Pictures trump Words

In the past week I have.....

Had a ball with my family, celebrating my sister's birthday

Decorated my co-worker's cubicle to celebrate his newlywedness

Made these cupcakes for my sister's birthday

Receive picture updates from my mom while she is on her train adventure around the country. This is Chicago.

Took pictures of my cat. New for me, I know. And no, she is not on drugs in this picture but she looks disgusted with me.

Went to Costco and hugged a huge stuffed bear....and took a picture of it. My cat might have a point.

Scheduled to have this palm tree removed so it stops disrupting our cable service. TV is life.

Watered my newly planted flowers even though some of them already died. I suck at gardening.

What went in my belly

Mixed berry/spinach smoothie with orange juice. Whole wheat toast with 1 tbsp of Nutella

 Pita chips and salsa (from Chevy's. YUM)

Snacks throughout the day. I know. I should be eating fruits and veggies for snacks but I don't like most fruits and any veggies. I'm easing into this slowly. 

Extra lean turkey tacos with a touch of cheese, sour cream and salsa hidden underneath.

 Apple and my dessert and final thing I ate: three pieces of dark chocolate

I went a bit over my calorie budget for the day (I blame the Nutella to go) but I burned 765 calories at the gym so the net calories is 1,069. And yes, I'm super hungry. I'm going to try to chug down a bunch of water and wait as long as I can to eat those chocolates....and maybe go to bed at 7:00 p.m.

You don't realize how much you have actually been eating until you eat a normal amount in one day. I feel so hungry but I know that as long as I can stick to this calorie budget for the next 3-4 days, my stomach will adjust and I'll be fine.

3 Week Weight Loss Challenge

If you want me to do something, turn it into a competition. I can't resist. I actually got very serious about a pop culture trivia contest at one of my high school's last week. My heart was beating out of my chest waiting to see how many questions I answered correctly. There was no prize. I just needed to win. And I did. Well, we. I had a teammate. Anyways...

I ordered and received this bathing suit on Saturday and was pretty happy with how it fit. It is a cute but functional bathing suit that I can safely wear in the ocean without the fear of a wardrobe malfunction. I can also remove the straps although I enjoy a good tan line every now and again.

Despite my happiness with the fit, I figured with just three weeks to go until we leave for Hawaii, now (actually, three weeks ago would have been better) is a good time to lose some poundage. I sent my husband a text and asked if he wanted to partake in a weight loss challenge for the next 3 weeks. We didn't really bet anything but with us, bragging rights are good enough.

I dragged my Lose It app from the depths of folder hell on my phone and put it front and center on the first screen. I went to Costco and purchased two large bags of mixed berries and a huge container of spinach for morning smoothies. I grabbed some pita chips and salsa for snacks and made sure to purchase some Dove dark chocolate for those cravings. There are only three rules that I'm giving myself:

1. Stay within your daily calorie goal. Right now that is 1600 calories a day which is 2 pounds a week. I'd like to do more but I'd take a 6 pound loss. Better than nothing!


2. No deprivation. If I want an ice cream cone, I'll go to McDonald's and get one. It is just 150 calories. My snack today includes 3 Oreo cookies that are left over from the cupcakes I made for my sister's birthday this past weekend. As long as it fits into Rule #1, it's all good.


3. Don't drink your calories. That means no Starbucks and no soda. And since Diet Soda gives me the dizzies, I'm  drinking all water, all the time. Luckily, I love water.

So that is it. No crazy restrictions. No guilt over what I should and should not be eating. Exercise every day and one cheat day (Sunday's after weighing in). My weight this morning was 1 pound less than my weight Sunday morning so I'm already making progress. And I'm feeling positive and hopeful so I might just continue this throughout the summer and see what I can do. Wouldn't it be nice if I could just keep this weight off forever? One can only hope!

*I'm taking pictures of my food today and will be posting a day in my "diet" tomorrow. You'll see that it isn't a diet at all. And you'll see how picky I am as well. Good times ahead!*

Happy birthday sister friend!

The best sister in the world! Happy birthday Ang! Love you tons. Thanks for always being there for me and never wanting me to leave your house when I come over.

On my mind

-I had my LASIK consult today. It went well but I found out that it is best to hold off on the procedure if you plan to get pregnant within 6 months. Who knew? So better eye sight will have to wait. I did find out that the doctor is going to be in Kauai at the same time as us next month so that was weird and fun to learn!

-I had my final work obligation tonight at one of the high schools I work with. We did a pledge at Open House to ask people to stop driving distracted. I'm totally guilty of it but I'm trying to get better. I saw a kid that I worked with two years ago at the local middle school. He approached me and I was shocked that he remembered my name. He is a sophomore and doing really well. That pretty much made me night. And now, 15 work events later, I have two school site meetings tomorrow and then I am done! Go me.

-Anniversary #4 is fast approaching and I'm anxious to see what this "fruits and flowers" thing is that my husband put together.

-I held this adorable dog tonight. I'm fully Team Cat but he was so cute!

A trip down memory lane

Last year on this day, I wrote about my Mom's retirement. In a small twist of fate, she leaves today for a three week trek across the country on Amtrak! I'm so excited to hear about her adventures.


Two years ago, I said goodbye to one of my favorite shows of all time, Lost. Some people hated it. Some people gave up on it but I never missed an episode. The show provides me with fond memories and gave me a lot to think about over its 6 year run. I've actually been thinking about re-watching the series finale again because I loved it so much.

Three years ago, I did the 30 Day Shred for the first time. I can actually remember collapsing onto the couch when I was done, unable to move. I would love to do it again but all that jumping and squating hurts my old lady knees.

Four years ago, I blogged about the night I got engaged. I was just a little over a week away from my wedding and going down another memory lane to recall that wonderful night.

This time of year always makes me a bit sentimental. I look at our wedding video and pictures. I close my eyes and think back to our wedding weekend and honeymoon. I gaze at my husband adoringly until he catches me and asks me why I'm staring at him......

Ahhhh, true love.

A Small Rant

I can't stand when the family member of an accused offender talks about what a "nightmare" it is to be in the scenario. Especially when that offender is being arrested for possibly kidnapping and killing a person.

Oh, you think you have it rough? So you claim your family member is innocent and having him arrested is a nightmare. If he is innocent, he should be able to prove it, right? No sweat. He is alive. You can probably talk to him through a plateglass window in prison. He didn't do it so he'll be back at home soon enough.

How about the family of the victim? The girl who hasn't been seen in months? How about before you open your mouth and complain about how HARD this all is, you think about her family and what they are going through.

I'm not saying that being targeted and arrested in front of tv news cameras isn't challenging for the family. But it drives me nuts when an offenders family tries to get sympathy from the public because someone was arrested.

Give me a break.