blog at least 3 times a week - no matter what.
6. Weigh 150 or below!

Starting Weight: 173.8

Starting Pictures:

I'm ready to start this challenge and ROCK it! All you out there be careful . . . I'm in it to win it. =) So let's GET STARTED!!! Yeah!!!!