I did it!

I drank 64 ounces today. Okay, it was probably more like 62 ounces because I let #3 have some sips of my water. But I did have 2 big cups of coffee. Technically, it was an 8 cup pot of coffee and I drank it ALL! So, I think that giving the baby a few sips won't do that much damage. Anyway, I hated every minute of drinking that water. Ugggg....is it weird to not like to drink???And I don't mean alcohol.

To be continued

I hate to drink liquids. I just don't like to drink. I don't consume 64 ounces of anything. I do good to get down 20 ounces of something each day. It's a goal of mine to drink 64 ounces of WATER. Granted, it's flavored with crystal light, but hey, at least it is water.

So...today I have consumed 32 ounces!!! Woo-hoo. And I have another 32 ounce bottle waiting for me. Will I make it to 64 ounces?

Stay tuned...

Whistle while you work

My husband started working nights. I can not sleep without him here. I haven't been getting to bed until after 2:30am. That's fine for now but when I go back to work on Monday, that will be a problem. The good news is that once the commotion from the holidays dies down (as in #1 and #2 goes to their dads), I plan to utilize my time working out.

I just ordered Tae Bo Amped. Thanks Kelly. I got confirmation that it shipped so maybe it will be here next week.

In the mean time, I need to clean my house. It is GROSS. I have made attempts but haven't done it. Here comes the excuses. #3 has been a terror the past few days. She's clingy, wants to be held, and fusses alot. I don't know if it's her ears but that will be taken care of on the 4th when she goes in to have tubes put in her ears. I would love it if I got my old baby back--the independent HAPPY baby-the best baby in the world. Sadly, as much as I say "Oh, her ears are just bothering her", I don't think that's the reason for her mood. Anyway, cleaning hasn't really happened because I am busy consoling her or she's in bed and I am afraid to make any noise in the kitchen that might wake her. The rest of the time I am trying to catch a nap. Like now. I desperately want to take a nap. But after a playdate for #1 and #2, I came home to find her sleeping on the couch with my husband. Great. No nap for me. She's sitting in her high chair with cheerios for now. That doesn't help my nap situation. So why don't I start to clean? Because as soon as I catch her eye, she will scream. Grrrrrrr......

#2 is cleaning up a storm for me. She's begging me to let her wash dishes and she's going around with a wash cloth "washing" everything in sight. Even the kitchen floor. She's a help--sort of. We don't keep cash but Clint happened to have $2.50 and he gave it all to her for her efforts.

#1 earned $1.00. I couldn't find my coffee and I told the kids that whoever found it would get a dollar. She found it. Luckily I had a jar of change!

Anyway, I am off to clean...or nap...or something. Ideally, I would like for BOTH to happen because, well, bed time isn't for another 10 hours.

Today is arms day! Yeah!!! I couldn't find 8 lbs weights in this podunk town (Wal-Mart is sold out) so I went up to 10lbs. I think it will be heavy, but the 5lb weights are too light--even for my triceps, which typically needs less weight. Kelly told me not to ditch the light weights because there are times when they come in handy. She said there is some DVD that she workouts to and they use like 2 or 3 lb weights and she's dying from it. That's what I want to feel!

So, in the words of the Dwarfs from Snow White...Whistle while you work....(Whistle, whistle, whistle)

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to start off by wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, well, Happy Holidays. Enjoy your day off.

I weighed 128.2 today. Not too bad considering I haven't been trying to lose weight. While it is a HUGE goal of mine, I haven't been 100% motivated. I am often filled with excuses--my knee was hurt, the baby was up in the living room and I didn't want to work out because she would get in the way, I had to cook dinner, I didn't feel good, I had to go shopping. While they are all valid excuses, they're still that--an EXCUSE. If I had time to watch House, I had time to workout. If I had time to take an hour nap on the couch before bed, I had time to work out. So what if I had to shop or the baby is still up. With the exception of getting home eat 11pm, there's no valid reason for not doing it. I normally go to bed around 10. The baby is in bed by 8. I am finished with dinner by 8. Yes, I am more than happy to sit around and watch TV or take a nap but you know why, I need to get off my ass and work out. I can watch TV while I am doing it or after. I can sleep after. Hell, I have time to update my blog and check e-mail and message boards but no time to work out. So I say. There is ALWAYS time to work out. ALWAYS. I chose NOT to find that time. I chose to do something else. Well, this is all about to change.

I just found some before and after pics taken a few years ago. I was about 148 in the before and probably 128 in the after. I got down to 115 so I was smaller. But I was disgusted with how I looked. Yes, you could tell a difference in the pics but I don't look good at 128. I had my husband take pics of me a few months ago but I have lost them. He kept on showing people the pics on the camera (of other things) and i know I deleted them but I thought I had saved them. Guess not. I will take some more possibly today. Anyway, I am not happy AT ALL With the way I look. Even at 115 I still have flab. I don't want that. I want to be a tones, tight, 115.

My stomach will never be perfect. It won't even be close to perfect. I gained way too much weight with my first pregnancy and the damage was done. I do not have elastic skin. Even if there weren't any stretch marks, I sill have loose skin. I saw a plastic surgeon and she said the only thing I can do to get rid of it is have a tummy tuck. Did I mention that I store fat in my stomach? So even if I had essentially NO body fat, I would still have the saggy skin. Also, I had an appendectomy and they had to cut me open because my appendix had ruptured. I have a 4 inch (crooked) scar from my belly button down. So, with the scar, loose skin, and stretch marks, no matter how little body fat I had, the abs will never be right without a tummy tuck. I do plan on going that route ONE DAY. But no time soon. In the mean time, I plan on really focusing on the body parts that are visible. I don't plan on wearing a bikini out, I don't wear shorts that often, but I wear tank tops all the time! I want to have killer arms! I won't neglect my legs or my abs, but I know they will get the least visibility. I want arms to die for!!!

Since I am writing a "to-do" list, I HAVE to drink more water. I HAVE to. I do not consume anywhere near 64 ounces of liquid a day---no coffee, coke, water, tea, etc. I just don't drink fluids. Never did. If I get 20 ounces of liquid in my body, it's a good day. Seriously. I typically have headaches and my husband said it's probably because I am in a constant state of dehydration. Sure, I walk around with a dry mouth, but I never do anything to cure it--i.e. DRINK something. So, my goal is to consume 64 ounces a day. And not just 64 ounces of anything. 64 ounces of water. Now, I will cheat and put the crystal light packets in it. If you're relying on me to drink plain water, FORGET it.

I haven't quite devised my work out plan. I plan on using the bowflex and free weight until I can get more free weights. This is a sad story but right now, 5 lbs is what I am using. I tried the 10 lb weights but they were still too heavy and the stores around here are sold out of the 8lb weights. When I first started working out YEARS ago, the most I could use was 2 lb weights. When I stopped going to the classes (in 2004) just a couple months later, I could lift 15 lbs for my biceps and 12 for my triceps. So, laugh at the 5 lbs weights but remember, I am just starting again. Anyway, I absolutely hate the bowflex so.....

I also want to use my exercise trampoline while I am watching TV. See, I told you I could watch TV and work out. I don't watch that much TV so, I think a rule will be if I am watching TV, I will be using the trampoline. In addition to that, I have some cardio DVD's/tapes--kickboxing and Tae Bo. I will add those in as well. And, I have my Yoga Booty Ballet DVD's that I want to use. It's mainly toning. Oh, I also have some steps and The Firm tapes. I can do that too. Did I mention I have free access to a gym at work. I really can't go after work because there's no one to take care of the baby, but I think I may go 3 days a week to get in some cardio. Hey, speaking of excuses, I can't whine about not working out at home. Hello, I could've done it during the day at work! Back to the point at hand, the only classes I can attend are Yoga and Pilates, which is fine by me.

I guess I will close this novel. The main point is that I need to work out. Period.

I've been naughty

I can't believe I haven't posted since the 18th. Uggggg....

Tonight we had Christmas Around The World. I wanted to do something a little different. Growing up, we had a remake of Thanksgiving at Christmas--turkey, ham, dressing, etc. When I got married in 1999, my then husbands mom made brisket on Christmas to get a break from the turkey. When I got remarried and spent the previous 2 Christmas holidays with my current husbands family, they had enchiladas because it was easy to make and they were feeding like 20 people. Fast forward to today. I didn't want turkey, so I opted for change. I did some research about different cultures holiday meals but discovered turkey and ham was kind of common. So was goose and friend carp. No thank you. So, instead of making traditional holiday food, I made "regular" food.

Ratatouille (France)
Shrimp Scampi (Italy)
Red Cabbage with apples and bacon (Germany)
Gnocchi in Vodka Sauce (I think it's Italian but I got the recipe from a Hungarian, so we'll go with Hungary)
Yakimando (Korea-courtesy of Jill)
Crab Rangoon (China-Jill)
Pico (Mexico-Jill)
Salsa (Mexico-Jill)

Everything was great except for the Gnocchi. I couldn't find it pre-made so I had to make it myself. I don't think it turned out just how it was supposed to but it was interesting to make. The vodka sauce wasn't quite right. Nick, Jill's husband picked it up for me and didn't realize it was Orange Smirnoff. So it had an orange flavor--NOT what I was looking for. But it was okay. I am from Louisiana and usually won't eat shrimp anywhere but there--it's just not right. But the scampi turned out GREAT!!!! And the Yaki and Rangoons were hand made. It was GREAT too!

I haven't kept up with my workouts. Over the past two years, I am full of excuses. This is about to change. I will post another blog about my excuses and how I hope things will change!!!

Merry Christmas to all....

And to all Goodnight!

Encore

The post that precedes this was written yesterday, but posted today. My meltdown went beyond candy...

I ate a piece of pecan pie (1/16 of the pie). Gasp.

And....

I ate about 3/4 cup ice cream.

Today wasn't nearly as bad. Not quite.

Breakfast:
Coffee with creamer and sugar (half the usual amount if I may add) (100)
Kashi oatmeal (150 calories)
Sometimes I don't get around to eating until 10:00, but this morning I was chowing down at 8:40. I know this because I had to stop to fit someone with a gas mask and had to annotate the time.

Lunch:
Chicken salad (chicken breast, 4 baby dill pickles, 1 tsp mayo, 2 tsp mustard, 2 green onions) I have no idea how many calories. Let's go with 300. I truly think this is on the high side. But I did have mayo. Alright, I'll cut it down to 250.
Lunch was at 1:00. I had to go to Commander's call then go shopping for office Christmas cards. I was still starving after that so I ate a bag of baked lays (110). I probably wasn't really hungry but I ate so damn fast, it felt like it.

Snack:
Baked cheetos (120). STARVING again.

Pre-dinner snack:
Meatballs (about 5 of them)
Shame on me here. I wanted to see what they tasted like before I brought them to work tomorrow for an office party. I think I ate 5 of them. THAT WAS 280 calories!!!!!
WTF????????
I wish I had paid attention sooner. And to think, I was just taste tasting.

Dinner:
1 cup whole wheat pasta (180)
1 cup turkey italian sausage, green peppers, onions, jalapenos, spaghetti sauce. One sausage has 140 calories. I know I didn't eat a whole one. But I am going to say that whole concoction had 210 calories. Just rounding up. I think it's better to round up and say you had more, than to lie to yourself and say you had 1000 calories when it was closer to 1800.

Additionally:
1 Andies Mints to kill the onion funk breath. (50)

Grand total for today:
1450
I really think I rounded a little high, but I would rather be higher than lower. 1450 isn't bad. I should probably eating that much on a daily basis instead of the 1000+ that I was eating last week. I noticed my appetite has grown tremendously. I DID workout Sunday, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. I think my stupid period is causing this. If I am still eating like a savage beast next week, I will re-evaluate things. I did NOT work out yesterday. I took a bath before I worked out (weird, I know) and for some reason I was on my knees and noticed that my hurt knee is just that-HURT. It still hurts. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....Excuses, excuses. I have been using the bowflex. If I follow that plan, I will only do like 3 leg exercises and I don't feel that's enough, so I was going to couple that with the Yoga Booty Ballet. However, most of the time is spent on my knees and that's not going to happen with by bum knee. I guess I'll start on my legs in about a week or so. I am *hoping* it will be completely healed by then. The good news is that my arms are okay. I'm off to work them!

What are you gonna do about it?

I ate candy. So what….

I caved in and ate the following:
1 small box of nerds
1 small pack of skittles
1 peanut butter candy
1 piece of chocolate
1 small laffy taffy.

Yes, I just ate 5 pieces/packs of candy. It really wasn’t THAT much. I just looks bad on paper. I had a decent day today other than that. I ate ½ bag of pretzels (55 calories). For lunch I had a salad, to include about ½ cup of tuna salad and ½ cup of crab salad (I am realistically rounding up) and ½ of a chicken gumbo. I know those two aren’t the best for me. At least I balanced it out with lettuce. I also had a WW Smart Ones English Muffin for breakfast and some coffee with creamer and sugar. That’s nothing new. I started my period on Friday and it’s really kicked in today. It seems like I am starving today. I’m going to do my best to refrain from eating until I get home. I have about an hour and a half to go. I will survive. Dinner will be cabbage and potatoes and tilapia (if my husband can find it to thaw). As much as I HATE working my legs (see post from yesterday) I AM going to work my legs tonight. I will hit the bowflex and might even get my Yoga Booty Ballet on.

The smartest thing I have done!

I have a bowflex that's never really been used. I decided to start using it. I am following a 4 day workout plan--2 days arms and 2 days legs/abs. It's supposed to take about 20 minutes, but it takes more than that when I am trying to switch out the rods. Last Monday it was trial and error. I had to hook and unhook the rods to find the right setting. But fortunately for me I used my brain and wrote down how much resistance I was using. Tonight when I started to do it, I threw some weight on and realized it was much to heavy. Ding Ding Ding! The light shot on in my head and I looked down and saw the notebook! My workout went by pretty fast because there was no guessing. AND....in the book, they have you doing this, then hooking up this, then going back to what you were doing two exercises ago. Another smart move on Sherry's behalf--I knocked out all the workouts I needed while I had it in the same position instead of bouncing back and forth thus saving more time!

The other day I noticed the shoulder exercise hurt my elbows, so I pulled out the free weights to work my shoulders. Also, I didn't think the triceps workout really worked my triceps. I felt it in my biceps. So I used the free weights to get in an extra triceps workout. Speaking of triceps. Have I told you that I HATE working my triceps? I LOVE to work my biceps, but I hate working triceps. Also, I thought I could save time so I was trying to do both triceps at the same time. For the next set I decided to work the right one first then the left. That worked much better. I could actually feel it.

Tomorrow I get to work the legs. Oh joy. Typically, I have great legs. Did I tell you I HATED working the legs? I HATE it? When I was taking a sculpting class I resented it because #1-it hurt and #2-I had great legs. But, the other night I pulled out a pair of size 5 jeans. I was surprised that I could get them buttoned. Then I looked down and noticed it looked like they were plastered to my legs. WHAT???? Were my legs THAT big? I guess I am packing on some fat in that area. Those jeans did NOT fit like that before. Guess I better suck it up and work my legs.

I did okay today with eating. I made some cabbage and potatoes (no sausage) and some chicken and dumplins. I've eaten both on and off today. If I had to guess (and this is all it is), I'd say I had about 1 cup of raw cabbage, 2 cups of cooked cabbage and potatoes, and maybe 2 cups of chicken and dumplins. The cabbage and potatoes consisted of being sauteed in cooking spray, then seasoned with Season All, Tony's, Garlic, Onion Powder, and Salt. The dumplins were made with 2 chicken breast, 1 can of fat free chicken broth, 1 can of cream of chicken soup (not sure if it was fat free. It sure came out of the can like it was) and 1 can of biscuits. I noticed that the can said 1 serving of the biscuit was 100 calories. Not sure how much 1 serving was though. And the can is in the trash. I also ate 2 pieces of frosted mini wheats, about 15 cheerios, and 2 cups of coffee with sugar (gasp) and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Creamer. I think AT MOST I had 1200 calories. Tomorrow I am going to make chicken salad--1 chicken breast, green onions, pickles, mustard, and about 1tsp of mayo. I may bring some wheat toast to accompany it. Not sure about breakfast. If I have any smart ones English Muffins, I may have one. If not, if I can remember a spoon and bowl, I'll have oatmeal. Dinner will be cabbage and potatoes, but since I Have to feed Clint too, I will probably make some fish to go with it.

There you have it. I'm not doing too bad! Yeah! 115 will be here sooner than I expected it!

Cheat Day

I never intended to have a "Cheat Day". But it looks like today is that day. My eyes were much bigger than my stomach when I ordered lunch--a chile rellano and 2 beef tacos. I ate about 3/4 of the rellano. Then later this afternoon, I ate the tacos. I probably consumed a million calories. Oh well. And yes, I plan on eating dinner in spite if already consuming more than my daily limit.

Kids

This has nothing to do with weight loss. I am really thrown when people ask me how many kids I have. As me.

How many kids do you have?

I have 3.

My husband has a daughter.

So you have 4.

Well, I guess.

I guess it's hard to remember I have 4 because #1-I've only given birth to 3. #2-She doesn't live with us. Outta site, outta mind. #3-I see her like once a month. When you couple those 3 things together, surely you can understand why I say I only have 3.

As far as my blog intro is concerned, I only have 3. This blog is my tool for weightloss--the weight gain caused by BEING PREGNANT. So for those of you that now know I technically have 4 kids but don't see the SD (Do we call her #4???--even though she falls 3rd in line) in the intro, you know why. She had nothing to do with the weight gain.

Pain in the ass

Holiday time sucks. What sucks is the shopping involved with the holidays. In addition to my 3 girls, my husband has a daughter, so I guess I technically have 4 kids. I will post a separate blog about how many kids "I" have later. To make matters worse. #1's b day is right around Thanksgiving. #3's b-day is the first part of the month. Step-Daughter's b-day is just before Christmas, as is my husband's. So in a 1 month time frame, I have to shop for 3 kids b-day, then 4 kids Christmas. THAT sucks. I had finished #1 and #3's b-day shopping (duh, it's already come and gone) and had most of SD's taken care of. So I went to Wal-Mart and just dropped $288. Did I walk out with loads of stuff? NO. I got the baby 2 things (which totalled $75), I got #1 like 5 things, #3 like 4 things, and SD 5 things, but part of that went with her b-day. Holy cow. I was *hoping* to have a limit of $400. HAHAHAHAHAHA that's NOT going to happen. As far as I am concerned, #3 has enough. I have her another gift at work that I purchased for a children's Christmas party that I didn't attend. She really had no clue about presents, so, she's done. As far as I am concerned, I am pretty much finished with #1's. 5 presents doesn't sound like a lot, but she really got the most expensive stuff. I *may* pick her up a few small things, but I think I am done. She will appreciate what she has. As for #2, she needs more stuff. Things I picked up for her ended up going to #1 because they were more suited for her. In fact, I am thinking about taking another gift from her to give to #1 because it's more her style, although it's something they will have to share with each other. (It's a text messaging contraption...works kind of like a Walkie Talkie. #1 is 8 and wants a cell phone, so that would be more her speed than #2's) I definitely need to get SD some more things because as of now, she has 2 Christmas gifts. She's almost 5 and there wasn't much that was there that was suited for her. There was much of a middle ground--there was baby stuff or bigger girl things. I would say SD is above average, but she's really not up to speed for some of the things I found that were age appropriate. Example: #1 has a Barbie laptop. I picked on up for her. It was marked $21. It rang up $39. Oh hell no. The cashier offered to have someone check out the price but I wasn't up for waiting. Once I thought about it, she really wouldn't have gotten the concept anyway. She can push buttons on it, but as far as REALLY playing the games, she can't do it. So, I don't know what to get her. Spend money on things she can't grasp in spite of it being for her age range, or dumb it down and get her toddler toys???? The only other option is to buy her every kind of Barbie out there, but what fun is that?

Ta-da

I have to tell you all about my friend Kelly. You can find her blog under my list of blogs. Anyway, I "met" Kelly a few years ago on an Atkins message board. I am not sure which one of us contacted the other offline, but it seemed that we had alot in common, at least compared to the other people in the group. Since that day, Kelly has been my "diet lifeline." I can e-mail her and tell her hey, I'm working out, I'm sitting on my ass, I'm losing weight, I'm fat., etc. And she does the same.

I am thankful to have her in my life for when I have my little melt downs. She may be on the other end of the e-mail rolling her eyes, but at least I am able to talk to her. I've had so many people tell me "You look fine the way you are." Screw you. It's not about what YOU think, It's about how I see MYSELF. But....I don't want people to see me as okay. I want to be hot. Anyway, I wanted to share with you what I shared with her last night.

The past few days, I have been consuming under 1100 calories. I have only been eating when hungry. Once I get back to working out religiously, I will increase my calories because I will be hungry. Anyway...I recently bought a digital scale and it had been telling me I was anywhere from 130-133 lbs. I got on it last night and it said I was 135 lbs. I was livid. Granted, I was completely dressed and it was in the evening, but come on, how did I pack on THAT many lbs? There was NO way. Well, I am happy to report that I got on there this morning and it said.....

Here comes the tada........

128.2! (I even got on my dial scale, the one that wouldn't move from 125, and it said I was 122!!!!)

Not too bad

Today was a much better day for food. So far I've had:

• WW Smart Ones English Muffin (200)
• Bumble Bee Chicken Salad with Crackers (230)
• 1/2 V8 (35)
• 1/2 flavored water (50)
• 3 sunchips (30)

I think dinner's going to be veggie chili. So far I have consumed 545 calories. I will only have about 400 for dinner. From the looks of it, I may be consuming too FEW calories. I had around 1040 last night and the scale showed a GAIN of 2 lbs. WTF. For those of you losing weight, should I force myself to eat more?

Blech

I just ate too much and I didn't even eat that much.

I went in to work an hour late this morning so I didn't have my coffee until after 10am. By the time I was hungry, it was 11am and I felt it was too late to eat breakfast food, so I ate about 3/4-1 cup of potato/broccoli/cheese soup. At 1pm I was hungry so I hit the break room looking for some baked chips. To my surprise (yeah right) there wasn't much food in there (biscotti anyone) so I grabbed a cup of raman noodles (290 calories). As I am eating them I notice how gross they are and email my good friend Kelly (http://kellyolexa.blogspot.com/) and tell her how gross they are and that eating slowly helps me realize that. When I get home I start dinner. I had 3/4 of a turkey burger with steak sauce (no bun--about 3 ounces of meat), 1/3 cup of mixed veggies, and maybe a cup of some chicken/broccoli flavored pasta with broccoli. The pasta is supposed to have 290 calories when cooked, but that's with 2% milk and 2tsp butter. I used skim milk and skipped the butter. I also had a few swipes of frosting from that damn birthday cake. I do not feel guilty for this because I have learned that if I crave something, then I need to eat it--but only a few bites--to get it out of my system. In the case of the cake, I wasn't craving it, but I saw it, I wanted it, and I ate it. I lost 30+ lbs in the past and I ate cheesecake, so that frosting won't kill me. Anyway, I am stuffed and there really wasn't that much food on my plate. I am sure I will be starving soon. I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Because I am too lazy to go to the car

Breakfast:

1/2 cup rice
3/4 cups white beans with 4 small slices of sausage

Snack:

5 Triscits

Lunch:

1 packet Kashi Oatmeal (yes, I had breakfast and lunch mixed up)

Snack: 1 1/4 cup of tomato soup with 5 triscits

Dinner:

1/3 turkey (93/7) manwich on whole wheat bun
1 cup of broccoli/potato/cheese soup made with 2 cups skim milk, 3 cups broccoli, 1 medium/large potato, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar. Oh, and the soup mix pack.

I think I consumed around 300 calories for dinner. Not bad if I may say so. One of my goals is to eat several small meals a day. IF I AM HUNGRY.

Cheat: 1 swipe of frosting from cake. BAD SHERRY.

I am certain I could've made better choices today but I had to eat what was in the house. I was home sick. I didn't have a vehicle. That didn't' matter. It was too freakin cold to go outside and I wasn't driving 14 miles to town to get something healthier. I will utilize what I have in my house, then shop for "better choices" later.

Here's some meals for later this week:

Turkey burger (no bun), pasta with broccoli, and mixed veggies

Chicken and dumplins (VERY BAD SHERRY) made with boiled chicken breasts, canned biscuits, chicken broth, and cream of chicken soup

Tomato gravy with rice, mustard greens, and butter beans. Hey, I am from Louisiana and I haven't had this in a LONG time. It takes me back to my childhood. I like it!

Cabbage, Potatoes, and Turkey Sausage

Veggie Chili made with corn, kidney beans, and tomatoes topped with light sour cream. YUM.

Maybe next week you will see grilled chicken or baked fish with loads of veggies. In the mean time, I'm eating what I've got!

I did it!

I got my ass off the couch. I used the bowflex!!! My arms had a nice workout. Granted, I didn't burn off lunch or anything, but it's better than what I was doing 2 hours ago.

My accomplishments for the day

I suppose this blog should be blank because I haven't accomplished anything today. I called in sick because I am feeling slightly under the weather. I could've used this day to have a bad ass workout but I opted to spend the day on the couch. I will NEVER lose weight sitting on the couch. My family should be home so I could get a small workout in before they get home. I just might do that.....

I have the following DVD's: Several Yoga Booty Ballet's, 10 Minute Kickboxing Solution, Tae Bo, The Firm.

I have a bowflex.

I have a mini-trampoline.

I have free weights.

I have weighted balls.

I have resistance bands.

I also have free access to the gym on base.

I have NO excuse to not work out.

Excuses, Excuses

I feel like shit.

If you know me, then you will know with any story comes a background story.

2 weeks ago when we went to Texas, we grabbed Burger King for Breakfast. My husband ended up getting sick to his stomach. He didn't vomit, but I bet he wanted to. To make matters worse, what shoud've only been an 8 hour drive (yeah, ONLY), turned into a 12 hour fiasco due to some snow.

Fast forward to present day. We went back to Texas. I make eggs, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, sliced turkey, and cheese for breakfast. On our way out of town my husband (who is hungover) decides he's hungry so we stop at McDonalds. I wasn't really hungry. I broke the carnal rule--DO NOT eat unless you are hungry. All I ate was a hamburger with extra pickles (like 250 calories). Shortly after that, my stomach started cramping. So for 8 hours now I have been dealing with these stomach pains. All of the kids had a hamburger too, so I don't know if that was the true cause. We've all eaten the same things this weekend but I don't think anyone else feels ick. The first thing I do when I get home is run for the Mylanta. Not making me feel better. I feel like I am hungry, then again my tummy hurts. Maybe I will eat, throw up, then feel better??????????? Wishful thinking.

A few days after my husband caused my accident (see story about steps), he somehow cut the tip of his finger off at work. Karma is a bitch. Hmmmmm.....he had a tummy ache two weeks ago now I have it....WTF did I do to deserve payback????

Needless to say, there will be NO working out, in spite of wanting it in my mind.

Uggggg.....

Happy Birthday

The third and final child, also referred to as #3, celebrated her first birthday yesterday. I suppose that's not accurate. The celebration is actually taking place today. I've spent a small fortune on this party. I hope all of the anticipated guests show up. I went through the painstaking process of making cocktail sausages--we all know how hard it is to throw sausages and BBQ sauce in the crockpot. I am attempting to make a yummy dip but I can't find the freakin recipe. It's been a few years (okay, about 5) since I made it. I know it involves cream cheese, salsa, green onions, and black olives. Imitation crab meat is a key ingredient too. The problem is that I am not sure if the crab "legs" go in the dip or if you dip the crab in the mixture. The original recipe came off of a package of Louis Kemp crab legs. Common sense says go to the website and find the recipe. I guess it's a little too outdated because it's not there anymore. Oh well. I'll figure it out. At least the veggie platter will please the guests! I have to leave in a bit to get the cake. Ugggggg......I REALLY hope everyone shows up because I got a HUGE cake. Will post pics later!

Shopping

Clothes are a funny thing. How is it that I can fit an a size 6 pants and small top from the Women's Dept, yet I wear a 9 and large (tops) in the Juniors department?

anyway, I have an interview tomorrow with a Commander on base. All of my "dress" clothes are too small. I have *some* that fit, but I kind of look like a rag doll. I can wear jeans at my current job, so I didn't have to worry about the "dress" clothes.

I swore I wasn't going to buy anymore clothes. I have a TON of clothes in the closet. Problem is I can't fit in them. I said I wasn't going to buy new clothes; instead I would just lose the weight. Well, each month I end up buying some article of clothing. I try to buy the smallest size possible because "I am going to lose weight soon, and I want to be able to wear it later." Not this time.

I *could've* bought the size 7 pants (I didn't even try on 4's) but they were a little snug. The 9's fit so much better. I know I will regret this in a few months when I do lose the weight. I will DEFINITELY regret it if I don't get this job. That means I will have pants that are too big that have never been worn. I guess I could always take them back and get a smaller size if I don't get hired. The problem is, everything is on clearance. With the holiday season approaching, what are the chances my size will be there? Geeze...maybe I should've bought the smaller pants. Ugggg......

Anyway, I spent $200 and got 3 pairs of pants, 5 or 6 tops, 4 shirts for my husband, a quilt, and 400 count sheets. I saved over $200. The sheets are pink btw, not my favorite color for bedding, but come on, the sheets were regularly $119 and I got them for $34.99. I think I got a good deal. Also, I bought myself 2 pairs of shoes, #3 a pair of shoes, and # 1 or # 2 a purse for X mas and only spent $63. Go me!

Me versus the tile floor...no need to tell you who won

Husbands, you gotta love them.

The other night we go out and buy #3 her birthday presents. My husband decides to unload the car and he leaves everything in my entry way. Here is what it looked like, except there were MORE things to the right.

Here's another angle:

I fall asleep watching TV. The only light on is the light from the TV. I get up to go to bed and I go to lock the door. Can you guess what happened? I tripped over the stuff and landed near the door. My knee is jacked up as is my hand. Do you know what my husband has to say? "You saw me put the stuff there." He moves everything to the left like so:

By the way, this entry way is 8 feet wide. The photo below is meant to help you understand that.

I got my ass kicked by Spin Class

You read that right. Spin class kicked my ass. I went to my first spin class yesterday. One of my bosses led the class for the first 15 mins. That was brutal. Then the instructor came to teach her class. Hers wasn't as bad. I am sure that I wsn't working as hard as I could, but I feel it today anyway. It was brutal. My ass HURTS. At least I burned off my lunch!

A bit of history

Here’s my weight history. I stayed around 112 lbs in high school. My senior year I filled out and got to 117. No big deal. I gained 14 lbs when I joined the Air Force and went through basic training. In tech school, I know I packed on a few more lbs because I was going to school on the night shift and was woofing down snickers and Mt. Dews to stay awake. I realized I was kind of heavy for my height (5’3), so I cut out the sugars and tried to eat better. By the time I was at my first base, I was approximately 123 lbs.

**When I am pregnant, I go by the weight on the drs scale. When I am not pregnant, I use my scale at home, which is about 7 lbs off from the drs scale**

When I went to my first drs appointment with #1, I was 128 lbs. I thought I was supposed to eat for 2, so I complied with that. The problem is that I ate for two grown men and blew up to 180+ lbs. I add the plus sign because I was too ashamed to look at the scale for my last visit. It was mid afternoon and I had on steel toe boots, but I hopped on the scale and as soon as it hit 180, I turned my head. I could see that it didn’t go above 185, but I can’t tell you if I weighed 181 or 184. Since I was in the Air Force, I had 6 months to get back below my weight max of 143. My thoughts were that if I was trying to lose weight, why stop at 143; why not go back to 128. So I did. When #1 was 1 year old, I found out I was pregnant with #2.

At my first dr appt I was 132 lbs. I got up to 170+ lbs. I am not ashamed at what I weighed that time, but I just can’t remember that far back. Anyway, almost immediately I was 148 lbs. But I stayed there for 6 months. I was working 84 hours a week and had two small children so I ate whatever I could get my hands on. I had a gym membership but going to the gym was WAY out of the question. Once I moved to small town OK, I was able to work out and eat right. I would “bounce” on a mini-trampoline for 2 hours in the morning while watching ER. If the kids needed me, I would assist them, otherwise I would wait until commercials to deal with them, do some laundry, do crunches, etc. I would make myself something different for dinner. Example: If I made them spaghetti, I would have the noodles with spray butter and lemon and a salad. I also stopped eating beef. This trend started at the end of February 2002. By #2’s first b-day at the end of July, I was 116 lbs. One day I ate a burger and the weight came back. Okay, it wasn’t like THAT. But I did start eating beef again and I DID gain the weight back. I am certain that my starting school and not working out had NOTHING to do with it!

In 2004 I finished up undergrad and went to law school. I saw a pic of myself in a school catalogue and realized I was fat. I was 147 lbs. That September, I decided to do something about it. Wait a moment. REWIND. I realized I was fat before that. I went to the dr. and was prescribed phentermine and I was taking 3 different classes at the gym 6 days a week. Some days I’d complete 2 classes, while other days I would only complete 1. I KNOW muscle weighs more than fat, but my pants weren’t getting any looser. Back to September 2004. I began to reduce the amount I was eating, I was eating cleaner, but I would eat whatever I wanted—in moderation. By January I was down to 120 something lbs. I eventually got to 115 and maintained it until March of 2006. Oh yeah, I stopped eating beef again. I eventually added beef back to my life, but this time I didn’t turn into a moo-cow.

In Feb of 2006, my appendix ruptured and I spent 5 days in the hospital too sick to eat. When I got home, I was swollen and bloated from the surgery, but I stepped on the scale to see 112 lbs. I looked like a bobble head. You don’t think 3 lbs makes a difference, but I looked like a skeleton. Remember I said I was bloated. Imagine what I would’ve looked like if didn’t have the 7 months pregnant look going on. I would’ve looked worse than a 20 year old corpse.

In April 2007, I was pregnant with #3. At my first appointment at 9 weeks, I was 124 lbs. I got up to 164 lbs. The weight fell off but stopped at 135 lbs. Since I didn’t really think I was fat, like before, I haven’t been in a hurry to get the weight off. My thought process before was that since I am heavy and I am already losing the weight, I might as well go as low as I can go. But this time, since I wasn’t THAT big, I didn’t feel the urge like before. MY goal has always been to be back to my pre-pregnancy size (115) by #3’s first birthday. Well, that’s NOT going to happen. I’ve been too comfortable where I am. Problem is, I have a closet FULL of clothes that I can’t fit into. That has to change.

I am currently at 130 lbs on my NEW scale (125) on the old one. I figured if I was going get to 115, it would be an accurate 115. So I have 15lbs to lose. #3 will be 1 on Dec 7 so I won’t be able to get the weight off by then. My goal is to have about 7 lbs off in a month. I typically average 8 lbs a month when I am doing well. I guess I need to kick ass this next month to get there!

Goals:
December 27-123
January 27-115

Carry on

I have a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. I graduated 3/1000 with a 3.94 GPA (2 B's). I was president of the Law and Politics Club, History Club, and Phi Alpha Theta (Historical honor society). I was a memeber of two more honor societies--Pi Sigma Alpha (political science) and Phi Kappa Phi (Cameron's top honor society). I was one of Cameron's Top 20 Students and a member of Who's Who. I was also on the Student Senate and I braved Law School for a year and a half. I am not sharing this with you so that I can boost my self esteem. I am simply annotating that I am not an idiot. But how is it that my old blog that disappeared suddenly appeared? And how is it that I am able to bitch about my blog not looking right, then suddenly, it does? This isn't rocket science is it???????

Since all is well in blog blog land, I will clean my kitchen for the guests that will be arriving to my daughters 8th birthday celebration. Happy Birthday #1. I survived Thanksgiving. Can I survive the ice cream cake?

I am going to scream

Am I not destined to have a blog? As I am typing a new blog moments ago, the asshole disappears. I do not have time for this. Not today. Guests should be arriving for #1's birthday party and I haven't gotten my kitchen cleaned up. Why doesn't my blog look like the others? I can not give you a quality product to read until my blog is right.