Happy Hump Day

I am all smiles this morning for sure. Today is my Friday, as I have taken tomorrow & Friday off of work. I haven't been in bed before midnight one day this week, so I am excited about the next four days. I am bringing the Princess to the sitter for half a day tomorrow so I can have my oil in my car changed & get my nails redone & possibly get a pedicure.

My wonderful nephew is coming down this weekend from Shreveport & I am very excited.

I am cooking at my mom's for the 4th & we have a wonderful menu planned! Turkey burgers, grilled chicken, WW potato salad, vegetarian baked beans, and plenty of watermelon.

I got home rather early yesterday, had supper cooked & the Princess fed before 6pm. We colored for a few minutes & she played with her dolls & I ate my delicious meal while she played:



4 ounces of chicken, sauteed with an onion (5 points)
6 sprigs of asparagus (o points)
1/2 cup Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese (3 points)
2 corn tortillas (2 points)

I definitely felt much better after eating. I had eaten a Healthy Choice frozen entree at lunch & by 3pm I felt ravenous. I ended up drinking a couple glasses of water & began cooking supper the moment I walked in my house.

While cleaning the kitchen, I found myself mindlessly eating one of the Princess' leftover fish sticks & a couple of her fries. I wasn't hungry. At all. I was mindlessly eating. I have never been a binge eater. I do find that I have always eaten out of boredom & even emotionally on occasion. I have to constantly be "on my toes" to make sure I am only eating when I am hungry. I seldom crave the "full" feeling I use to get from overindulging, but when I do I find that drinking a large glass of water gives me that feeling while I am still eating within my POINTS range.

After supper I felt very lathargic. I am blaming the carbs in the mac and cheese & the 2 small tortillas. I actually lied in my bed after I put the Princess in hers. I stayed in bed for almost 30 minutes. Chatting with the hubby & starting to feel sleepy, I reminded my tired ass that I had only been to the gym twice this week & that I *had* to go right now because I needed at least 4 workouts before my Thursday a.m. weigh in at WW.

I got to the gym rather late (9:40pm) & all of the treadmills were free, but I knew I should start with the elliptical. 20 minutes later:

I felt amazing. I then jumped on the treadmill for only 30 minutes. I usually have to hold on to the treadmill, but after 20 minutes on the elliptical it felt natural for my arms to be down & moving! After 50 minutes of working out, I was in dire need of a shower & my bed. In bed right after midnight.


I am very anxious about my weigh in tomorrow morning. I am praying for 2 pounds. I am going to attend both the 9am meeting & the 6:30pm meeting tomorrow since I am not going to work & I need the meetings to carry me through this holiday! Have a great day everyone!

Panic Mode

I made it out of the house & to the gym by 8:45pm. That has to be a record. I always drive in front of the facility before parking, mostly because I am nosey & partially for my safety. Last night when I drove past, I notice that all of the treadmills were occupied. What in the hell I am going to do? I parked my car & called the hubby & told him my situation. He politely told me not to come home, but to get on the elliptical until a treadmill was free. The killer elliptical? Was he serious? The last time I attempted the elliptical I think I stayed on for 45 seconds.

This time around, I had no other choice. All of the treadmills & all of the weight machines that I *know* how to operate were occupied. I couldn't go home so I got on the elliptical & 16 minutes and 1.01 mile(s) later I was soaking wet from sweat, my heart rate was at 184 & I felt better than I thought I ever could.

Two treadmills became available only minutes after I began on the elliptical. I made myself continue. I knew that I could do it. After the mile on the elliptical, I walked a slow (3.1 pace) mile on the treadmill. My legs felt so strange. It was easier on the treadmill, but my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I know now that the elliptical will give me a more intense workout in a shorter time.

Tonight's goal : 20 minutes elliptical 40 minutes treadmill.

My supper last night was my "protein & fiber bowl"

1 pouch Starkist Tuna (1 point)

2/3 cup brown rice (3 points)

1 cup cooked fresh spinach (o points)

1/2 cup Bush's Low Sodium Kidney Beans (1 point)

Numerous drops of Green Pepper Tabasco (priceless & 0 points)

It was delicious! It kept me satisfied through my workout & for the remainder of the night.

I have also been Coke free for over 2 weeks now! I wasn't a big soda addict, but I did enjoy a 12 ounce can of Coca-Cola a day. I realized that the sugar (and 2 damn points) wasn't worth it & it was actually causing me to crave MORE sugar. Imagine that! I hope everyone is having a magnificent Tuesday. Two more days until weigh-in & my 4 day weekend. :)

Back in the Saddle Again

This is so true!



Sweaty as hell



After 3 days off...not a good idea



Where all the magic happens


I have been away for some time. On the weight loss front, things are finally looking up & the scale is headed down. After feeling discouraged with Weight Watchers for a while, I sought out other support. I joined TOPS, a non profit organization for weight loss support. The "meetings" were small, yet everyone was very supportive. In the 3 weeks that I was a member we only had one actual meeting because our leader has a lot going on & doesn't have enough time to juggle everything on her plate. (No pun intended) :) TOPS is geared around the exchange system, which for me is confusing as hell because I can't seem to get POINTS out of my head! After 3 weeks of TOPS, I renewed my monthly pass with WW.

In the past I have blamed the program for me failing, but I can only blame myself for not working the program. There has never been a week when I tracked & exercised sufficiently that I did not lose weight. The last time I joined WW I weighed 257.8lbs. My new starting weight, 251. My 10% goal is 25 pounds. I have never made it that far while on WW. I have set a goal for myself & I am more determined than EVER to reach that goal.

I am allowed 31 points per day, which is hard to reach some days. I find myself going to bed with 8 points left for the day & I know I need to eat all of my points. However, Friday I ate all of my daily points & 8 weekly points! We decided to go "out to eat" & I am just not ready for a typical restaurant setting yet, as my willpower is still strengthening.

We landed at Subway. I have been eating Subway at least three times a week for lunch at work. I got a pizza. What the hell was I thinking. As if a 14 point pizza wasn't enough, I ate a cookie & half of the hubby's. 7.5 points. Over 21 points for supper. It was just one time, but that is the same rationalization that has kept me from reaching my goals.

Last night at the gym I struggled. I struggled because I missed 3 days of working out. I have to weigh in on Thursday, and I am very excited about the future. I lost 3.4 my first week (6-29) and I am looking forward to my 1st five pound star this Thursday. I am working on a list of goals & rewards to post. There may be a new Dooney in my future, or possibly the Open Heart bangles I have been lusting after.

Whatever the reward, I know that I must persevere and bust my ass. The work is hard, the effort constant, but I am ready to feel the satisfaction of my dedication. The fruits of my labor, so to speak. I know that blogging keeps me accountable, so here I am. I hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday.

An apple a day....

We all know the famous quote, yet so many of us do not eat apples! Even though my entire kitchen is decorated with these round creatures, I just recently started enjoying eating them. My personal favorite is the Fuji type. They are more crunchy than others I have tried. I think my prior distaste with apples is because I have had a couple bad apples in my years; you ever grab an apple and bite in, only to have a grainy-rice-like mush in your mouth? Not pleasant, I know. On a recent grocery trip to Sam's I purchased a bag of Fuji apples & for the first time in my life, I ate the entire bag before they wasted away in the fruit basket. It took me about a week, I have been eating two a day at work. We have an apple corer in the kitchen & in a minute flat I can have a very filling & tasty snack. I also eat my delicious apple with a tablespoon of Peanut Butter & Company's Dark Chocolate peanut butter. It is all natural & so tasty. Eating apples in the past week has really helped me stay away from processed snacks & junk in general. I am very excited about apples today!

Chicken Pot Pie

The following is a recipe I got from priorfatgirl's blog. We tried it Saturday for lunch & it was very delicious! We made 2 pans, you just have to double all ingredients. Here is an abbreviated recipe:



The ingredients: a large chicken breast, frozen mixed veggies, reduced fat cream of celery soup, reduced fat crescent rolls.

The pie pan. 1 of 2

Brown chicken breasts with a dash of seasoning, cook frozen veggies for 4 minutes in seperate pot, drain veggies & add cream of celery. I also added 1/2 cup of skim milk. Add cooked chicken & stir.

Place even amounts in pie pans

Place crescent roll dough on top!

Bake on 450 for around 12 minutes. (until crust is flaky & delicious)


Slice and enjoy!!!

Scallop Sunday

In my kitchen!

My new favorite seafood, scallops

Scallops with steamed brocolli & Laughing Cow cheese, sweet potato, and a piece of multigrain organic loaf

My new dessert. An angel food shell, fresh strawberries, light Whipped Cream, 3 small pieces of a chocolate bar

Your Prayers

Please pray for Jenna @ eatliverun. Her brother passed away in a horrible gun accident. Her strong faith and trust in GOD will carry her through these trying times. Again, please add her & her family to your prayer list. Have a great day!

Playing Catch Up

Easter Day with my princess

My little streaker in her "pool"

On the swing at my boss's house

I have officially survived tax season 2009!!! I am alive, well, and very much missing my blog. Work has slowed down significantly & I will have my final exams for spring semester next week. I am taking off of school for the summer, which will leave May - August 24 free from homework & tests! I am very excited about the summer. Kaylee & I have been playing outside a lot more now; the weather isn't humid yet.

I haven't weighed myself in 2 weeks, I am trying to correct the damage done in the month of April. We ate breakfast, lunch & dinner at the office during April & I promise you no one is in the kitchen thinking of ways for us to eat healthy. We tend to like to order delicious & very rich (caloric overload) foods. I have been trying several new recipes, including a recent post from the super clever and svelte PriorFatGirl. The chicken pot pie was delicious & the hubby had a large serving!

I have found a lot of bargains shopping the past few weekends! I made one small splurge: I got a Vera Bradley bag, wallet, cosmetic case, and small coin purse in Cupcake Pink last weekend! The inside of the bag is so roomy with pockets for ALL of my things...:)

We had a crawfish boil at my boss's house on Saturday. He lives on the teche (a body of water) & the kids rode the jet skis & Jeffrey decided he wanted to ride on the raft as my boss drove the jet ski...what an adventure! We all had a blast!

Christmas Party & Biggest Loser Delight & Karma

<-------A couple pics from the Hilton while we were primping for the Christmas Party. We had a blast. We stayed at the Petroleum Club from 8-12am. Afterwards we hit the local IHOP with another couple. We had a blast. I didn't drink nearly as much as last year & I still had a headache all day Saturday. We hit the flea market in Lafayette on Saturday & I picked up a few random things. I wasn't in the mood for shopping & I really missed my lil Moosie, so we headed back home. I have managed to maintain my weight through IHOP & Christmas Party cuisine...which was delightful by the way.

I almost missed the biggest loser finale. We pick up Subway every Tuesday night (they give a discount on Tues.). I had to drop off Kay's prescription & we went home. After feeding her & eating I began to channel surf. At 7:04pm I stumbled upon the finale! I don't know why I didn't set a reminder! I watched the show & was completely astounded by the amount of technical errors they had. I know it was a "live" show, but get it together people. I couldn't believe that America had voted for Ed to stay. I think there might have been a little confusion as to what you were voting for. I asked Jeff 3 times before I voted last week, "does this vote mean we want the person to be IN the finale, or NOT?" Maybe I was the only one confused, maybe not. I was glad Heba won the $100,000. She had her moments but after seeing her amazing weight loss I was very proud of her.

I wanted Michelle to win. I loved her story. She is nice. Jeff was too busy playing World of Warcraft (I could post endlessly on my regret in purchasing the new expansion packet for him) to pay attention to what was going on. I wanted him to play the "weight guessing" game with me but he wasn't cooperating! I actually guessed about three weights to the pound!

I really try to be a nice person daily. I try not to judge people. I really do TRY. I haven't liked Icky Vicky from Episode One. She is just a meanie. When she walked out & nearly BUSTED HER BUTT I actually laughed out loud & then caught myself & covered my mouth. What in the hell was wrong with her? I think Skye was right & she had some sort of injury to her foot because no matter how slick the floor was she was really having a hard time walking last night! I am going to try to keep up with the next season. They are going ALL out with the biggest contestants yet...yada yada yada. I want a damn update show. I want to see where everyone is NOW. After going back into the real world. It's not practical to exercise 4 hours everyday when you have kids. It's just not.

I hope everyone has a great remainder of the week. I am looking forward to the weekend. We are taking Kaylee to Chucky Cheese & doing the rest of our Christmas shopping. That means a trip to Sam's of course. We will be in Houma...I hope I don't see Icky Vicky while we are there!!!!

Thanksgiving 2008 Pictures

These are some of my Thanksgiving pics. I know I am a little late!!! The handsome little one is my nephew, the others are of myself, Jeffrey & Kaylee. The plate of food is the WW menu my sister cooked for the entire family. Instead of a greenbean casserole, she made fresh snap beans with Canadian bacon. She made a dressing with wheat bread, she cooked steamed corn & mashed sweet potatoes with ICBINB spray. She made 80 calorie mashed potatoes & a WW recipe brown gravy. Everyone was very impressed with the meal, I think we have started a family tradition!!!