May 31, 2011

It all started as a normal day..

complete with a walk in the park with a friend (3 miles.. go us), a few naps (for Drew, not me, pinky promise), lunch, and playing with toys.

It ended with a court date in my near(?) future. Let me back up..

Right after Drew's second nap (around 3pm) we're sitting on the living room floor, goofing around when I hear a bunch of ruckus out by the side of our house. I look out the window and there are two HUMONGOUS dogs that seemed to have gotten my neighbors gate open. I freaked a little because they have an older basset hound that I kind of consider like 1/18th mine. He's always outside and barks to let me know when someone is coming. Sometimes annoying, but always comforting. Anywhoo..

The two dogs were terrifyingly big, have I mentioned that? They are running away, but houndy is now out. I don't have the neighbors number and I sure wasn't going out and risking my life with those two beasts running around. I called the police and when finishing up with them, manned up a bit and went out to make sure the hound was okay. I canceled the police call because I saw the owner of said beasts grabbing the dogs from the yard across the street and herding them into the back of his pickup. They drive away and I think all is good. Until...

Neighbors are outside. Wifey is by the front door and assured me the hound was now in the house. Hubs is across the street in above mentioned yard. I asked her if she saw the beasts, yes she had, she says... and did I know that.. grab a tissue... they KILLED the little pup across the street!!! Mauled it to death. My heart still breaks.

We saw the house that the owners of the two dogs lived at.. we see the guy tell his lady about the sitch, she freaks, and walks down to us. She's all worked up until she learns what dog it is that was killed by her dogs. Then says "she doesn't f'ing care" and "she has told that woman to keep her dog inside two times". REALLY?? The poor pup was in it's own yard. And it doesn't matter how annoying the little pup was that roamed the streets. You're dogs violently killed it. That's someones dog. Take responsibility and show some heart. The family wasn't home. They have kids of all ages. They are going to come home to that.

She struts back home. And this is where it gets hard for me. We discussed what to do and it didn't take long to know we had to call Animal Control. That could have easily been any number of the little kids that play outside all day. Andrew and I sit in the driveway quite often (He has a big obsession with cars and it keeps him entertained. With a yard full of rocks.. the driveway is the spot to be).

I had to run to the store and told the neighbors to come right over if they needed anyone else to talk to Animal Control. When I get home, the dead dog neighbors and the ones next to us are all outside. I head over and those kids had just found the dog. Next door neighbs tried to talk to the mom before the kids had seen it, but it was too late. The kids were bawling. It was heartbreaking. The mom walked down to the killing dogs house and chicky completely denies she even has dogs! Can you believe it??

Animal Control guys shows up and after not too long, one of the girls knocks on my door and asks if I'll go and talk to him. Since home girl denies everything (not sure how she thinks she'll get away with that.. the poor fam got pics of the dogs through her window) they are going to need witnesses to testify in court. I couldn't tell that family that I wouldn't do it.. I'm glad to help them.

It's just a sucky situation though. I know it's going to mean putting those dogs down. I know they were vicious. I know they did very wrong. But I still can't help but feel a little bad about helping to put them down. I even feel bad for that stank woman who's going to get her dogs taken away. But when it comes down to it.. I know it has to be done. Unfortunately they got out. What if it happened again? And what if next time it's not "just" a dog that caught their viciousness? They were getting into people's fenced backyards. That's scary.

So.. yeah... blahhhh

At a loss!

It's our 4 year anniversary on Thursday.

My husband is horrid at surprising me. Don't get me wrong he has spoiled me this year, big time, but he's very very bad at actually making anything a surprise.

With that being said... I have nothing for him. Zilch. Nada. I've been waiting for a creative idea to hit me and with 2 days left.. that idea I've been waiting for hasn't even tapped me on the shoulder.

Ideas? (is it pathetic that I'm coming to blogger for this? I think so, but it didn't stop me from doing it, clearly)

May 30, 2011

Weight Watchers Mondays

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I know most of you are off spending some QT with families and friends, feel free to link up any day this week! I hope in the midst of all of the fun times, hamburgers, hot dogs, lakes and pools, that you've taken a moment or five to remember and pray for all of our fallen soldiers and humbly thank them for their ultimate sacrifice. I know we have.

This week our focus is going to be on breakfast ideas, but first, I want to share my.. errrmmm.. progress with you all. I was excited to jump on that scale, but also a little unsure. It was very anticlimactic. I lost .2 pounds this week. Not 2 pounds.. just wanted to make sure you saw that point before the two. Yeahhh. I think I snacked a little too much this week. I used a lot of my extra weekly points, but didn't go over which I guess is why there was a teeny tiny bit of loss. I went out to dinner with some girlfriends one night too. To Olive Garden. I thought I was choosing wisely by ordering off of the appetizer menu (got the Grilled Chicken Flatbread), but not so much. My meal was 29 points. And that's only because I didn't finish the whole thing. Would have been worse. I'm still not very comfortable with eating out.. clearly.
I did get 3 good walks in over the week, but I need to do better.

It was disappointing, but also motivating. I got a little slack with the extra points. Yes, I know they are there.. but that doesn't mean I need to use them quite as much. I used at least 1 or 2 every day. I need to drink more water (gosh that is so hard for me) and get at least a walk in every day. I've been thinking more and more about starting Couch to 5K in again as well. We'll see about that! And even less snacking. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting update next week!!

Breakfast ideas...
I'll admit something - I do a lot of frozen breakfasts. I have a baby that.. at the moment.. is not very happy when 100% of my attention is not focused on him. Yes, it's every bit as fun as it sounds. Some morning I could get away with making a nice breakfast, but most I can't. Yes, he's the boss around here. He's running things. Soo.. it's much much easier for me to throw something in the microwave. More expensive? Yes. Less time consumed? Yes. Very tasty? Yes.
I never use more than 6 points on breakfast. If I can get it in in 5.. even better. Jimmy Dean Delights are spectacular. Turkey sausage breakfast bowls.. yum. Canadian bacon sammies on a honey wheat english muffins.. delish. Both of those are 6 points. The bowls even have a few potatoes in them. Bonus. Smart Ones has a few tasty things that I've tried as well. Breakfast quesidillas (5 points and I LOVE them) and they have a breakfast skillet that is just alright. I don't know if I'll try that again.
When I do have time to make my own I either have a fried egg (just use Pam.. zero points) or scrambled with one whole egg and one egg white. Always, always add in a splash of hot sauce. Canadian bacon and a slice of white bread. I really love oatmeal and would love to find a way to fit that in to mix it up a bit, but I haven't found a way to make it without blowing points.

Anyway.. eggs everyday? I could use some other suggestions! How did you all do this week? Link up and let me know :)


May 29, 2011

9 Months

Little Andrew,

Or not so little, I should say! I'm clinging on to these last few months of you being a "baby". Of course, you will always be my baby, but soon you will technically be a toddler and I just can't wrap my head around that fact. How is it even possible? You don't even look like a baby to me anymore. You look like a (very adorable) little boy with all of your hair (your daddy thinks you need a haircut, but I'm not allowing it yet) and 5 *almost 6* teeth! You have two bottom teeth and three top teeth with one more on the way!

You are so much fun these days! I sat down to do a post earlier in the week about all of the funny little things you do, but then realized how close it was to your 9 month post and thought I'd wait. You do things every day that just make me laugh so much!
- A lot of the times when you find yourself on your back and get too excited, your legs just kick a mile a minute. Up and down, over and over again.. and with such force! It's crazy. I know that once you figure out how to do that when you are on you belly.. there will be no stopping you! I think that I'm in trouble when I have to keep up with you!
- My goodness.. in the bathtub.. you are a spazz! You LOVE being in the water more than anything (well maybe not more than eating dirt!) You can't get enough of splashing. You kick your legs up as high as you can reach them, hold them there for a second, then kick them down as hard as you can. I'm a sopping wet mess by the end of your bath. That's while I'm washing you. When you sit up to play you do the same thing with your hands and then wait and watch all of the bubbles you make.
- You think it's the funniest thing when I tilt my head to the side real far to look at you. You have the sweetest little laugh!
- You also love to look at pictures of your family. You look at them and smile and giggle. You love even more to look at pictures of babies. Your whole face lights up.. with real babies too. You LOVE little kids!
- I had Ellen on the other day and at the end there were a few people waving at the camera saying "bye Ellen". You about lost it. Laughed and laughed and laughed!
- You have this look where you tilt your chin down and look up at us with your eyes cut upwards. I've been perplexed as to where you learned this, until I caught myself giving you that very same look when you were acting up in your high chair. Woopsie! I better start being more aware of the things I do around you!
- You love to play "catch" with the foam ball Daddy bought for you or one of those colorful rings you stack up. We sit across from each other.. I roll it to you, which delights you.. and you kinda of fling it back. It's your favorite game.
- You've started to play with your toys a little differently. Instead of just holding them, switching them from hand to hand and shaking them around excitedly (well you still do all of this), but now it's like you're starting to realize they actually have a purpose. You'll take almost any of them (rattles, plush football, plastic planes, boats, cars.. whatever) and slowly move them along on the floor back and forth. Sometimes you make that classic, little boy brrrrrrrr sound like you're driving them. It's too cute. You're also realizing that you can make them touch. If we are holding one, you like to take your toy and touch it to ours. This may not sound like a big deal, but it's definitely a big difference I've noticed this month.

playing with his super heroes
- You're into sharing now. You want me to try your bottle a lot. I really appreciate that buddy. You also want me to chew on your toys. It's a lot of fun.
- You are very interested in mommy and daddy's mouths. You're amazed that we too have a tongue and teeth and you always want to find them. I have to remind you a lot that it's not okay to pick mama's nose.

You are still wearing size 4 diapers, although they are getting a little tight on you (how far do those things go up?? He has a long time left in diapers and we are already up to almost a 5!). Definitely 12-month PJ's. Mostly 12-month clothes as well but I can fit a few 9-month outfits on you. We went to the doc with you about 3 weeks ago and you were 20.5 lbs.. you have to be at least 22 now. You are SO heavy!

You still aren't crawling. I'm thinking you are going to skip right over that phase. You roll around everywhere. You can sometimes go from laying down to sitting up. You can definitely go from sitting up to laying down. You'll get on all fours, in crawling position, rock back and forth, then lay down and roll to where you want to go. You're trying to pull yourself up now. I've turned into a jungle gym over the last 2 days. Ohhh boy is that fun! Needless to say, today we bought you little musical table today for you to climb all over that.

You are such a noisy little baby. But mostly happy noises. You are so very happy. Except if I leave your sight. Ohh Drew.. you do not like me to leave your general vicinity and I'm waiting patiently (for 3 months now) for you to get over this stage. It seems to be getting worse though. I need to enjoy this time.. one day you won't want to be anywhere near me!

We love you more and more and more by the day, sweet boy! We thank God for you every chance we get. You've brought more joy into our lives than you will ever know. I'm enjoying every second with you and really look forward to the future. Before we know it you are going to be walking around and talking... I can't wait!

We love you sweet Drew baby!


May 26, 2011

Update on Dad and a WW List

*Be sure to check the bottom of this post for a list of weekly WW topics!*

A big huge Thank you and hug to everyone who left your thoughts and prayers on yesterdays post. I've been holding up okay.. but I've definitely had my moments. It's hard being so far away. You feel useless. Feel like you're be a nuisance to everyone when texting and calling to get updates and just check-in, but that's the only think you can do really. It's been especially hard because Trey has been MIA with work.

He is still in the hospital. I've been getting conflicting reports.. from his labs came back clear and there is no sign of heart attack, then heard last night that that was not the case and some level of whateveritscalled was high which means there was a heart attack. He did the nuclear stress test yesterday, which was four hours long and they were told there was damage seen at the tip of his heart (bottom I guess)  I talked to him last night and he sounded much much better than he did on Tuesday. He was perfectly content with his bed positioned just right, his table pulled up with Cheez-Its (his staple) and whateveritwasthathewasdrinking and the remote, the Bruins game (which I'm guessing in the end didn't make him quite so happy) and the prettiest nurse in the hospital waiting on his every beck and call. So yeahhh.. hearing him with his normal outlook was reassuring.

They did the catheter this morning and he is already done with that.. results are good. No blockage and no sign of any previous heart attack. He is in recovery now and when I asked how he was feeling, he said, "not bad I guess" and he is ready to go to the beach and have a margarita. Ha! I don't know what comes next. On one hand, it is GREAT that it wasn't a HA, but now what? I just pray that they do find something (he knows something is off) and that it is very simple and very, very treatable.

On another note..
I've been thinking about subjects we can chat about on WW Mondays. Thank you so much for all of you who took the time to comment and link up. I'd love to see more participation, but I don't think we did so bad for the first week! Here's what I have thrown together.. feel free to add suggestions of what you'd like to hear/talk about!
And of course on every Monday be sure to share your progress!! That's the most exciting part :)

May 30th: Healthy breakfast ideas
June 6th: What motivates you? (someone in your life, health reasons, an upcoming event, etc)
June 13th: Healthy lunch ideas (I really need help with this one!!)
June 20th: Exercise tips
June 27th: Healthy dinner ideas
July 14th (I figure no one will want to do this on July 4th weekend!): Inspiring quotes

That's all I can think of for now. Like I said, feel free to add your ideas!

May 25, 2011

My Dad

It's times like these where it really SUCKS - for lack of a better word -  to be away from family.

I got a call yesterday from my mum saying she was at the hospital with my dad. Not to freak out too much, but it was his heart. He was awake, hungry and complaining. I was on my morning walk with Andrew and was stopped in my tracks. "Don't freak out too much".. I don't know why people bother telling me that. Of course I'm going to freak. I kept on with my walk all while texting trying to find out more info. (Of course this is on the one day during the week that I can't talk to my husband).

I don't know much more information. I was able to talk to him. He was transferred yesterday to the heart hospital and they are doing tests.
He's had issues with his heart before. His father did as well. He already has a pacemaker that was put in a while back. It's working just fine, but his heart beat is still irregular. They did labs and he didn't have a heart attack. This morning he was brought in for a 4-hour nuclear stress test, and they are hopeful we'll have some answers by this afternoon.

It's hard to hear your dad in obvious pain or discomfort. It's hard to imagine him in the hospital. My heart really hurts, not being able to be there. To give him a big hug and kiss. To be there for my mom. It just plain sucks.

Please lift my family up in your prayers! Pray for his comfort, my mom's peace of mind, and for those doctor's to find some answers.

*One thing that really made me smile last night, was to hear that he was very upset that he couldn't watch American Idol at the volume he would at home. He would usually have it cranked up to 60 and can't really do that in his hospital bed.* Always a sense of humor in this family!

May 23, 2011

Weight Watchers Mondays

Yeahhh.. I couldn't think of anything clever to go with Mondays, but there you have it.

I'm starting a weekly meme for any of you (the more the merrier) to contribute to. Weight loss is hard.. a lifestyle change is even more so. I know I can use all the motivation possible, so I'm sure you all could to. What better way for us all to get together and help each other out?? So, be sure to link up at the bottom of this post! (this is very new for me, so if it doesn't work, try not to be too annoyed! I'll figure it out)
I've decided to do Weight Watchers as you all know from last week, but feel free to add in tips that have worked for you even if you are taking a different approach!

This week, let's share how much you have lost since you started your journey, how much you have to go to meet your goal, and the biggest thing you have learned so far that you were doing all wrong.

On Friday, I did my first weigh-in (they will normally be on Saturday) and drumroll please.....
..... I LOST 5 POUNDS. Yay yay yay!! I'm so very proud of myself. I went in there only expecting to see a loss of 2 at the most, so you can imagine my surprise. A big "Are you kidding me????", was said and the sweet lady assured me that no, she was not in fact kidding. I gushed and gushed and she gave me two stickers. Which only added to my excitement. I'm a child still, I swear it.
My first goal is 5% of my weight, which is 8 pounds, so I am almost there. I have 31 pounds to go before I get to my ultimate goal. A long way to go, but I KNOW I can do it!

For me, this week.. I think the biggest thing I learned was portion control. Holy moly, does that make a difference! And I was eating wayyyy too much! It has really helped to measure everything out this week. Especially salad dressing. Two tablespoons is A LOT less than I thought it was! The second biggest thing I think would be... no mindless snacking. Before WW, I would get everything out to make a sandwich, and snack on an extra piece of cheese while I made it. And that can be applied to anything. Always munching on something. Those little extra things during the day really add up!

During this week, I will work on compiling a list of weekly topics so you can be more prepared (if this even works!) Please participate, y'all! Don't make me feel like the loser blogger that I probably really am that has no friends ;) And let your friends know about it as well! I'm telling you.. I'm really going to need the motivation!

I can't wait to hear from you all!


May 20, 2011

Just a little teaser

I had to weigh in a day early this week and I have some exciting news...

... that will have to wait for Monday's WW post.

I'm making some progress with the linky set-up, but I'm not quite there yet. Hopefully I can get it all figured out over the weekend! Either way, come back on Monday for lots of weight loss talk :)

Enjoy your weekend friends!

*Edited to add*
I have my post scheduled for Monday and I'm pretty sure the link up is working :) Be ready to post about how much you have lost so far in your weight loss journey, how much you have left to go (if you want to let us all in on that!) and the most important thing you've learned so far that you were doing all wrong to begin with! I'm so excited!

May 19, 2011

Why we blog

Have you ever found yourself trying to explain blogger to a non-blogger?

I found myself trying to do just that yesterday and I actually had a hard time explaining. Let me set the scene...

I was on the phone with my SIL chatting about this or that. *That is how 80% of my time is spent during the week while I'm doing other little odd and ends things, but that's neither here nor there* At some point, I don't remember exactly how, my blog came up. I talk about it all the time. Like a lot. So, it comes up rather frequently between us. I've given her my link before, but she is really not into things like this... I knew she never read it. And when I bring up my blog, it's kind of just excepted as a fact of life and we move on. She has never really asked me too much about it.. until yesterday.

She was kind of giggling (okay really giggling) because she cannot fathom why I (we all) would spend so much time on our blogs. What the heck do we talk about. "You have HOW many people that follow your blog?" I told her that was small cookies compared to some other people. She couldn't understand why I would take time out of my day to follow other blogs. Read about peoples lives that I don't know. *For the record, I know she wasn't making fun of us... too much.. she is really just curious about something that is such a big part of my life*

I had a hard time explaining our breed of people. It was hard for me to put into words why I blog other than I like to write. I like to have that connection with you girls (but again, that is soooo hard for some people to understand). I mean.. it does sound a little crazy, right? I love that I've gotten to "know" some of you, but that doesn't sound right to non-bloggers. Why would you want to get to know these people when you have your own "real life" friends. Maybe it's not something I can explain, but I truly do value those of you that have taken the time to read about my life and share your viewpoints and let me into yours.

For me and the little military niche that I am in, that aspect is easy. I can identify with you girls. None of my "RL" friends can relate to me when it comes to this lifestyle. Why I packed up everything I knew (my family, job, friends, etc.) to follow my husband around the world. Why I join an FRG. The crazy hours and acronyms.. you know.. all of that good stuff. A "RL" friend will always be sympathetic and will always listen.. but you guys get it. You've been there. That's nothing against those that don't, but it's nice to have you all.. who have been there. Not to mention, no matter where we get sent, I'll most likely already have a friend at our new home.

So I guess that is my reasoning. It's a hobby. An online, very public, story of our life. Something that helps me connect to people that can relate to me. Something that I'll always be able to look back on and remember the little and big moments. Something that gives me an outlet.

How about you? What are your reasons for being the "crazy" blogger that you are?

May 18, 2011

Favorite New Things

No, no.. I haven't gotten contacted or paid to do any of these reviews. I'm not that cool.. YET. These are just a few things that I've tried lately and really, really liked. And I really like you too, so I thought you should know.

Mio
Zero calorie flavoring you can add into your water. It's better than Crystal Light because it comes in a little container and you can squeeze out as much as you'd like. Want just a little something something to your water.. just a quick squeeze will do. Want to feel like you're drinking a Hi-C? Go ahead and squirt it 5 or 6 times. It's up to you. And for $3 something (Target) you can get 24 squeezes. With flavors like Berry Pomegranate, Strawberry Watermelon, and some other Mango flavor I have... I'm in love. If you really want to get crazy you can mix the flavors. Watch out now!

Pop Chips
One day, hubs and I are casually strolling through Costco (one of our favorite past times) and I'm searching high and low for all of the best samples when I came across something called Popchip. I non-comitally taste said "chip" with no intention to buy a bag when YUMMMO... my taste buds were sure surprised by that little ditty. We tried the BBQ flavor and I was immediately instructed to buy a bag.
They aren't fried or bakes.. not really sure what they are to be honest, but delicious and better for you than your normal chip alternative. Since I have no idea what I'm talking about technically, I'll let them tell you..
All natural.

Nothing fake or phony.
Our all-natural pledge: no fake colors, no fake flavors, no preservatives, no fluorescent orange fingertips, and no wiping your greasy chip hand on your jeans. No, really. We only use ingredients you can feel good about eating. And we leave out the bad stuff, like hydrogenated oils and msg, that give snacking a bad name. Because popchips™ brand chips have no preservatives, make sure to get a good chip clip after opening the bag to keep our popped chips fresh. Or better yet, just eat them all at once.
I've seen them at Target too. Get them.

The Ninja
A month or two ago my blender broke. It was great quality.. I just clumsily knocked it off the counter. Nothing is THAT great of quality. It broke into 100 tiny pieces. Yeahh.. it was just as fun as it seems. Normally, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I've been make most of Drew's food. The blender worked just fine for that, but since I needed to buy SOMETHING, I wanted to see if I could make the food pureeing process a little smoother (ha.. get it?). I did lots of lots of research and finally decided I wanted to try this Ninja thing out.
You've all seen the infomercials, right? I promise, it's as AHmazing as it looks. Ohhh my gosh! I cannot rave enough about this thing. So quick and much more quiet than the blender. And I can make a lot more at one time. It comes with two different sized pitchers so you don't have to use (and clean) the big one if you just want to make a little salsa or something. Very powerful. To puree, you push the little motor thing (again.. not so swell with the technical terms) down for about 10 seconds a few different times. Viola.. you have puree. Want something chopped? Oh, that will only take about .5 seconds. Seriously.. hold that little bugger down for like a nano second and you have perfectly chopped whateveritisyouarechopping. $44-something at Target. (see a trend?)

EOS Shaving Cream
Stands for Evolution of Smooth.
So true. *turns out they have a whole line of products.. just found that out while getting the link. Excites me*
Anywhoo.. I will never use another shaving cream again. Normal priced. Not normal results. First of all, the smell will cause you to salivate. The only one I've tried is pomegranate raspberry. Delish. Sometimes I smell it just for fun. It will help you shave when you don't really want to, but really should. And then.. when you do shave those gams... it will newly define smooth for you. Wow! I think that if you didn't live in the bone-dry desert like I do, you may not even have to use lotion afterwards. Yeah.. it's that good. This, I've seen everywhere. Feel free to buy this at Target while you are shopping for above items, but you can also venture out to Walmart, Walgreens, etc.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I made a list of items and lost it. Go figure. But I'm pretty sure there were more things listed. Don't you all think that I should get paid for this, or at least get a lifetime supply of these products? I sure do :)

May 16, 2011

Linking up help!

There seems to be a lot of interest in doing a weekly topic on everything weight loss, which really excites me. I was hoping it would turn into something like this.

I'd like to post on Mondays. I'll think of some clever name (maybe). Every week I will share my progress with WW, any tips I've learned, recipes we've tried and enjoyed, etc.

I want it to be one of those link posts where everyone can join in and link to it and that's where YOU come in. Yes you :) I have no clue what I'm doing. I've made an account at Simply Linked, but that's about all I could figure out.. making my account.

I clearly need help.. anyone up for the challenge?

Weighty Issues

I did it. I done joined Weight Watchers.

I never imagined myself like this 8 months after having a baby. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. I compared myself to other girls I knew that have had babies. Good friends, acquaintances. Some that bounced back with minimal to NO effort. Some that somehow found the time to exercise all hard core - all while caring for a newborn, keeping up house and home, and working full time. Talk about determination.. geesh!
You can't do that though. Compare yourself to people that aren't in your gene pool, that is. I should have known better. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. The majority of my time has been spent on the overweight side. One time I lost it in a very unhealthy way (aka pretty depressed and therefore not eating much of anything and working out excessively) and the other time being from.. duh duh duh.. you guessed it. Weight Watchers.
So after struggling for a few months now, trying to find the time to work out, going from diet to diet, I ended up being far more confused and frustrated than ever. What really works? Counting calories? But it has to be more than just that, right? The type of calories you eat have to matter. Do I get rid of all carbs, some carbs, sugar? That's not reasonable, for sure! I'm bound to fail with that (and I did). Is real sugar better, or fake? I need to choose all of the"light" options to stay in a respectable amount of calories a day, but if the bottle says "light", that just means the sugar has shot up. Gahhhh! These are the thoughts that have plagued me for months now. Multiple times, I couldn't take it and just gave up all together. Only to gain those 5 pounds back, get disgusted with myself and start some other diet.

Enter WW. I know it works. I've done it. It's realistic. It's changed over the years, and incorporates more of the lifestyle Trey and I have been trying to live. Instead of doing a calorie counting based point system, it's all based on high protein and fiber, low fat and carbs. Win win! Trey gets meals cooked that work for his weight loss efforts, and I can FOCUS on the low carb foods, but add in little bits here and there based on points. Make sense? I probably didn't explain it well enough, but it works in my head. I'm excited.

Here's the ugly truth. I weighed in today at 164.4 pounds. I'm 5'3. This isn't okay. I'm very unhappy with the way I look and feel. I dread going on walks with my little family.. isn't that horrible? So not how I pictured myself. But, I'm changing it. I'm doing something about it and that's what matters. I have a destructive relationship with food. My life revolves around it. Borderline obsessive. So, not only do I want to change the way I look and feel... I want to be able to think about daily life and how food mixes in without breaking out into a cold sweat. In fact, I want to think about my weekend plans without thinking about food at all. Food needs to hold less importance in my life.
I plan to surround myself with supportive, encouraging people. I know Trey will be so very supportive. I know I need to actually GO to the meetings. The online option wouldn't work for me. I need to be held accountable. So between supportive friends, a loving husband, weekly support and weigh-ins, seeing results and hopefully feeling better about myself, I have to be on to a winning combination!

I'll keep track of how I'm doing here. Are any other of you girls out there doing WW? If so, let me know! We can help each other along and share recipes. I know I'm going to need help with meal ideas for sure.

May 12, 2011

Days 26, 28 and 29

I'm really ready to get back to regular posting!

26
My dream wedding? I had it. I was surrounded my an indescribable amount of LOVE. I felt beautiful. We had a blast. But. Most importantly? I married my best friend. And. In ways I never could have imagined on THAT day? We're better than I ever could have predicted. Sometimes crap got in the way. We've had our bad moments/spans. But right now? Right now, I count myself lucky to say that... almost to the day 4 years ago... I made the best decision of my life by choosing that man to be my husband. I'm thankful that he chose me too. Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful and a PIA to be honest, but if you can come out on the other side of that day and KNOW in your heart that it was the best thing you ever did... you had your dream wedding.

I don't have a good original picture of the city I live in, so I'm skipping day 27.

28
Do we have a year to sit and read about everything that stresses me out? No? Okay, I'll just list a few things. Not having enough time in the day. Money. When I KNOW something is just not right with my baby and I can't figure out what it is. Getting lost. Worrying about when/if I'm every going to live in the same city as my parents again.

29
Three wishes.
1. I wish I could magically lost 34 pounds without having to do any of the work.
2. I wish either ourselves or my parents were rich so they didn't have to work and could fly out and see us whenever they or we wanted.
3. I wish/hope that I'm the best mum ever and I'm doing all of the right things for Drew. That he will grow up to be super smart, never make bad decisions because he will instinctively know better, and will be a well-rounded individual with no emotional hangups caused by his parents.

I may or may not do Day 30. I did well enough on this challenge, right? Even though it took twice as long as it was meant to and I picked and chose the days I wanted to complete? Yes, I did wonderfully? Thanks, I thought so too :)

May 11, 2011

Day 24 and 25:

Blah.. I'm skipping Day 22 and 23. I've already covered both of those things. We already know that I have way too much crap in my purse/diaper bag and I've definitely already talked about my favorite movies.

Moving on -

Day 24: Something I've learned?
I work better when I take the time to be organized. I swear I have undiagnosed ADD. It's way too easy for me to get distracted when trying to stay on a task. (I just had to turn the TV off because I couldn't choose whether I wanted to pay attention to The Doctor's or blog... blogging won). There are so many things I want to get done throughout the week and if I don't write it all out by days, it will never get done. I have to break it all down. If not, I'll start something and never finish it because with my mind racing, thinking about everything else I want to do... if I go into another room.. forget it!
Knowing this about myself and accepting it, we bought a dry erase board with the days of the week on it. On Sunday, I can write out what I want to get done on which day and my week runs much, much more smoothly.

Day 25: Ipod
This is either going to be funny or embarrassing, depending on how you take it. I'm very random with my music taste. I'm supposed to put my Ipod on shuffle and let you know what the first 10 songs are... here we go!

1. Flashing Lights - Kanye West
2. Lot of Leavin' Left To Do - Dierks Bentley
3. Santeria - Sublime
4. You Are Not Alone - Michael Jackson
5. Calling You - Blue October
6 Poker Face - Lady Gaga
7. Good Directions - Billy Currington
8. The Bucket - Kings of Leon
9. Prom Queen - Lil Wayne
10. Patience - Guns N' Roses

*that was really fun for me, so I think I'll do 10 more, yes?*

11. Fairytale - Sara Bareilles
12. Songs About Rain - Gary Allan
13. All My Rowdy Friends (have settled down) - Hank (haaa!)
14. Red Sam - Flyleaf
15. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
16 - Falling Slowly - The Frames
17. Lose Yourself - Eminem (greatest song to work out to ever)
18. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
19. ATLiens - Outkast
20. Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas

I loved that! Off to go sweet and mop with the Ipod going strong!

May 7, 2011

Day 20 and 21

I didn't feel like I could write enough about nicknames and since I'm more than a little behind, I figured I'd combine two days!

This nickname section is going to be pretty boring. My name is Jessica..duh.
My husband calls me Jess.
Most of my family calls me Jessie, which is only excepted by them. I will look at you like you're insane if you are not a member of my family and you call me Jessie. It's happened only a handful of times in my life, and it's weird.
Except my brothers... they call me Jess too.
Then there's this other lady that calls me Corky sometimes. Yes, Corky as in Corky from Life Goes On. Remember that show? She's a little Corky-ish herself.

And that's about it!

I have two favorite pictures of myself. That are saved online at least. Here they are :)
Minutes before I was to walk down the aisle to my hubby. I love the anticipation you can see all over my face

Me and my boy. So happy. Self explanatory.

May 6, 2011

~ 8 Months ~

Here we go.. another month post. I still say time has gone by at lightening speed. Is there a fast forward button on time once you have a child? I heard that somewhere recently, and I'm starting to believe it's true.

You are getting so big, sweet boy! We very much enjoy watching you learn and grow. You are such a great joy in our lives and everyone's lives that you are a part of. You are very loved! A sweet lady at Walmart said the other day that you were her angel sent to her for the day. You love people.. I think you are going to be quite the social butterfly! When I'm carting you around from store to store, I swear sometimes I think you're just waiting for someone.. ANYONE.. to glance your way so you can flash them that big, beautiful smile of yours. And everyone just eats it up! I can't go anywhere without someone commenting on how precious, cute, happy, you are. And "ohh my goodness, those big blue eyes!". You are something else little Andrew! I hope you continue to be a happy, people loving, sweet boy!

You had a doctor's appointment about 2 weeks ago and you were 19.3 pounds and 28 inches long.
You are still wearing size 4 diapers.
Clothes: 9 month onsies and pants. 12 month Pj's and some shortalls. You're a big boy! My body is starting to feel it. Something has got to give. Either I need to start pushing weights, or you've got to learn to walk ;)
You're eating more and more foods and you are getting better at using your two fingers to pick stuff up. You're a pro at the puffs!
You are still only saying da-da. Sometimes I think you are waving hi and bye-bye, but I don't know if you are intentionally doing it. You sure do that a lot though!
You are so close to crawling! You rock back and forth when you are on your hands and knees and have learned to go from that position to sitting. You're trying really hard to go from sitting to crawling position, but most of the time you fall flat on your face. This morning you were successful at it for the first time, so we'll see!
You love the pictures on our wall with all of our family members. You look at them and smile all the time. If you aren't looking at them, all I have to say is, "Where's your family" and you look straight the pictures and start cheesing. It's precious :)
You've found your tongue this month and you love to stick it out and try to find mine. In fact, you seem to be quite obsessed with my facial features. When I give you your bottle, you touch from nose to mouth to eyes while I tell you which part is which. You also try to pick my nose, which is not socially acceptable.
If you are reclined you can hold your bottle by yourself, but make a mess of the formula if I give it to you sitting up. Your car seat has seen this! You are just OKAY with your sippy cup, but definitely an improvement from last month. You're actually much better with a straw than a sippy cup!
You LOVE to be outside and that can cure the most fussiest of moods. Your favorite thing to do is watch cars and trucks pass by. It excites you greatly. Your favorite toy is also Chuck the Truck. I do believe we have a typical boy's boy on our hands :)

We love you sweet boy! More than you will understand until you have a child of your own. Especially as my first mother's day is around the corner, I'm more thankful for you than ever.


May 5, 2011

Day 19: Something I miss

I'm going to be real honest here.
I MISS waking up when I WANT to wake up.

Trey and I were laughing the other day about this. Joking around *kind of* that I have the most demanding boss in town. We pictured him in a little Stewie voice:

"I'm awake, come get me mother"
Feed me, I'm hungry
I'm sleepy, put me to bed.
Fetch me that toy.
I've peed myself... change my undergarments.

Ha! I love being Andrew's mother, but yeahhh... just for one day I'd like to do things (specifically, sleep) on my time.. not his. I know this is just a time though and before I know it, I will be missing these times!

May 4, 2011

Day 18: Eating out!

I LOVE to eat. Really, it's one of my favorite past times. Which is why I'm joining Weight Watchers on Saturday. It's the only thing that works for me. I've tried multiple things since having Andrew, and really most of my adult life. Weight is something I always have, and I believe always will, struggle with. And WW... is my answer. I'll be going to meetings every Saturday morning for a while. After a few weeks maybe I'll just do the weigh-ins, but this girl needs the accountability. WW online would not work for me. I plan (you all know how that goes, so don't hold your breath) to do weekly updates... even starting by telling you my starting weight (eeeks... that will be embarrassing), but wish me luck.

Anywhoo... sorry! Got off on a little tangent.

Right now, I would have to say that my favorite place to eat is Taco Cabana. I really have simple taste. This place is cheap, but oh so amazing. I eat there at least once a week. I need to get that in in the next few days one more time... after that I'll have to look at the dreaded nutrition information. Lord, please tell me that the #2 meal, which consists of 2 beef tacos in a soft tortilla shell, plus chips and queso are only 2ish points! :)

Calm down mum, Andrew's 8-month post is coming soon!