It's a SOUPER day to GIVEAWAY!!

Exciting! My first ever giveaway thanks to the generous people at Progresso soup. The winner will receive from Progresso: a souper cute mug (I really like this), a jump rope with a calorie counter on it and two cans of soup (not sure which flavors). This picture was taken by best bud (not the people at Progresso).

Progresso sent me those items to try along with 15 flavors of their light and 100 calorie soups. I have tasted a few of those soups but have more to go. So far, I like them. There are many varieties and I get a lot of food for very few calories. They are filling. Some have the weight watchers point count on the can. The cans are large but contain 2 servings (1 cup servings). They contain a lot of vegetables and many are low sodium so they are healthy. Some of the carrots were a bit mushy but overall, the soups are good. I will buy them at the store.

Now, I could not gave a giveaway with out demonstrating what you will receive. So last night, best bud and I assembled the jump rope (all you have to do is stick the rope through the handles). She was kind enough to photograph the evidence. The counter on the jump rope really works and it did not require me to put in a battery. Also, I am 5'10 and the rope was plenty long enough for me.
I assembled one side, best bud did the other. I left one end a little long and after jumping a few times, this is what the handle looked like. Once best bud fixed it (by shortening it a bit) it worked perfectly. I can easily screw things up. I am sure you will assemble this just fine.

I know you are ready to enter and win. So how do you enter? Well...I have been thinking about that. Below is a picture of two very sweet, cute, smart, darling girls (a.k.a. my god daughters). Just leave me a comment with a caption for the photo before Wednesday night (2/3/10). The caption I like the best wins. I will contact the winner but you will have to give me your name and address so that Progresso can send you your swag.

Also, you may want to visit Progresso's Website and enter for a chance to win a makeover trip to New York. Totally cool, I know. I already entered.

I cannot wait to read the comments on this. Best of luck! Be creative. Enjoy your weekend (or what is left of it).

Just for fun...

I am the fat one.....the pretty blond is best bud.

I came across some old pictures. Man, sometimes I forget how much I have changed. It just makes me laugh to look back. The times were fun but if I could go back at my current size I bet they would be even better. But I will never go back to that size. And to ensure that does not happen I am off for my second workout of the day.

It is so freakin cold here. On Saturdays I usually just walk the dogs before working out instead of running but I had to run just to stay warm (I also had to try to avoid the little bits of ice on the sidewalk so I do not fall and break my face). Hope you all are warm and cozy!

I AM BACK!

I know I never really went anywhere but with today's weigh-in, I am back down to my lowest weight - 174.8. For the week, I am down 1.6 pounds. Not bad considering last weekend with the wedding and that HORRIFIC buffet on the way home Sunday. This seems just about the time lady troubles will hit and ruin the next two weeks worth of weigh-ins.

I must admit I felt a little guilty. I mean I hit that weight for the 1st time on Thanksgiving day. It stayed there for a week or so but then all the holiday and eating and crap set in. I was back and forth in a 5 pound range for about the past 2 months. In this time (and for some reason especially the past week) I have never received so many compliments. Even in my workout classes and I see these people at least once a week (depending on when they go....I am always there). Must be my new workout clothes.

Now I never stopped exercising. In fact, I am entering my last week of weight training on P90X (review to come). So it must be that the exercise continues to shape even if the weight goes up a bit. Keep that mind my peeps.

Today is hubby's b-day. 37. Crazy how time flies. That means today will be a HUGE Mexican cheat meal.....YUM!!! I will not drink the margs. They are SUPER delicious but really pack a caloric punch.

I will update you later. Have a super weekend!

Okay, what the hell happened to yogurt?

For the past two years I have drank a DanActive Light in the morning. You know the little 35 calorie yogurt drink to help boost your immune system? Well I think it helps because aside from the death flu I got last new years I have not been sick at all (knock on wood), not even a little bit.

Aside from that drink, I have not really eaten yogurt much in the past 10 years. I think I got burnt out on it in high school and college. Well I am trying to change things up a bit so I have bought a few different flavors and brands over the past week to try out.

My old favorite is not really made anymore. So I tried Weight Watchers, Light and Fit and Kroger brand (sometimes the store brands are superior - and I am a brand snob most of the time).

What the hell, dude? Cherry cheesecake, amaretto, apple pie. These things are too icky sweet and artificially flavored. I bought one that was strawberry banana (an old flavor I used to eat). That was the only one I could finish. It was good. Maybe I like it because I think yogurt is supposed to be healthy and the fruit-flavored ones seem healthier. Maybe I cannot change my old ways.

What do you all think of this new fangeled crap? I mean.....what is with all the digestive health variety? Is this necessary? I do not want to try them for fear of them making me feel like I will shat myself. I do not have a job where I can run to the restroom.

So what yogurt have you eaten? What flavors do you like? Or (and maybe better yet) what yogurt grosses you out and pisses you off that you spent the 75 cents on it? Just curious....

Really? A buffet?

I went out of town for a wedding yesterday. Best bud's brother. It was a nice affair. I got to be on baby duty for the ceremony (they are so damn cute) and drinking duty for the reception (yipee!).

Best bud's family and friends are so nice. They all had nice things to say about my weight loss. A few even felt me up a little (my newly discovered waist - nothing dirty). Even the groom complimented me. How sweet are you to compliment someone else on your own wedding day? Some of my favorite comments:

1. You look......100%.....different.
2. Hey.....where is the rest of you?

It was a fun night although it was filled with the LONGEST wedding toasts I think I have ever heard. They were good speeches just long. I have the attention span of a 6 year old (hence why I am a 1st grade teacher). Afterward we hit up the hotel bar and then had best bud's other best friend and fiance up to our room for some drinks and we all had an in-depth discussion on the merits of rice pilaf. Drunk people are hilarious - dancing and conversation. I enjoy them. However, we did not go to bed until after 4:30 this morning.

We had to get up and drive the 3 hours home this morning. That was a bit painful. I just wanted to eat some pancakes. All the decent places were too busy and I did not want to stop at McDonald's. As we see a sign for a restaurant, Hubby says - that place used to have good breakfast but it is a buffet. The place was called the Sirloin Stockade and I had never eaten at one before. We stopped. HUGE mistake. I have strong opinions about buffets anyway. This place was gross. The food was disgusting. It totally reinforced my prejudices about buffets. Hubby thought I was going to walk out and had I not been really hungry and already paid way too much money for super crappy food, I would have.

Reliving this experience for this post makes my skin crawl. Chewy hashbrowns, dry chicken, unidentifiable meats, no fruit, greasy fat-laddened casserole type troughs of crap. What is it that people find enjoyable about these places? I am sure there are some good ones out there but I have yet to find one. Salad bar places, I like. But these others scare me.

Hubby swallowed a chicken bone and thought he was going to choke. I vowed to avenge his death and then asked if I could file an accidental death claim. He thought it would be more like a murder charge.

This will now be referred to as the trip where we ate at the most disgusting buffet ever. You know how you land mark things that are horrendous. Like, "dinner at restaurant X was not that great but at least it was not like that meal we had that time at the Sirloin Stockade where you almost died from the chicken bone." The only upside is that I have nowhere to go but up. Every meal I have this week will be like heaven now.

The shittiest part is all the calories I probably consumed. I do not mind if it is awesome food, but this was less than stellar. It is haunting.

You are welcome for this cheery post. I hope you all have a super week! Beware of buffets!!!

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe

Cheeseburger Soup - Seriously one of my FAVORITE recipes

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef (93% lean)
1 cup carrots (baby carrots chopped or shredded)
1 cup sweet yellow onions (chopped)
1 cup broccoli (chopped small)
4 cups potatoes (chopped small)
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
3 pound can of chicken broth (99% fat free)
1 pound block of Velveeta cheese (2% milk kind)
¼ cup light sour cream
Directions:
1. In a large pan, cook the beef with the carrots, onion and broccoli. Put everything in raw. Season the meat and veggies using what you like – garlic salt, beef seasoning, etc. You will cook until the meat is cooked through.
2. While the meat is cooking, get a large pot. Put the potatoes, chicken broth, parsley and basil in and set the stove on high. It will come to a boil and cook the potatoes through.
3. Add the meat/veggie combo to the large pot and stir. If you think there is not enough broth, you can add a cup or two of water. Put the pot on a medium heat.
4. Cut up the block of Velveeta and stir it into the soup and allow it to melt.
5. Once the cheese has melted, remove the soup from the heat and stir in the sour cream.
It is ready to serve but will be pretty hot. A 1 cup serving has about 132 calories.

Sidenote - best bud is a vegetarian and we have made this for her just adding more veggies (no meat) and substituting vegetable broth for chicken broth.

Hello Friday Weigh-In

I stepped on the scale and saw 176.4. So a net loss of 1.4 pounds from last week. Not bad unless I consider the fact the scale was lower the past two days. Oh well, still a loss (and a decent one).

I was thinking as I ran this morning (it didn't even hurt)....maybe this is my goal weight. I do not want to continually step on the scale and be a little disappointed. I am happy with where I am I just worry about numbers and weight gain when I get pregnant (no, not just yet). I do not want to ever get back over 200.

I have 3 weeks remaining of my P90X program. When it is done, that is my goal weight. Maybe my range should be 175-180 (since weight fluctuates I need a range). I will keep thinking about that I guess.

I have a wedding out of town tomorrow night so I will not be posting a recipe with pictures. I will try and post my favorite low-fat recipe tonight or tomorrow. I will still go to WW and do a double workout before I leave tomorrow and do a double today. I will keep trying to burn it off baby!

Enjoy your day! I am off to body attack.

Can it ever be easy?

Oh I think so. This is yet another food post. I was off work today so I had a little time to play with amongst the cleaning and laundry and working out and sleeping in (of course, which my husband tried to ruin but I got back to sleep - ha!).





I am not a huge dessert or chocolate person but lately I have been craving chocolate mousse. Not sure why but it has been constant for a week or so. Cheat meal this week was at Carrabba's with best bud. We had the most AMAZING dessert that had some chocolate mousse in it (along with LOTS of other sugary, fatty goodness). That made me want it more.





I started looking up recipes for low fat chocolate mousse. Everything seemed so complicated. Draining tofu? Using a candy thermometer? Really? Why do people make things so darn difficult? I am just going to eat it to satisfy a craving, I am not building a nuclear bomb (well I am not sure what is in tofu but I do not think it is bomb worthy). So I scratched all the researched recipes and created my own. Here is where you find out what a simpleton I am.

Low-fat Chocolate Mousse:

1. Mix one package (serves 4) of sugar-free instant Jell-O Chocolate pudding with 1 3/4 cups of skim milk. I just used a whisk in a regular bowl for about 5 minutes (no mixer, no double boiler)
2. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of Cool Whip Lite. That is it. You have chocolate mousse.
3. I divided it into 4 servings (which is a decent size) and chilled for a few hours. They come in at about 130 calories each.

With the ones I still have in the frig for tomorrow I may add some crushed low-fat oreos just because it sounds good (a little more complicated, I know). It will add some calories but other flavor and texture as well. So to all of those chefs who are working for Cooking Light magazine or are authors of low-fat cookbooks, please stop making everything so complicated and expensive to make. My husband and I totally loved this super simple, yummy recipe.

As a random side note, I have a new favorite family to watch on TLC. There is a show called One BIG Happy Family. It is a family that is morbidly obese and trying to fix their situation. They are sweet and hilarious. I love this family and this show. If you have not seen it, you should try to watch one episode. I hope one day I have a family this sweet.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Steak Tacos with Cucumber Salsa

This is the cookbook a fellow blogger suggested I buy. Great suggestion!

You may not know this about me, but I alter recipes. I take the main recipe and then make it what I want or adjust based on ingredients I can find. Today I altered. I started making the "Cucumber- Avocado Salsa". I bought some unripe avocado so I picked it back out and I replaced it with some tomatoes. It came out more like a cucumber pico de gallo which is pretty delicious. I used my Christmas gift (pictured below) to chop the veggies. It worked awesome and everything was the same size.

Here is my cucumber salsa:

English cucumber

3 roma tomatoes

1/2 red onion

1 1/2 handfuls of chopped cilantro (these are precise measurements)

2 jalapenos (optional)

juice of 2 limes

bit of ground sea salt

The main recipe called for 1 1/4 pounds of top sirloin. It was supposed to be rubbed with crushed garlic, cinnamon, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Um....cinnamon? Sounds weird to me so I changed it. I used this seasoning my husband buys, crushed garlic (2 cloves) and a bit of salt.

I cooked it on med-high heat for 5 minutes on each side (it came out medium). I let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

The recipe called for corn tortillas. I would have used those but I love these carb balance flour tortillas and they are only 80 calories each. They are so soft and tasty. No need for any others.

The tacos are assembled with shredded red cabbage, cilantro and the cucumber salsa. A serving is 2 tacos and 1/3 cup of cucumber salsa. It is supposed yield 6 servings. Each serving is about 400 calories. I added a little low-fat shredded cheese and light sour cream (a few additional calories)
Hubby's Verdict: I think it killed him for me to cook meat in a pan. He is the king of the grill and he probably could have done it way better. He ate all of his but I think he was really hungry. He did really like the salsa.

My Verdict: It was okay. It was good and I will eat the leftovers but hubby could have done the meat better. The salsa was pretty awesome. I will make that again and perhaps eat the leftover with the red cabbage and some grilled chicken as nachos tomorrow.

Hope you all are eating and feeling well. I am exhausted from the weekend. Glad I am off tomorrow. I am off to read some blogs!

P90X and Weigh-In

Regular Friday business first. The weigh-in. Well today I am at 177.8. Better than last week! Still working like a dog though. Oh well, I guess that is what they mean when they say lifestyle change. My new life is that of a hard-working dog. But I am happy (especially if you scratch my belly).

P90X Update - This week was my 60 day mark. I am starting week 10 (of 13). I may have made a mistake. There are 3 versions you can do with this - lean, classic and doubles. Lean is what most ladies do, classic is what hard-core folk and dudes do and doubles is for those who want to be like body builders. I picked classic because I thought it was what I needed to try and tighten these loose skin areas. Well each time I work out I am noticing new muscles or definition. Not bad until the other day when I was doing push-ups in a class in a tank top (this is new for me too) and got a glimpse in the mirror. My shoulders are getting cut. I can only compare it to Serena Williams or a dude. Then during my leg workout this week, I saw my thigh while doing squats and I got a vision of male body builders. I will be finishing this program because I WILL FINISH WHAT I START. However, I will then either switch to lean or body pump classes.

Here's another little tid bit you probably don't want to know about me. This program (and the tons of cardio) have really given me confidence in my body. I could totally walk around the house in my undies now and not think twice about it except that I have lost so much insulation (a.k.a. fat) that I am freezing. I cannot wear enough heavy, bulky, frumpy clothes (including double socks). Ironic. Perhaps when the weather is warmer I will not be so damn cold!

Well I must jet off to body attack (the class with the push-ups.....no tank top today). Stay tuned this weekend for a new recipe. Cheers to your weight loss this week!

Also....I am working on trying some new diet stuff. I will let you know about it soon. Later gators!

Spaghetti Squash Recipe

These are the ingredients I decided to use:

spaghetti squash

cherry tomatoes

sweet peas

garlic

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Pecorino Romano cheese

I am so glad the squash came with a sticker that had cooking instructions. First I cooked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. The sticker said 45 minutes but even after an hour I think I should have cooked it a little longer. It had a little crunch to it. I liked it fine but I assumed it would be mushier. And pulling it out was totally cool.

I heated 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and added three crushed cloves of garlic. I added cherry tomatoes (maybe 1 or 1 1/2 cups) that were quartered. Then I added 1 1/3 cups of sweet peas. I stirred in the spaghetti squash hoping it would cook a little more. Finally I added the kosher salt (I like salt so I added a bit more than most people probably would) and 5 Tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese.

I topped it a little cheese and served with some left over steak.

The calorie count as best I can tell is about 150 calories for about 1 1/2 cups and it makes about 6 servings.

Husband's Verdict: He told me he had no interest in eating it. He had never heard of it but he said he would try it. It smelled so good, he had to. He ended up eating a big helping of it and said he would eat it again. He even thought it would be good for his dad to eat (who is diabetic).

My Verdict: Yum (I was also really hungry so it may have tasted better than usual). I am excited to cook this in another way to. It is also a TON of food for very few calories which I am always looking for. I am a volume eater. I did not get this recipe from any source, it just sounded like things I wanted to eat today.

Fun fact: while researching things for this recipe I discovered that to burn off 8 ounces of spaghetti squash, you only have to walk for 7 minutes. Giddy up! That is what I like to hear. So why did I work out so hard today?

This was some work for me for the past day or so but it was great fun. I picked up more magazines today with healthy recipes in them. I will look to see what tasty adventure next week will bring. Hope you have a super week. I am so tired, I will read and comment on your blogs tomorrow! Sleep tight.

Truth be told

1. This is the ugliest Christmas present I have ever received. And I have received some very questionable items. This is called a grow-a-head. It was in my stocking (which was stuffed by best bud - Thanks Johanna!!). It was purchased in the random crap section of Bed, Bath and Beyond. It looked like a turd in a container. It is hideous. Yet it sits proudly on the window sill in my kitchen. The hair grows super fast. The point is to grow it and cut and style it's "hair." I am thinking it is the new mini-chia pet.
2. It is really friggin' cold here (by Texas standards) and I am sick of it.
3. I started following some nutrition blogs (and it has to be said) you all eat some weird crap. Some dishes have very adventurous ingredients (I am a chicken and salad kind of girl). I will continue to read but I cannot even comment on some of these things because I am left speechless. In fact, I think I have yet to comment on any of the nutrition blogs. I am a lurker.
4. I met my actual Weight Watcher leader today. I may like this yet. She is a bit snarky and tells it like it is. Like a long lost sister.
5. This weekend I am finally back to routine and am loving it. Best bud and I spend hours talking about nothing and I cherish every moment. Yet I spent days preparing for company and while I liked having them, it gets to the point where I am counting down til I get my life back.
6. My house is so quiet at the moment I can hear the buzz of the refrigerator and I really like that quiet.
7. Kids birthday parties are WAY too much work for parents. I am not talking about those hosting (which I know it can be like planning a wedding sometimes). I am talking about those attending as guests. You all really love your kids to endure such things. Now I know why so many parents drink at the end of the day.
8. Tonight I ate a brownie sundae the size of my head and I was not hungry. I tell no lie here. I ate it only because it looked good, tasted good and it was cheat meal so I said I could.
9. Tomorrow I think for my first recipe experiment I want to make spaghetti squash because I think it looks neato and want to scrap it out and see that it really looks like spaghetti. I know, I am a total child. My husband is probably not going to want to eat it but I really don't care. It is all about me having fun.
10. That diet/exercise plan my mother had me do for her less than one week ago, lasted a total of one day before she stopped and bought a bag of breadsticks at Little Caesar's and ate the entire thing. **SIGH**At least she is honest about it. That lasted about as long as her resolve to workout on her Tony Little Gazelle that she just had to have.
11. My dad and I talked about my mom and her impulse exercise info-mercial purchases today. Okay, we made fun of her. It is still funny to me. And yes ladies, your kids and husbands will make fun of you too if you have this addiction.
12. I am very grateful for the life I have been given and those who are in it (including the 150 followers for this blog!!). I am truly enjoying everyday now. I am living life, not just watching it. Maybe that is why I am tired today.

Sorry for the random thoughts post. Can you tell I spent too much time on the treadmill today? The mind really wanders on those things. Okay...truth be told....my mind wanders like this ALL the time. Look for the recipe sometime tomorrow night.

Friday Weigh-In

First I must say WELCOME NEW BLOGGERS AND FOLLOWERS!!! I am so excited to follow you on your journeys while continuing on my own. I am no expert, in fact at times I feel like a lost sheep but I am muddling through. Feel free to ask any questions. I give very honest answers (so be careful what you ask - I may give you TMI). You can comment or email me. Hopefully this will be a great weight loss/fitness year for all of us!!

That said, did you see my ticker? My little runner is now running backwards. What a bitch! Well, it is not pretty at all. 5.2 pound gain. I am at 180. This is not all an actual gain. It is pretty impossible. But sometimes my damn body doesn't want to listen to the whole calorie deficit, I should lose pounds argument. Oh well. Nothing I can do about that but keep plugging away. From the farm (in-laws) my weight was up 2.2 pounds. I exercised the whole time and ate over on calories but not too bad and healthy crap. My folks were here for like a week and my weight went up another 2 pounds. This was a little more deserved as we ate out a wee bit but I did exercise a shit ton (but it was my week off of weight training). And the last bonus pound is courtesy of my current lady troubles. Lucky me.

Yet I continue to bust ass in the gym. And you know what? All my new size 10 stuff still fits fine. I do not feel any fatter. In fact, lately I am feeling super fit. I just love how I feel. So I will ignore the scale reading this week and focus on my new jeans which I will wear to work today after I do some body attack! Opps....I am about to be late. I cannot have that. I want a good spot in class.

Tomorrow it is back to WW. I think I am up a pound since last week so that will be fun. I may switch to counting points (pain in the ass) just to see if that changes anything for me.

Hope you all have a super weekend. Stay tuned for my first recipe on Sunday (even though I have not picked it yet). I am very excited about it anyway. Toodles!!

I have a resolution!

Yup. I have been thinking about this journey and what my resolution can be this year. I think I finally came up with one. First, I thought about how far I have come. When I began in July in 2008, I could never have imagined that I would be where I am now. I just wanted to weigh less. Mission accomplished there.

I am at a healthy weight for my frame, build and height (took me a bit to realize that - I have felt the need to lose for so long it is hard to change my mind set). So I am not setting any goals there. I would be thrilled to lose another 10 pounds but I will still be happy if I never lose another pound.

I am at a size I have never been. Size 10. I am still in shock. I do not think I can go any smaller and I am ecstatic about this size. So no goal there.

I workout everyday. I walk/run with the dogs everyday. I do weight training quite a bit. I can run. I feel pretty fit. I exercise more than anyone I know. I do not have any big aspirations to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon (partially because I do not want to commit and get pregnant and not be able to finish). So no goal there either.

That really only leaves my diet. Here it is friends. I resolve to cook a healthy recipe once a week. I know it sounds like I never cook but my husband grills chicken and I make a lot of salads. It is just easy. I think it will be on Sundays. Not always new recipes but at least twice a month I want to try something new. I think that is reasonable. We will see how it all works out. I will share the results with you.

My other resolution is to be more patient with the kids at school. Not that I am short-tempered and mean, just that I could be more tolerant. Guess what? I made it all day yesterday being pretty nice. I am impressed. We will see how today goes.

Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!

I want to go back....

Back to this....

This is me crushing a giant caterpillar at best bud's house a few weeks ago. I miss hanging out there. My folks just left tonight. Between both families - it has been a crazy, busy 2 weeks. I am sick of entertaining others. I only want to entertain myself. I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK TOMORROW.

Oh well. With that comes routine. I do like my routine. I did exercise religiously but food is another story. A few too many cheat meals and I am about to make pancakes for dinner. I might as well go out with a bang. Tomorrow I will count every calorie.

So Saturday I got up super early and rejoined Weight Watchers. I am not sure if I will like it or if it will annoy me. The good news is I only paid $20 for the 1st month so I will give it that long to impress me. It was an annoying meeting but the regular meeting leader was out sick so I think that was the worst part. I wish TJ were my meeting leader. Then I know I would love it.

I am very impressed by everyone's goals for the new year. Some people have exact miles they want to walk, bike or run. Some have gym hours they want to log. Some have races they want to train for. I need to work on some specific goals. I will get back to you on that topic. Right now I know I have one goal for this year and that is to try and have a baby before the year is through.

I have a few more weeks of this P90X and then I will start trying on that goal. The only other goal I can think of is I want to find some new recipes and cook about once a week. Just to make things a little different. I am not sure if my body can lose much (or any) more weight on the scale so I do not know if I have a goal there. I could probably lose another 10 but I am not sure. I guess my body will let me know.

Today before my mom left, she had me make her a diet and workout routine. She wants to lose 10 pounds. Actually, she has wanted to lose 10 pounds my whole life. She was an overweight child/teenager. She lost that weight but those last 10 pounds have stuck around since I was born 31 years ago.

I gotta say, I question how dedicated she will be. This takes a ton of work. It is like a full time job. I even took her to grocery stores. We checked labels and I showed her some of the healthier finds that I think taste pretty good. She seems excited and promised to stick to the plan.

Did I ever tell you she orders every piece of magical workout equipment with an infomercial? My house has been home to many bizarre things. I personally loved the thigh-master. Her most recent purchase (6 months ago) was this mini-trampoline with a bar on it. It is supposed to work on your core. I asked her today if she ever tried it. Nope. Just sitting in her living room. I asked if she thought the act or purchasing it would melt the fat away. I was given a list of excuses as to why she couldn't use it. That is fine, it just makes me laugh. God love her.

I could post all day about the funny ass crap we had in our house. Perhaps another day. I am off to make some pancakes! Hope you have a good week!

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Eve 2009

New Year's Eve 2008

Disclaimer: Objects appear larger than they really are (but I was pretty big) - camera angle sucked

New Year's Eve is best bud's wedding anniversary. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DEAR FRIEND!!! (By the way - it was like the most fun wedding ever) I cannot believe it has been 4 years. Time flies! Every year on New Years she hosts a super fun party at her bar/restaurant to celebrate. She is beyond generous and giving. My folks who are in town visiting were invited and had a super fun time. I totally thought my mom was gonna vomit in my car on the way home. A true sign that someone was enjoying themselves.

These pictures are a comparison from last year to last night. The bottom pic I am in red and top pic I am in purple. And of course, that pretty, young lady in both photos is best bud.

I know I look different (75 pounds lighter) but I felt about 100 times better. I hope next new years I will still be feeling this great!

Hope you are not too hungover today. I am now watching the Hangover with my folks and hubby. This movie is total greatness. And it makes me want to go back to Vegas. I went last February. This time I think I could run up and down the strip. I love the city!!! Enough of my rambling. Enjoy the weekend!