Learning to be Less

In the Summer, Summer Time....

2011-06-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

School is out!! YAHOO!!! Actually it has been out since June 4th but we have been busy. Good and bad. I will bullet point it for you:

the last day of school I found out that I won the biggest loser with 4.1% of my body weight (I beat out the girl who had lap band - barely!!)

took a trip to Kansas City with the in-laws

my grandfather passed away from multiple brain tumors (the greatest man, Evie's middle name is because of him) - this is the 2nd grandfather I have lost this year

I have worked out a lot and introduced Evie to the gym daycare - she would rather be home with Dad but sometimes that is not an option

I have Evie enrolled in little gym class, music class and she is going to story time at the library - her first time socializing with babies instead of older kids - so cute!!

I got my group fitness certification - easier than I thought it would be

this weekend I will be taking the class to become a certified turbo kickboxing instructor

in August I will be taking the class to become a certified zumba instructor - man I need to practice because I am not so great at this

I am filling out my new hire paperwork for the gym today so I can stop paying my gym membership - YAHOO!!! - oh and they also want me to start teaching a class in August - NERVOUS!!

I think that is about it. But here is the best part of blogging.....pictures!!

I decided to feed Evie to a frog, he spit her out!
I totally heart the Great Wolf Lodge!

Evie eating instruments in music class.

Man she loves her little gym class.

We are in the pool everyday. She actually practices kicking and trying to get things in the water.

We got her a wagon!

Just looking cute in the hotel waiting to swim.

Evie is 8 months old today! She has 1 tooth (and another one coming). She crawls everywhere, loves to read and is standing up on everything. She likes to try to climb things and LOVES people. We are very happy and blessed and hope your summer is great too!!

By the way, this is my 299th post. Maybe I can come up with something good for 300.

I am still alive!!!

2011-05-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from blogging fo sho! Sorry!! I never have my computer on. I do everything from my phone. School is almost out so I will probably be back more often. 4 more weeks. Yahoo!!

I am still fat. But working on it. It has taken me about 6 weeks to lose 10 pounds. I think sleep deprivation is to blame. I am counting calories. I am working out. I am competing at the gym in a biggest loser contest. 1st place is $1000. I have a LONG way to go!!

I am working out at home in the mornings for 30 minutes and at the gym at night 3 days per week. The other days I do at home. Saturdays I have started pilates. Real pilates with machines - so flippin cool!! Which is weird for me because I love spazzy, high-intensity cardio. Sundays I do personal training. So I am working hard - I just suck at blogging about it.

I do need to work on diet. Will probably change something this summer.

I leave you with pictures of the love of my life (and I am in them - sorry).

Evie's 3rd 5K which was at the zoo.

Our 1st Easter egg hunt. Yes, I helped grab them up before the other kids took them all.

Easter Day picture.

This past weekend at Mayfest. See the funnel cake cart in the background? Yup, the hubs and I ate one. Along with something called spudzilla. Like I said, the diet could use some work (although this was cheat meal).

WARNING: Super Tacky Post

2011-03-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am not kidding. I am about to be tacky. This is the real me. If you are sensitive to people being politically correct, skip this post.

I have not been hard core about weight loss lately, this is not new. But I am uncomfortable (I also broke a toe that is finally better). I am going on vacation in 3 months. The time has come to get a little more serious.

I still watch weight loss shows for inspiration. And today I saw a good one. On A&E Monday nights there is a show called Heavy. Seriously overweight people (we are talking 400-600 pounds sometimes) diet and workout for 6 months and lose weight. This week's episode was good! There was a midget. He was super obese. 4'2 and 240 pounds. He lost about 70 pounds. I watched him go from rolling off a couch to doing some serious workouts. Talk about limitations in exercise. This was one bad-ass little midget.

I am signed up for a 5K on April 16th. I fully expect to have to walk it. But I am trying to see if I can run a little of it. So Wednesday I started slogging (slow jogging) with Evie. My muscles were sore from a workout and jiggly fat does not help so I walked a lot. Today, I tried again. I slogged farther by going in intervals and repeating this phrase in my head "fat midget, fat midget." Tacky? Yes, I know, but it worked! I noticed 2 things. #1 - very labored breathing and #2 - my super-sized thighs make it more difficult to slog. Things to work on.

I then went to a super cardio zumba class, came home and walked a little more. I need to amp up workouts and start working more on the diet. I need to work in phases like before and I can be successful. Some of this is harder this go around. I guess because I know how fit I can be so it is frustrating not getting right back to that point.

Here is why I have absent from blogging:

She loves to swing!
Sliding at the park!

Hanging in her crib, playing with toys way more.

Just being cute!

Enjoying her 1st St. Patty's Day Party.

One more update

2011-03-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm. Interesting day. Lots of laundry. Fun time spent with Evie. And then we went shopping. 2 stores. LONG lines. However, and here is the update, I bought pants that are a size smaller than I bought at New Years. Actually, a pair of shorts and two pairs of jean capris. So maybe I will lose my weight sloooowly. Encouraging.

Update

2011-03-04T21:10:00.001-08:00

Here is my update. I am still fat. I still have not gotten on a scale. I am pretty sure last Friday I broke my little toe. I still did a little weight training and a few days of high impact cardio. I only ate healthy about 65% of the time. Super duper stressful week at work. But, I did get a new camera! Here are a few pics from this week. (Sorry this blog has taken such a turn, has not been about weight loss in quite a while).

Evie helping me test the camera.
Trying headbands.

Getting to eat food is very exciting!

Playing after bath time.

Super proud of herself for finally rolling over back to front un-assisted tonight. Her first time!!

I am sure I will get back to the business of caring and REALLY trying to lose weight but right now I am just so into my time with Evie that it is difficult. That, and I am still sleep deprived. Hope all is well from my bloggy friends!!

Oh and some cute pics!

2011-02-27T20:34:00.001-08:00

So it just occurred to me that I have not posted many pictures of Evie smiling. This is partly because my camera sucks (that is why I am getting a new one). But she is way cuter when she smiles so here are a few from the past month! She is a VERY happy baby!

Have a great week!

How long can I go without blogging?

2011-02-27T20:14:00.001-08:00

Evidently, a LONG time! Well we had weather issues and friends staying over with no heat and just when I thought life was going to be normal again, I got a call. My grandfather (greatest man ever - Evie's middle name is in honor of him) discovered he had a large brain tumor and was getting confused. So Evie and I took her first plane trip to see him and my family. We were gone for about a week. It was stressful and kind of awful but Evie brightened eveyone's day. The tumor is cancer. It is treatable but not curable. The treatment has caused kidney failure so now they are looking for a new treatment. This has been a rough year so far for my family. My other grandfather passed away the week before the tumor discovery.

Since being home, I have been working like mad on getting stuff done for my class but mostly I have been obsessed with this:

Evie, of course! She is the little one. The other gorgeous girl is one of best bud's twin daughters. She was so sweet to let Evie swing with her (it was the only way Evie could fit). The other twin daughter also let Evie swing with her but only for a minute because she wanted to go higher! So cute and funny!! I heart those girls.

I spend all my time I can with my daughter. I can't get enough. She is awesome. She is now 4 months. Healthy and starting foods. We have tried sweet potatoes and carrots and we LOVE them.

I have been working out about 3 to 4 times a week. However, I am still sleep deprived and that makes my eating kind of crappy - mostly on the weekends. So in other words, I am still fat. I will not step on a scale. What a wuss! My clothes fit a little better but I am not going down in sizes at all at this point in time.

I will get my act together again someday but I am just trying to enjoy every moment with Evie and not let them slip by. Hope everything is well for all my bloggy friends!

Daddy's Birthday

2011-01-29T19:43:00.001-08:00

Last night Evie helped go shopping for Daddy's birthday gifts and make a cake.
Today she helped us do our taxes, took us out to lunch at a real restaurant and went on a 2 hour pre-super bowl stadium tour (we live in Arlington, Texas) and never cried once. She is such a good baby!!

We could not go on the actual field, but we got close. Oh, did I mention it was about 80 degrees here today? What a great family day!!!

Biggest Loser?

2011-01-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

I am still here. Just busy and sleepy. Still working out hard when I can (down to about 3 days per week). Baby Evie turned 3 months old on Thursday. She is getting so strong!! She is close to rolling over. If I start to pull her up by her arms, she pushes herself into a standing position. She amazes me. She consumes my off-time from work (as I think she should). Hence my absence here.

I am still conscience of my 50 pounds I need to lose (especially when I wore 3 inch heels on Wednesday and my feet were hurting by the end of the day - it was not like that pre-pregnancy). I am not super close calorie counting and I have stayed away from the scale so I assume I am maintaining. I need motivation. That is to say I need competition. So I joined the Biggest Loser contest at work. I have done this before and won (yay for $$) and I have done this and come in 3rd (smaller jeans but no $$). Either way, I lost because I am SUPER competitive. I like to trash talk and workout harder than the others. Now I just have to figure out who the strong competitors are so I can razz the right people.

I ordered something off an infomercial last week. Yes, me. Me, whom makes fun of my mother for doing the same thing. However, I am a little more educated about this one. I ordered Turbofire by Chalene Johnson. She created turbo kickboxing. I do it every Tuesday. I really like it. These videos seem harder but I can do them at home with Evie. She does enjoy watching me work out. It has been too cold to jog with Evie in her stroller so I will try this. I did P90X so I should be able to do this.

I figured out that my knee hurts from the ligaments getting too tight after pregnancy. Should go away on its own eventually. This week was better but I want it back the way it was. I was able to jump around A LOT in body attack this week. That made me feel better. Until I was stiff and sore and bent over the bath tub with Evie. Oh well, I guess that is how I know it is working.

I am also working at 140% capacity at school. I have a student teacher (whom I want to teach everything I can the right way). I have 4 kids far below grade level in reading that I am trying to catch up a little before testing in the next few weeks. I discovered when I came back that my class could not count by 5s. By January in 1st grade this is unacceptable. They can do it now. They also cannot tell you the main idea of a story. Oh lord!! What did they do while I was away? I have changed everything!! I have rocked their world (and mine). I am doing 16 guided reading groups per week. This is a TON of work on me but they need it and love it. Maybe someday I will sleep peacefully again.

Evie does not eat as much as I think she should. She does not sleep through the night. Yet she is happy and healthy so I am not complaining. Life is just worry after worry anymore I guess.

Like a hamster in a wheel, I am still here running. I may not make much progress for a while but I will be damned if I am going to stop. Keep being my inspiration friends!! I need it more than ever.

By the way, I have seen some new good shows. I am watching I Used to be Fat on MTV (along with Teen Mom2 - love it!) and Heavy on A&E. They are great shows! I just wished they would share what diet info they are giving these people!

Still alive

2011-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yup. I am alive. Had a great Xmas. My folks got here after it took them 48 hours and they missed some flights. My dad was sick. It spread. I had to leave best bud's New Year bash before midnight in order to lose lunch. It was awful. Hubby got it too but not sweet baby girl!

Went back to work Monday. I am SO exhausted and brain dead that there are no words. I am revamping everything in my 1st grade classroom and I mean EVERYTHING! It is rocking everyone's world, including my student teacher.

Evie is doing well with daycare. We are both busy. At night we are getting lots of quality time. By Thursday I had to go back to gym classes. Holy crowded ness from resolutions! I have some good hubby stories I will have to post later.

I gained 6 pounds. I am working on it but man there were 2 days I was just STARVING at night and ate a little over. I got back to counting calories Monday. The days I did not get to the gym, we slogged with the stroller.

Today we did a 5K called the jiggle butt. About half way through I had to take Evie out and feed her and carry her while we walked (burns extra calories, yes?). At least we finished in under an hour (my damn knee is still killing me!). Leaves a lot of room for improvement later on this year!!

Anywho, I am BEYOND exhausted. I am researching brokerage accounts and unfun crap of that nature right now but I really just want to nap. God, I love naps!!

Hope to catch up on blogs soon. HUGS!!

What Do You Do?

2010-12-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you and your infant daughter are forced to be in the house alone for a week and a half? Well, after all the reading and playing and talking and walking and baby tv watching, you have a fashion show!! I give you.....Evie!

I thought it would be fun to put her in her stocking but she didn't fit. SIGH.
An outfit bought by work friends, the headband was made. So nice.

It is not cold here by any means but it was cool one night to go look at Christmas lights. It gave me an excuse to dress her like a bear in her stroller.

These glow in the dark shoes are great! They fit and are light. A gift from my favorite instructor at the gym!! She loves Evie. See her doing squats? We will work on them.

A gift from another gym friend! Super cute and pink. Evie loves this outfit. She laughed and smiled the whole time she wore it.

It is so hard to find any Christmas outfits that actually fit a 2 month old but this one worked pretty well. A gift from the friend who will be keeping her when I return to work next month.

Don't worry, Evie had a great time. I had fun. It also keeps me out of the kitchen so I do not eat too much. It is in the 70s here today so we will walk the dogs soon. Not easy to do while pushing a stroller, especially if I have to pick up pooh. But I love a challenge! Hope you have a great day!!

That's What I'm Talking About!!

2010-12-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

Good news friends!!! My baby's hiney is pretty much all healed!! Yay for my baby and Neosporin (this is what cleared it up, no joke - a nurse told me to do it). God I love this kid!! Even if we have a long fussy period most nights of the week.

I just want to say thank you for all your awesome comments and advice. You guys are SUPER great!! And one of the last comments I got really touched my heart and renewed my interest in blogging. I never lost it completely, it just got pushed aside. SO THANK YOU LUCY!!

As for the weigh-in.....4 pounds down this week. That is 11 since Thanksgiving. I must say I was feeling pretty bad. My body felt about 80 years old. This recovery is rough. But now that I am back in the swing with diet and exercise and I got a small chunk of weight off, it is feeling possible to lose the weight again.

I removed all maternity wear from the closet. It does not leave me much to wear since I am bigger than last years clothes. I tried on a size 12 skirt that was too big on me last Christmas. Now I cannot get it over the mass that my thighs have become. So sad. I think that shall be my goal for summer. Get that damn fitted skirt over my thighs and get that thing zipped.

I registered for a 5K on January 8th. Not sure if I will be able to run it. I am thinking I can slog (slow jog) it for a while and then walk. Time will tell. I tried to run down my street this weekend. I made it but it was painful (besides my knees, I stopped boob feeding so they were full and painful and I had an ingrown toe nail removed). I am hoping to heal up, get stronger and I just ordered new running shoes.

I also went back and read some of my firsts posts. Kind of funny. Even though I had lost 40 pounds, I still weighed more than I do now. If I could do it then, I can do it again. Right?

I am sure I will not have any more weight loss for a while with the holiday and my family coming to town. But workouts will continue!! I hope you all join me on this venture. Weight loss can be lonely. Let's do it together!!

Nightmare Week!!

2010-12-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well Evie had her first sickness. And it was AWFUL!! It started with a fever, then diarrhea (still), followed by vomiting. Being under 60 days old you have to go to the ER (which was at like 4:30am on Friday). They do "standard" tests. Which includes a LOT of poking with needles. Her arm is still bruised. The most traumatic was holding her head, trying to comfort her while she got a spinal tap. All to find out it is a virus and we could give her some Tylenol. We have been changing MANY, MANY diapers and dealing with the WORST diaper rash I have ever seen. They say it will take 2 weeks to get all the way back to normal. She is happier but we are avoiding the outside world (except for me going to the gym) until she gets her shots next week.

Which means we have cancelled Xmas parties and going to visit the family for the holidays. I just can't do it to her! Sorry for my absence here, but that is why.

As for weight loss - this week yielded a 2.5 pound loss. I will take it!! My knees have been killing me so much that I finally went to the doc and got put on some steroids. Not sure if it will help but I need them to be better. I know I need stronger knees to help get the weight off and I need to get the weight off to have better knees. There is no way to win at this point. How do the people on Biggest Loser do it?

Hope you all had a WAY better week than we did!!

1st Week of Baby-Weight Loss

2010-12-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

I survived! Sore and tired and heavy feeling but I made it. The total for the first week is 4.5 pounds. I will take it. My milk production did drop some but I have to get some of this weight off! I think it came from my stomach area. I am not complaining but man have the thighs got a LONG way to go.

I tried to weigh Evie last night and it seems she is up to about 9.5 pounds. I guess everything is in working order.

Still crazy busy with stuff! I am sure you all are too. Hope the holiday season is treating you well!!

Evie's 1st Waterpark

2010-12-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

I am working hard on losing weight and will update you on Monday or Tuesday night. I am super sore right now but not too sore to take my baby to her 1st waterpark. Yes, in December. I like the Great Wolf Lodge (indoors)!

She does not seem super thrilled but I hope someday she will be.
Had to wear my maternity suit because my other suits are still from when I was really big.

And I just think this one was cute!

It was so crowded and loud. Children wanting to meet Santa and see it snow and swim. They also had live bands playing. It was crazy busy but still a fun experience. None of it bothered Evie. I do have to say we will not be doing that again next year. Too much for me!

Detox

2010-11-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

Enough already. Tomorrow my baby is 6 weeks old and the time has come to get back on the health horse. No more excuses about breast milk supply. I only used excuses with myself.

I am back to my hard core workout classes at the gym and personal training. I am having a hard reminder of what it is like to be heavier. I was sore from personal training and had to do a ton of jumping jacks. Nothing feels more miserable than fat flapping around on sore muscles. My joints hurt from the extra weight. Time to start getting rid of it.

Last night I FINALLY stepped on the scale and had one of the girls take my measurements. Let's just say I have a HUGE mountain to climb. You know how I said I gained a lot in my thighs? Well it turns out to be 7 inches - PER THIGH. Holy cow!!

I also need to lose about 70 pounds. Yup, 70. I miss my size 10 clothes. Not sure if I will ever get back in them but I am going to try.

MY GOAL IS TO GET BACK TO A SIZE 10 (OR 12) AND DROP THESE 70 POUNDS BY JUNE.

Exercise is not my problem. It is all food now. I discovered this morning that I have turned myself into a sugar addict. I ate a healthy breakfast and just craved a cookie. The problem is that 1 cookie leads to 3 cookies. I out lasted the craving. I will just have to do that over and over until I have broken this AWFUL habit.

When I lost all my weight before I ate 1600 calories. Since I do still need to produce breast milk I am giving myself 2000 for now. I know it will suck starting this now but I cannot afford to let it go until January. I can do A LOT of damage in a small period of time.

Here is to no more mom jeans!!

Gobble, Gobble!!

2010-11-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving friends! Evie and I made her first cake - pumpkin gooey butter cake. Yup, just as healthy as it sounds. She has been a little fussy which means she has been on my chest for most of the past 2 days. This cake has a 30 min. prep time. With 5 week old Evie, it took 2 hours and 5 mins. Quality time and memories!!

Hope you had a great holiday!!

A Week of Firsts

2010-11-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

Fun in photos. Disclaimer - I am a new mom and I am lucky to get a shower on a daily basis. That said, the 5K was done at night (to see the Xmas lights) so there was no need to look good. I cropped out my thighs (which are super ginormous) so at least I saved you that pain. I was just excited for Evie's 1st 5K.

In the past 3 days, Evie did her 1st 5K and saw (or slept through) her 1st Xmas light show, met Santa for the 1st time and met my class for the 1st time. She sure is fun!

Want to know how we finished in the 5K? Pretty close to last. We finished in 59 minutes 45 seconds. We walked with friends (shout out to best bud and the fam) and started at the back of the pack. I do believe we were even passed by little old ladies at some point. Oh well. We were not in it to race. Maybe we will do better at the turkey trot on Thursday!

I am a mom now.

2010-11-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Yep. I am a mom now. That is my current identity - mom of a newborn. I have to pump my breast milk all day so I am pretty much tied to the house most of the day. Which sucks because I want to be out doing more with her. I am exercising but is hard on sleep deprived days.

This week I did body attack at home (which I had to pause half way and feed my baby all sweaty), turbo kick boxing at the gym (after 20 minutes my muscles felt 300 times heavier but I finished - slowly), met with my personal trainer (my lower back and left knee are super weak) and walked the rest of the days. Tonight Evie and I are doing our first 5K. We get to look at Xmas lights so it should be fun, if she feels good.

I belong to the mom's group that best bud runs so we did our first art project. I say we - I mean I held the baby's hand and best bud did all the work. Thanks best bud!!

I went to the doc and was released from whatever restrictions I was supposed to be enforcing. They said I lost a bunch of weight but I still do not want to know the number.

So my life is trying to do 1 thing a day out of the house. It is hard to even get laundry and showering done. Babies are a lot of work. She is now a month old. It feels like we may never have a schedule. She is still a REALLY good baby but has trouble pooping. It makes her all squirmy and uncomfortable through out the day. The doc says she will get over this, but when?

I pretty much live in my pajamas and watch TONS of television. I am not proud but my options are limited. I do play with Evie, read to her, sing to her and take her outside but her waking hours are limited. I feel like a lazy slug that eats all day. Hopefully this feeling shall pass because I REALLY enjoy interacting with my sweet baby.

As I type this, Evie is snoozing on my lap. I leave you with that image and say - ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND and the holiday rapidly approaching! Evie, hubs and I will be doing the turkey trot Thursday morning!

Unmistakable sounds of the past

2010-11-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

This week has been adjustment. No more grandparents around - I actually get to hold my baby again during daylight hours. We are working on a schedule and working on Evie's digestive issues. Here are a few things I want to address in this post.

I named my daughter Evie. It is pronounced with a long e like in the name Eve. It is not short for Evelyn (which for some reason some of my family members thought). It is not short for anything. Just Evie. I only post this because people have asked.
If I get one more anonymous comment advertising some super crappy penile enlargement cream from a foreign sounding person I may scream. So I have changed the settings on my comments. NO MORE ANONYMOUS COMMENTS!!! Suck on that a-holes whom no one wants to read comments from anyway!
On to the title of my post - read on.

During my pregnancy I gained somewhere between 40 and 70 pounds. When the doc office told my I had gained 38 I would no longer let them tell me my weight. I am pretty hopefully it was less than 70 but I still have not gotten on a scale so I am not for sure. I do not want to be upset by it. Currently I am going by how clothes fit. Either way, I have a lot of work to do. However - my daughter was totally worth it! Even if I had gained back every pound I lost, all 115 of them.

Sidenote - I cannot help but think that if I had not lost the weight prior to getting pregnant by the end I could have easily weighed 350+ pounds. I am fairly certain that would have put me on medicine and bed rest. I am not a fan of either so I am TOTALLY grateful that I lost the weight first even if that means I have to lose it again now.

I was excited to put on my workout clothes, grab my daughter and my awesome BOB jogging stroller and head to the park for some serious walking.

I have been feeling good, not too disappointed by my body, just trying to get back in a groove. I even went to the gym my first week home. So I was pretty proud and eager to walk at the park. And then I heard it. It echoed LOUDLY in my ears. It could not be ignored. An unmistakable sound from my past....my super obese past. My thighs rubbing together in my workout clothes. I was slightly crushed but yet I walked. With speed and purpose. Yet I heard it over and over.

I knew I had gained a lot of weight in my thighs. It must be worked on. It must be reduced. I just have a feeling it will take longer to get rid of this time. At least I know it can be done. It shall be done again!

Best Bud is the BEST!!!

2010-11-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is Best Bud. She is without a doubt the best friend anyone could have. Neither of us has family near where we live so we are our own family. 1st let me say that she helped deliver my daughter. She came in the middle of the night on no sleep with a smile on her face. She had to help me to the restroom, entertain me and had to help with the actual delivery. Then while this was going on, she was also the photographer. SHE IS AMAZING!!!

She also took photos this week and fixed them to be SUPER cute like this.
Who doesn't like naked babies? And yes, Evie did pooh while trying to capture these gems.

So small yet so cute and SO LOVED!!

THANK YOU BEST BUD!!! You have helped to make our lives so wonderful. We are blessed. You will forever and always be our family.

Happy Belated Halloween!

2010-11-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

She is only little once so I have decided to torture her before she can complain.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I'm still alive - just tired

2010-10-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hello my blogging friends! I have missed you so. Thank you so much for the nice comments and well wishes. It has been a bumpy ride this last week. I knew there would be adjustments and hard times but I was shocked at what was hard.

1st let me say that my water did end up breaking on 10/20 at 1:30am so I got to the hospital on no sleep. Contractions were hard (until I got an epidural) and then it was all smooth sailing and sunny skies. I went to a hospital that pushes breast feeding (really hard) which I wanted to do anyway. When I left on Friday I specifically followed the instructions of the pediatrician. What a HUGE mistake. I ended up with 10 hours of sleep in a 4 day time span, a starving baby, I cried non-stop for 4 days and I have 2nd degree blisters on my nipples.

I sought the help of the lactation consultant and things are looking up. She is getting boob milk but I had to take her off and kind of start over so I could heal. But the tears stopped. I got a little more sleep and my baby is happy and rid of her jaundice issue. Thank goodness for this SUPER awesome lactation lady.

Evie is pretty much perfect. She is strong, beautiful and healthy. I could ask for nothing more. So I will sum it up in pictures for you.

1st family photo

Best bud's beautiful daughters who thought Evie lived in a turtle tank at the hospital (how cute is that?)

The dogs are adjusting (or claiming territory)

She has enough hair to wear bows (thanks to best bud for giving us bows so soon)

Oh and hats that make Evie look British to me (spot of tea anyone?)

The day I finally stopped crying, we went for a family walk for the first time in our super awesome BOB stroller.

Things seem to be on the up swing again for the moment. I feel pretty good. I can fit in a size 16 and button and zip the pants but I have a spectacular muffin top. I am a LONG way from my size 10s and may never see them again but I will try my best.

I hope to start catching up on your blogs. Sorry for the absence, I will try to be better about posting again. Have a great week!

She's Here! {Guest Post}

2010-10-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Best bud, here. Dennille is kind of busy being a new mom, and didn't have time to post this...

Evie Friday was born at 9:04 AM on 10/20/10.

She weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces and is 20 inches long.

She is perfectly perfect and has tons of blond hair. We are all in love with her, and Dennille is doing well.

The End is Near....

2010-10-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Had a doc appt yesterday. Saw a different doc. When he came in, he asked how I was. I told him I was looking for an end to this pregnancy and he said he was too. What? The only issue I have had that some of the docs don't like is my blood pressure. It has been 140/90 for past 3 weeks at my appointments. Not a huge worry as I don't have anything else that concerns them. My numb hand is getting really annoying though.

Warning - Yucky pregnancy stuff below:

Of course he checked me. He told me I was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. And he continued to check me. And he checked some more. Right when I was going to say something he said "I know, I know, you can stop checking me now." I told him I thought it was a bit excessive and then he told me he was stripping membranes to see if that would help things. I did have some contractions last night and I still have pain in the left side of my back but no labor.

They also scheduled me to be induced in case she decides not to come out. He wanted Monday or Wednesday - I ended up with Thursday. With a doc I have never met. Oh well. I think it may get to the point where I don't care if my husband delivers her, let's just get on with it.

I want to start recovering so I can get back on track. I decided to move up my last day at work to yesterday. Teaching 1st grade is tiring. At 39 weeks pregnant, I don't need to be doing all that. I was ready and a good thing since one way or another, Evie is coming this week!

I just need to put some more crap away but I am tired today so I think I will be napping. Interrupted only by eating and playing with my dogs (and they are old and don't play a ton).

Hopefully next post will have some super good news and a picture or two. Enjoy your weekend!

Pregnant....STILL

2010-10-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

I am still here. Still pregnant. Uncomfortable. Ready for her to be here so my life can be changed for the better. So I can start to feel like I have a normal body again. Like breathing normally and getting the feeling back in my numb hand.

Had doc appt last Friday. Have another one this Friday. Last week she was head down, looking good. I was dilated to a 2. Sunday I lost my mucus plug (gross, I know). I have had horrific heartburn for 3 days and felt a little sick today. I think this maybe her week (or maybe that is wishful thinking since I am ready to be finished with pregnancy). This maybe my last week at work. I am just so uncomfortable. It is hard to do 50 things at a time with a class of 1st graders when you feel like you are gasping for air.

Not much else to say. School stuff is ready, her stuff is ready, had the house professionally cleaned, dogs are groomed. Now we just need Evie to make her appearance. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I will post again after this week's appointment!

From the mouths of babes

2010-10-07T15:51:00.001-07:00

Seen and heard on my first grade field trip today.

"The pig's butt is hanging out!"

37 Week Photo

2010-10-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Evie is large and in charge in there. After a nap today, I decided I wanted to go out to dinner. We almost NEVER go out to dinner. But hubby thinks we get better service when I am pregnant so he is willing to go. We went to Outback (I wanted bread and veggie pasta). It was very good and then something unusual happened. The bartender came around offering free samples of margaritas! AN ENTIRE TRAY OF DELICIOUS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN FRONT OF MY FACE. I had to tell him that was cruel. That is one of the things I miss with a passion! I think I will avoid restaurants until I can partake in those beverages.

Decisions Are Being Made!

2010-10-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Well friends, it has been quite a crazy last few days. Working on school stuff so I can be ready for my sub, ANOTHER baby shower, doc appt with sonogram and more!

I cannot believe I had another shower and people were so generous again!! Baby girl got TONS of stuff. Over 40 people came to the shower. I work with awesome people. I don't have all the pics yet but here are a few of us eating cake....YUM! I am the second in on the left.

Went to the doc on Friday. I was there for an hour and a half. I totally imagined them doing unspeakable things to me but it was not near as bad as I thought. I will not relive it all for you but I left pretty happy. My blood pressure is on the high side now so I am trying to take it easy. Kind of hard for my personality but I want a healthy baby and no emergency hospital visits or bed rest.

The sonogram looked good. She is measuring back on schedule for her Oct 24th due date. She did flip and is head down now (I am not saying crawling around on my hands and knees did it but I am sure that did not hurt). She is measuring 19 1/2 inches long and weighs about 6 lbs 9 oz. I am dilated 1 cm.

Today I used hundreds of dollars in gift cards. I made hubby go with me to Babies R Us. I hate that store. Always full of dumb people or screaming babies but I was on a mission. I had items to exchange with no receipt, items to return - some with receipts, some without, and a special purchase that I wanted my extra 10% off on. It was quite a good idea I had and it seems to have worked out but it took us well over an hour and waiting in many lines and dealing with many uneducated people. Let's just say part of my deal was placing a special order at the special order desk to get something from the online store. The dude at the counter told me if they did not sell it in the store, he could not order it. I had to explain to him that if I could get it in the store THEN IT WOULDN'T BE A SPECIAL ORDER. He tried it and I was right. Ha! Hubby and I both laughed at him. He was nice but come on.

I hired a cleaning lady. She is coming to deep clean in 8 days. YAHOO!!! I pick things up but I am too big to bend over and scrub. I have gotten so many things from showers I have run out of room, still working on that. I am packing my bag for the hospital. I am hoping to at least make it through next week. Lots of school stuff and best bud will be out of the country. Don't really want to go through this without her.

But the biggest accomplishment? Hubby agreed to baby girl's name today!!

Her name is Evie Friday (the middle name Friday is after my grandfather's family and we have had that picked out from the beginning). It really took us a while on the first name. Although hubby did not want to decide, he did not suggest any names either so I was SHOCKED today when he came in the room and asked if I was sure that should be her name. I told him there is no turning back now. Evie means little life and she sure is a lively one.

Hope all is well in your world. The time is coming soon. I am hoping to be back in pants with real buttons and zipper by the end of the year.

Blame it on the Rain!

2010-09-27T17:25:00.001-07:00

Saturday was our annual walk for ovarian cancer in Grapevine, TX. It was a 5K. And let's say it was a little damp. That is me pushing my twin god daughters. Their mom (best bud) was team captain and photographer. She did an awesome job gathering a HUGE team, getting them to walk in the rain and serve them breakfast.

Hubby and I finished. Completely soaked (undies included) and looking extremely unattractive.Me and best bud at the finish line (right before me eating a huge, awesome breakfast and heading home for sweats and a 3 hour nap). I don't think we a have picture together where we look worse. But it was fun splashing in the puddles with her.

Sunday - hubby, best bud, her hubby, the girls and myself headed to the Texas State Fair because I wanted to be entertained and walk around. This is Big Tex.

We got to take the girls to the awesome petting zoo. They like to feed animals.

The best part of the day was best bud and my hubby having to dance with a Gaelic dance troupe. So hilarious (hubby hates to dance and had to be called up with a microphone - I am still laughing).

I leave you with the other awesome unflattering photo by best bud as I helped the girls share a popsicle. I include it to share my ever expanding 36 week prego belly. So no baby yet. I am working so hard to get things ready at work to be out. If she can hold out at least another two weeks I think I will be in good shape.

Hope you had a good weekend too!

Things Heard...

2010-09-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

Things I have heard this week:

Monday - you don't look that big for someone who is about to pop.

Tuesday - Are you sure you are going to make it another few weeks?

Today (Thursday) - man, we need to get you to a hospital, you are so ready.

Today (Thursday from my team at work) - #1 - man, look at your feet! You need to stop walking on them #2 - I can tell she is super swollen from her hands (then someone presses on my ankle to show how much fluid is in there) Me - I know, I am getting some cankles, impressive isn't it?

Everyone sees things differently. I tried on some regular clothes (tops only) yesterday that I wore last fall. Hilarious! God I miss clothes. Here is what I miss:

Sleeping on my belly

Diet coke daily

Shoes that aren't tight

Pants with buttons and zippers

Margaritas

All the clothes I bought last year after I worked so hard to lose weight

Sleeping on my belly

Someday these things will come back to me. You just never realize how good something is until it is gone - even if it is temporary.

Sam I Am

2010-09-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the AWESOME Dr. Seuss themed baby shower hosted by Best Bud. She made over her restaurant and it was spectacular. There was one picture of us together and she did not like it so I think she deleted it. Bummer. Oh well, here are some other pics.

Me and the baby bump as the Cat in the Hat

A small section of the food table. That is one ginormous diaper cake in the middle.

Some of the table decor.

More table decor.

Green eggs and ham sandwiches (best bud was also the chef).

Lots of candy to match Dr. Seuss books.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes (red velvet topped with cream cheese frosting and blue cotton candy).

Best bud decorated EACH Cat in the Hat cookie by hand!

Close up of that insane diaper cake.

The core group of girls from the gym came. I include this to say to you all that they came in one vehicle!! Minus me in the flowered dress. They amaze me in many ways. Just love them!

And I leave you with the cutest part of the day - Thing 1 and Thing 2. Best bud's beautiful twin daughters whom she ordered these special Thing 1 and Thing 2 dresses for. No detail escaped her. Not enough words to say thank you and express how blessed I am to have such an awesome (and perfectionistic) best friend. This child is so lucky and loved already. It amazes me and the hubs everyday. We are speechless (it happens once in a while).

What an Astronomer Studies

2010-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here are my updates.

1st - how I feel - kind of like I have been hit by a truck. I think I have aged 40 years in the past 2 weeks. I am busy as can be and pass out between 7:30 and 8:00 at night. This is going to be a long month.

2nd - went to the doc today - I was a little nervous because she feels different, not kicking as hard. Her heart rate was 148 (good). She is measuring 37 weeks (big but within a normal range). Then I asked him to tell me what position she was in. The pushing did not feel pleasant. Result? She is breech. So in two weeks I get another sonogram (another one to be disappointed in I am sure). After that? Who knows what they will say. They gave me a flu shot today and I never even felt it - bonus!

3rd - I love the kids in my class - I am trying to teach them about scientists. So I gave them the names of some special scientists and they had to figure out what they studied. Since I teach 1st grade, I had to give hints. So when I asked what an astronomer studies, I had to say it was outside but it was not a plant or an animal. I got blank stares so I said if you went out at night and looked up you could see what they studied. One little girl said - "Oh!! Jesus!! They study Jesus!" You learn something new everyday.

4th - I leave you with this picture - me in my classroom reading to my little friends from best bud's moms group. It was a school playdate. I have never seen myself from this angle before. Hello BIG baby belly! Polka dots are not my friend. Oh well! At least I wore leggings so no one got a show.

Have a happy Friday!!! Best bud is working her little heart out for the CUTEST shower for me this weekend. I will post pictures soon!

34 Weeks Pregnant - Still

2010-09-11T19:52:00.001-07:00

My in-laws drove in last night - 6.5 hours. They finished corn harvest and wanted to escape the farm. It was awesome. Hubby was off so he cleaned - my refrigerator and microwave have never looked so good. Today for lunch we decided to take them out. We don't go out too much but we had seen a place on the Travel Channel with a hot wings challenge. Pluckers. Hubby wanted to try it. They are called Fire in the Hole.

This is who tried them first. We were shocked. I heart my mother-in-law. She is so fun.

Hubby ate the bulk of them (there were only 5), eyes watered but he did not cry. The challenge is 25 wings. He thinks he can do it. The all time champ ate 110. That just cannot be good for you.

My father-in-law could not be left out so he tried them too. As for me, I like my taste buds and do not want to burn them. I opted for a cool salad and ice water. I think the place was okay. I would much rather go to best bud's restaurant (Lazy Bones in Grapevine, TX). Their food is awesome, especially the chicken wrap. Maybe they can create a wing challenge that my hubs can try.

I will leave you with this picture of me at 34 weeks. Proof that I am still here and still pregnant. Still good (especially if I could get rid of this crappy hand pain, today it hurt to hold a fork). After we took this pic, we put on swimsuits and jumped in the pool. Sometimes it is okay to live in the SUPER hot state of Texas.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

What Pregnancy Has Done to Me

2010-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy has done many things to me. Overall, I have been lucky. I have had a bit of the crazy symptoms. The problems I have been bothered by most are the stretching of ligaments - super irritated planters facitis, messed up shoulder and now carpal tunnel which is causing lots of pain in my hands - mostly my thumbs. The reason these are so bothersome is because it makes my exercise painful. But I also have had a bit of the pregnancy brain. So I thought I would share.

Example #1 - I was trying to sing a song with my two year old twin god daughters when I had to ask best bud "who is the dude who went to town riding on a pony?" I could remember all the words but Yankee Doodle.

Example #2 - the day I had to call the vet to see if I ever got my male dog fixed because I thought I found testicles. I had him neutered 7 years ago. The vet drew me a diagram this weekend of a doggie erection (sorry, but he did) to explain the lumps. Testicles do not grow back. (For the record I never thought they grew back, I just could not remember if they had been removed).

I am sure there are more examples I am just choosing not to remember at the moment. All is well here, just trying to last out the rest of this pregnancy so I can start getting my body back to normal. I am having a super great weekend! Hope you are too.

Went to the doc on Friday. Baby girl is good, still measuring a little large but it is still fine. I have decided to stop looking at the scale and asked them not to tell me. I have decided that she is healthy and I eat pretty well and am still exercising so I am going to gain what I am going to gain. This way I will not resent pregnancy and definitely not my daughter (I could never resent her, no matter how big I get). I will just have to work really hard to get it all off.

In other news, I tried on my fat pants. You know the pair or two you save from when you were at your heaviest for comparison? Well they are still too big in the belly and I am 8 months pregnant now. I was shocked and pleased. I also decided to run a bit down my street the other day. I can still do it although my back is not a fan and she slams down on my bladder repeatedly. I think I will wait until she is born to take that up again.

Things are all good

2010-08-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

I am now 8 months pregnant. Health is good. 1st week of school is over and I survived. I am tired and still trying to do too much stuff but it is good. I have a GREAT class this year and a student teacher one day per week until I go out. My boss wants me to be a trainer of trainers. Meaning she wants me to train the teachers at a staff development day on October 8. She wants me to do it even though I am super pregnant. I told her it was risky but I would do it. Time is flying. Thanks for all your happy thoughts. Hope you are well too!!

Being a turd runs in the family!

2010-08-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry all. I am a turd. I have followed many blogs of mamas to be and (as Fat Lazy Guy pointed out) if they did not post for a few days I thought they were in the hospital having a baby. No baby here yet (thank goodness) but getting ready for the new school year so we are busy and confused trying to figure it out.

As for the turdiness running in the family? Well we tried for another sonogram Wednesday. Remember last time she flipped me off? This time she did not do that but she blocked her face with two hands, feet and an umbilical cord. So, 4 sonograms and 0 good pics for a baby book. Turd.

I guess she wants to hold us in suspense. The bits have seen are cute. I have seen a nose, hands, eye socket. I am hoping if you put it all together it will make a cute little girl. I think she will be stubborn so hopefully her cuteness will make up for the frustration she causes.

Well it is the middle of the night and I must nap before the alarm goes off. Have a great weekend!

Mama's Got a Big Ol' Bump!

2010-08-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

30 weeks!! 3/4 of the way there.

Just thought I would do a picture update. I have been up at school working getting ready for the new year. Teacher work week starts Monday. I am tired. Shocker, I know. Otherwise we are doing pretty well. Moved too much stuff the other day and I could feel it. So hubby and best bud were awesome and came up and did lots of manual labor for me. As for the mega boxes of text books to be delivered to me this week, well my co-workers will have to help. Poor souls.

A weird thing happened to me today. I went to the post office to mail my folks a package. It is Saturday. The post office is ALWAYS busy. Not today. And there was only one dude working the counter. When I got up there, he said "When are you due? Hmm....let's see, you are due October 12th with a little girl named Miranda." I just stared at him holding my box. I have never seen this guy before in my life. I did tell him I am due around October 14th with a girl but she does not have a name yet. He said "Huh....I was close." I will TOTALLY crap myself if this kid is born on October 12th.

As for other weird things - let's talk blog comments. When I open up my email and see I received a comment from "Anonymous" I always think - awesome, another foreign message about porn. It is always on an extremely old post. But not the past few weeks. I have been getting anonymous comments on old posts that make me laugh. And they are in English. Mostly they are random and don't make a lot of sense but they humor me. Like one the other day just said "blah". Do you all get these? I find them way funnier than porn comments for mail order brides.

Enjoy your weekend!

3D Sonogram Day

2010-08-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today I had my 3D sonogram. I paid for this because I have NO good pictures for a baby book. Here is one of the pictures.

What the hell is that, you ask? I will explain. Evidently I have a very stubborn daughter. She buried herself in the placenta and covered her face with her hand. They put an electric buzzer on my belly, I rolled over, I jumped around, drank juice and did lunges. She. Gave. Me. The. Finger.

This is SOOOOO my kid. As for this shit-ass picture I am sharing? Well, that object in the middle is her arm (to the left is her face). At the end of which, is the hand which - gave. me. the. finger.

Sweet angel girl. We could see that she is FOR SURE a girl. Perhaps she is bitter that she still does not have a name?

Well they are not supposed to do measurements but I asked for some off-the-record numbers. Currently she is about 3.5 pounds.

The lady asked me my due date again. I said October 24th. She said "you're sure?" So I knew that she was getting a different date. Technically she is not supposed to say but since I will not be sharing info with my doc or taking it to the bank she told me the due date she was getting. October 14th. 10 days earlier!! That throws a bit of a wrench in the plans but it is workable. We will see. She comes when she comes and then I really will have to have a name. There are about 5 on the list but no decisions made.

So next week I have to leave work early (1st week back) and drive 30 minutes to attempt another sonogram. I hope she cooperates or she will have a sad looking baby book so far.

I'm Not Complaining (for once).

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Went to the doctor on Friday. All is looking well for baby girl and me. Great blood test results from last visit, strong heart beat, awesome blood pressure (after I was on meds for years, I wear this like a badge of honor). I am measuring 32 weeks when I am only 29. They don't seem concerned so I won't be either.

The best part? After months of massive gains - and I mean MASSIVE - I lost a pound. Granted I was on a different scale but at this point I will take anything I can get. Next week will probably be back to big gains but I had this brief shining moment in this pregnancy. It was a different doc than I usually see - maybe that is the magic.

I made an appointment to get a 3D sonogram tomorrow. I will do it if I can find the place. I have no good sonogram pics for her baby book. With my luck, she will have her hand in front of her face or something else (umbilical cord?) will be in the way. Maybe not though. Maybe this will be great.

I FINALLY got done putting all her clothes away. I have one small bag of socks left to sort through. I filled seven dresser drawers, two closet bars, one tub with shoes and 2 more HUGE tubs of clothes (for ages 12 to 24 months). I do not want to fold clothes anymore. I am so grateful to have them all and they are all SUPER cute but man that was a lot all at once. So now her room seems to be done - I am sure something will come up but for the most part, I am happy. Good thing because I officially start back to school next week. I have to start this week when my room is ready because I have to have hubby and best bud help me. I cannot lift and hang and move things like years past. THANK GOD FOR THE HELP OF OTHERS!!

Hope you had a great weekend. I shopped a ton and used almost all giftcards for baby girl stuff. AWESOME!! Target.com has a high def flip camera for $150 if you buy the white one instead of the black one. In the store they are $200. Online it also had free shipping. I heart saving 50 bucks!!

Exhausted but Alive!!

2010-08-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

I got home from Michigan Sunday night. People cannot believe how much energy I have and how good I feel. Up there I could only sleep for 3 to 4 hours at a time and could not get back sleep. I think I am paying for it now. I have been exhausted all week. I was gone for 5 days and my husband was busy! He cleaned all the hand-me-downs out of the attic and stacked everything in baby girl's room. He got the dogs groomed, cleaned carpets, hung new ceiling fans (3 of them), re-organized the garage, trimmed trees and did tons of yard work. I felt kind of bad, when he goes out of town I clean but I also sleep, watch tv and hang out with best bud. So there was work for me to do when I got home.

Monday I had training for work all day (summer is slipping away). Tuesday, thank goodness, best bud, the girls and her hubby came over so she could go through the clothes with me (she is BEYOND generous loaning us her stuff - all the hand-me-downs have come from her). Here is about half the clothes we went through.

I spent Wednesday at the waterpark with best bud and the girls and sorting clothes by size. I have not hung and folded yet, I am waiting for the boxes from the Michigan baby shower to arrive because there are more clothes. This kid will not be naked.
This is the basket of new clothes I have received that need to be washed. I will probably work on that tomorrow.

Just as I was leaving yesterday, the doorbell rang. It was a delivery man with my chair for baby girl's room. It was set up last night. Here is her swing (thanks again best bud) and my chair. This room is getting smaller by the minute. I hope she fits in it when I am finished.

This afternoon I have another training for work and then a workout at the gym. I have been working out still. But this will be my first trip back to the gym in a week. I am still tired. No more traveling. Besides, there are too many clothes to fold to go anywhere now. I am trying to catch up on your blogs as well. Sorry I am such a slacker!

Showered with Love

2010-08-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

What? Another baby shower for my baby without a name? Why yes. This time in Michigan. This was hosted by my family. The reason the cake says Baby Friday Ferguson is because she does have a middle name. Friday - it is my mother's maiden name. Tribute to my grandpa (he is the last Friday).

I love presents for baby girl. In this box was a memory box. One of the coolest gifts I have ever received. It was gifted by my oldest friend (we were locker mates in middle school).
Okay this is kind of random. My mom's cousin and granddaughter. We call her cousin Ellie and she is so damn cute I want to pick her up and bounce her on my knee!

These two wonderful ladies are my aunts. They hosted and did a super magnificent job. They also gave the baby tons of gifts.

They're the three best friends that anyone could have....the three best friends....(can you name the movie from which I robbed that song?). Neither of these girls are best bud that I speak of ALL the time but in high school we were a load of trouble.

My bud Kim has a flare for photography so you get some neato pictures.

An extra gift from my ma. Strawberry Shortcake purse/lunchbox. I was OBSESSED with her when I was growing up.

My aunts came up with this neat way of packaging up little gifts.

A Michigan State bear. I LOVE that university. My undergraduate degree is from there. Some of the best times of my life.

Niece Cami, Ma, me and my sister. My sister and I have different moms - I assume that is why we look so different.

The only belly shot of the day.

After the shower, I went out with my folks to a pub. The bartenders call my mother "the mojito lady." After, we came home and my father drank a Corona tall boy. Their puppy wanted to finish it. Can you tell my family likes to get their drink on?

Baby girl really cleaned up. LOTS of gifts that my aunts are now mailing to my house and hundreds of dollars in gift cards. I am blown away by everyone's excitement and generosity.

Hope you all are having a super weekend. Heading home in a few hours.

Warning for people with dogs....

2010-07-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

Remember how I told you a lot happened on Monday? Well one of my lovely dogs was crying. I went to look for her. I found her in the baby's room. With a big pile of loose, bloody stool - on my new carpet! I do care more about the dog but man.....why on the carpet? I could not get into the vet until about 7 hours later. Turns out she has bacteria in her bowels along with a parasite. Then the vet proceeds to tell me that it can be transmitted to me. Just what a prego wants to hear. She may have a parasite. It was after hours so I had to call the on-call doc (just happened to be me doc). No major worries, even if I had it, it would stay in the intestines - yuck!

Dog is on meds and feels better now. I asked how she got it. Could be from soil (she likes to eat dirt) or from puddles of rain water (I let my dogs drink from puddles everyday on walks). SO PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR DOGS DRINK FROM PUDDLES. Unless you want to clean up nastiness.

I also called and got my glucose test results and I passed with flying colors! My score was 82 and they want it under 140. Yahoo!!!

I am going out of town again in about 2 minutes. So I leave you with some nursery pics. Finishing the crib makes it seem so real. Have a great weekend!

Baby Basics with Hubby

2010-07-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight hubby and I took a baby basics class (for him, not me). It was at the hospital for 2 and 1/2 hours. Lots of couples. Many questions. Discussions followed. So proud of my hubby for taking notes. He had me read his notes. Here they are. I am writing them just as he did.

Baby Basics

Bumper pads will kill baby.
Blankets will kill baby, turn heat up instead.
Stuffed animals assassinate baby.
Books are bad.
Babies like to listen to hair dryers or vacuums.
It is important to have a pediatrician, you do need one.
Girl in the back does not remember having her umbilical cord (yes, she actually said this). She thinks she did not have one or that it was cut off.
Baby clothes are fire-proof - good for racing (I am not sure where this came from).
Books have people's opinions in them.
Using water out of the fridge is bad for babies.
Babies temperatures are high like dogs. 104 is when you have to worry.

Please note we do not actually believe these things. Hubby tends to be a smart-ass and was making fun of one girl in class. Thanks to her we got off track MANY times. Questions were also asked like "If my baby has an outie belly button, what did I do wrong? I want an innie." I tried not to laugh and time flew by. We did learn a few actual things. I wrote those down.

The surprising part is that we were all older parents to be in there. I am 32, hubby is 37. There were many people older than us in there. I would think some of these questions would have been asked by teenagers. Oh well, more entertainment for me!

Weight Update and Baby Shower #1 Pics

2010-07-26T09:39:00.001-07:00

First of all, I wanted to update you. Friday I went to the doc. Glucose test. If I failed, I have yet to hear. I was measuring at 28 weeks - a little large but they are not concerned. However, my weight gain was more than needed - AGAIN. My total weight gain now is at 39 pounds. Seriously, I don't know anyone who works out as much as I do and puts on weight this fast. I am facinating, even to myself. Put myself back to strictly counting calories today. 2000 per day. I am ending the day around 1900. I am happy with that. I HAVE GOT TO GET SOME OF THIS OFF. I am okay with it coming off of me while going on her. I am still being healthy with vitamins, skim milk, tons of water, lots of fresh veggies and fruit.

I have to say that is what pisses me off about the 39 pounds. You would think I am eating everything in sight and not telling myself no to anything. If I was going to gain like this I should have stopped exercising and ate McDonalds everyday. But I have done nothing even close to this. It is rare that I even have a drink with sugar in it. I drink so much water, I could be a sprinkler. Oh well, I can only try and fix it from here. Won't be easy since I am leaving town again. And now I have to go to the doc every 2 weeks. Not much time to get my act together.

Enough of that. On with baby shower pics.

Ever been to Caddo, Oklahoma? No? You are not missing much. This place is on the side of the highway (literally). After years of laughing at it (it used to be called the Beef 'n Bean), hubby decided we had to stop. This sign is the best part about this place.

Poor kid without a name. Her cake still turned out cute. Safari theme, like her room.

My sister-in-law, me and my mother-in-law.

Man we got a ton of stuff! Even more stuff arrived after I opened all of these. My Rav4 was full on the way home.

My in-laws are farmers. My father-in-law loves John Deere. He has been in their commercials and advertisements. There are lots of John Deere things in the family. This was a hand-me-down from one of the cousins.

Man, little kids love presents. Okay, so do I.

Hubby's cousin is pregnant and due about 3 weeks after me. She looks so cute but feels sick. She is in the pink. I am in black.

I know I am 5'10 but man I feel huge next to everyone.

My mother-in-law has a pool and bought misters for the kids to play in. This is what my niece did with it.

Hubby was not forgotten. He did get a gift or two.

I spent most of today cutting off tags and taking things out of boxes. There is a lot of trash now. So glad best bud and the twins helped. More happened today but this post is long enough. Perhaps I will post more tomorrow!

Have a super terrific day!

I am in love with someone else

2010-07-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

I went to my hubby's home town for a baby shower. I fell in love with someone else. I cannot lie about it. My husband knows. Others may know as well. The name is Charli. She is the 5 year old daughter of one of hubby's best buds. Now I have met/talked to Charli many times before. She has always been charming but she is beyond any other 5 year old I have ever met (and I taught kindergarten for a few years). She had a birthday party on Friday night so we got to go and it was awesome. Loved talking to her. Here she is.....

She came up with a recipe the other night, on her own. So she wrote it down and her parents made it. It was for herbed chicken quesadillas (I think someone has seen the cooking channel a time or two). Evidently they were pretty darn good. I asked her what she did with the basil in it. She said, "I minced it." OMG!!! Totally love her.

Saturday she came to my shower. We were eating BBQ. When I sat next to her we talked more about food. One of the cousin's kids came out talking about brownies. Our conversation went something like this.

Me: Oh, you like brownies Eli?

Eli (cousin's kid): Well my mom made them, so yeah.

Me: Really? Cause my mom makes pork chops that are super disgusting. You don't always have to like what your mom makes (Eli runs in the house).

Charli (whispering to me): My mom makes chicken pot pie and it is the most horrible-est thing I have ever eaten in my life.

Me (turning to Charli's mother): Dude, I love your kid. She is bagging on your chicken pot pie. It is good to be honest.

Charli's mom: Not everyone would agree with you about my chicken pot pie.

Charli (with big eyes): I think so.

Holy cow!!! I want this kid. Not bratty. Super polite. Obviously intelligent with personality coming out of every pore. The twins are going to make fantastic "big sisters" to the baby but I think we could make room for one more. Oh and she has an adorable 1 and 1/2 year old brother too.

Between best bud's twins and kids like Charli, my kid does not stand a chance. So I am hoping they will rub off on her and show her the way.

Yes there are more pictures and more to post about. I am laughing as I think about it. However, you know what it is like to be in love. It has to be the first thing you talk about!! Oh, I think hubby is okay with my new love. There is still room for him in my heart too.

Thank You Bloggy Friends!!!

2010-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

You are awesome!!! You gave me terrific ideas. I just wish I had more time to put some of them together (my bad). I went with Bath and Body Works gift sets. I think I found some to match each person. And in my mind, worse case, if they do not like it, they can shove it in a guest bathroom (or possibly re-gift). I think I know them all well enough that this will work.

Thanks again for all your ideas. I shall save them for the next event. I have my super fun glucose test in the morning. I am not exactly looking forward to sitting in the doc office for over an hour. I also do not have high hopes of passing this test. Not sure why, I have always had normal blood sugar levels. Just a hunch I guess. Maybe I will be wrong (it has been known to happen once).

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a great weekend. I plan to post pics from the first baby shower next week. Stay tuned......

Comments Needed Please!!!

2010-07-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am in a bit of a pickle. I have a baby shower on Saturday. It is the first for our baby. It will be held at my mother-in-law's home, hosted by my sister-in-law and two of hubby's cousins.

Where I come from, when someone hosts a shower for you, the shower recipient gets the hosts (hostesses) a gift. My mother would be humiliated if I did not do this. I want to do this. I like them all. They are beyond SUPER nice. The question is, what do I get?

For my wedding, it was hosted by my MIL and hubby's aunts so we got them patio dining wear. Super cute!

Problem - these ladies all live in different cities very far from me. I do not want to buy them trinkety crap. They are all mothers and have gotten enough of that in life.

I was thinking a pedicure would be a great gift for all of them. However, they all live far (I mean over 6 hours) and I do not know which place they like. I am tempted to give them all some cash to go get pedicures. Too tacky?

Do you have any better suggestions? Please let me know!!!!

Life at my house....

2010-07-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Life at my house is always interesting. Yesterday I was signed up to take a breastfeeding class at the hospital. I signed my husband up too (the computer program made me). I had no intention of making him go. Last week after we left the childbirth class he said he had seen enough boobies. Once I got there, I saw I was the only one there without their husband. I sent him a text to tell him he was a lucky bastard. While I was gone, he made this:

That would be a blurry 3.5 pound cheeseburger. He was inspired by a place he went with his buds this weekend. I worry about the things he will teach our daughter. I know we live in Texas but bigger is not always better.....especially with food.

So when I got home he wanted to know how class was. I told him it was kind of weird because they made us pull our boobs out and they had these life-like dolls that could suck like real babies. Now this was a complete lie. If they asked me to do that, I would have left. The worst I saw was a video of breast feeding. Mostly it was just informative. So I am proud of myself for not laughing while telling him this. This was his reaction:

Hubby: You had to pull out your boob in front of all those other guys?

Me: Yep. Weird, huh?

Hubby: Man I sure am glad I didn't go.

Me: Why? You don't want to see my boob?

Hubby: No. I have seen your boobs. I do not want to see those other people's boobs. And the videos? They find the grossest people for those. Hey, want to see the pictures of my burger?

That is what life is like at my house. I never told him the truth. I am hoping he will tell this story to someone else and they will laugh at him for believing it. Or perhaps he will only ever talk about his epic burger for the rest of his life.

In other news - I am still exercising a lot. Last week I did weight training 3 times (bodypump) and 3 one hour cardio sessions (body attack, turbo kickboxing). I also walked the dogs everyday. I am also eating pretty well. I am all of a sudden not liking fruit again. I am so sick of it (but still making myself eat it for baby girl) that I have turned to drinking fruit smoothies. I did that the past 2 days and today I ate an apple with peanut butter. Something to help me want to eat it. Sad. I am like a small child sometimes.

Hope you all are having a great week!! Stay cool. Cause man is is HOT!!!

Happy 2nd Fattiversary!

2010-07-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was July 15th. That would be my 2nd fattiversary. Ironically, I weigh close to what I did last summer. I did lose more weight but the pregnancy has the scale going back up. Even though I was not at my goal weight and size for too long (about 4 months or so) before the pregnancy took over, there are some things I miss. ALOT. Here they are:

Working out at a lighter weight (meaning my body) and doing all the high-intensity moves that I love.
Diet Coke. Drinking diet coke. Every day. Even though it was one can a day, I loved it. Sweet, sweet diet coke.
Shopping. Or at least trying on lots of clothes at Banana Republic (my favorite store after weight loss).
My jeans. Oh.....my jeans.....the size 10 Banana Republic jeans that I love. I wonder if I will ever get back into them.
Sleeping on my belly. It hurts to sleep on my right side so that leaves me the left side. One position. It is hard to sleep in one position all night (minus all the bathroom breaks).

Despite all my complaining, I am really excited about having a daughter (she still has no name, we call her baby girl). In fact, as of today there are 100 days until my due date. After she comes, I am also excited about trying to get back to where I was when I got pregnant. It will be a whole new challenge.

This weekend I will be 26 weeks along. Here is an updated baby bulge picture for you! She is super active which is kind of fun. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Blogging Comes to Life!

2010-07-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week since returning from vacation. Hanging out and catching up. Getting the baby's room ready (a little anyway). I have been working out hard (well, my usual). I also got to have a nice little visit with some fellow bloggers. You may recognize them. See the picture below.

I am on the left (forgive the yucky appearance but that is what I actually look like). The pretty young girl in the middle is A Merry Life. The handsome young gentleman on the end is author of The Fat Lazy Guy's Log. He traveled all the way from New Zealand and is road tripping across America with his lady. They are so cute and sweet. Super nice folks with awesome blogs. We went out for Texas BBQ (read we fed them big, smoky mounds of food). We spent the next day at Hurricane Harbor water park. I heart water parks. Although I mostly people watched, it was quite entertaining. And these two fellow bloggers went on like every ride. They have no fear!! I desperately wanted to try the surfing rides but my baby bump prohibits me. Maybe next year!! Hope you all are enjoying your week.

Took me by SURPRISE!

2010-07-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

When I was home I had to stop at the grocery store to get some lemons for my mother. While at the check out, the only magazine there was Family Circle. It was the August issue. At the beginning of July. So I flipped through and there I was. On page 142. I could not help myself but throw it in my husband's face and shout "It's me!" The people behind us in line could not believe it (maybe because of my huge belly now). So I bought 5 copies and then gave them to the family that came over that day and finally got myseld a copy yesterday. My 15 seconds of semi-fame. Check it out next time you are at the store.

IN OTHER NEWS....
Hubby and I went to a childbirth preparedness class all day yesterday. Some good info, some funny stuff, lots of videos and posters. Here is my favorite. The other folks in class did not laugh, just me. I wonder why?

Tools for labor? Fear, tension and pain. Sounds like a winner. And seriously? It looks like it was created in the 60s. I hope the tools used during labor are a little more advanced and impressive. Especially the pain meds.

Enjoy what is left of your weekend!!

Back to Reality

2010-07-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

On the way home from Michigan, we stopped at the farm (my in-laws house). Here is a rare picture - me barefoot and pregnant and doing dishes.

But now I am home and spending time with the twins (2 year old god-daughters) and best bud. They were so missed. I look forward to catching up on your blogs!!

On Vacation

2010-07-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I am still on vacation but just thought I would drop in for a moment. Today was the 4th of July and my folks wanted to do their favorite activity. This is what it looked like from my perspective (that is my ma up in front of me).

Yup, we went kayaking. It was very fun. Especially when my ma said "follow me" and then got stuck on some rocks. I made a sharp turn when she said (from perched upon some rocks) "um....don't go this way" a nice young man helped push her off since I was laughing and crying so hard that I got turned around and stuck on a tree while trying to get a picture. I seriously laughed so hard I almost wet myself. Ah, memories.

Hope you had a great Independence Day!! I hope to catch up on your blogs soon!

Weekly Recap

2010-06-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Revisiting my goals:

Lots of water and vitamins daily - ACCOMPLISHED
Eat 2000 healthy calories per day - FAILED (excellent until the night of my birthday and the entire day after - I love to eat)
40 push-ups everyday - ACCOMPLISHED
Walk the dogs 1.2 miles everyday - FAILED (it rained yesterday when I wanted to walk them, but we did the other 6 days)
5 days of 1 hour cardio sessions - ACCOMPLISHED (turbo kickboxing, body attack, water aerobics, zumba, in the zone - a new mix of every crazy tv exercise infomercial)
2 days with weight training - EXCEEDED (3 bodypump classes)

Feeling pretty good considering all the birthday cake and the fact that I had to cut water aerobics short the other day. I also feel good that hopefully by the end of the weekend baby girl's room should be finished paint wise. I am also proud that I picked out baby furniture and got it ordered.

Next week's goals will have to change. Actually, the next 2 weeks. Going home to see our families. There will be 2 solid days of driving in there so I won't be able to exercise like I have been. I can take my workout dvd for the days I am at my folk's house. We have not seen our families since the holidays. Telling them we were having a baby has all been done with pictures via the internet, emails and phone calls. This will be the first they have seen us. What a difference 6 months make.

So my goals this week are:

Vitamins and water daily
Walk the dogs 1.2 miles 5 days
Driving days to stop every 2 hours and walk a little (doc orders)
Do not over eat too much, I do not want my stomach to hurt
40 push-ups everyday
3 days of 1 hour cardio sessions
1 day of weight training

I am excited to see friends and family. It is hard sometimes that everyone we are related to lives so far away. I especially cannot wait to see my grandpa! He is so cute and perfect. You know that person you put on a pedestal and can do no wrong in your mind? That is my grandpa. And he does not travel so to see him, I have to go home. I will try to post while gone so stay tuned...

Humility

2010-06-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

This pregnancy has taught me a little bit of humility. I am a pretty open and honest person. I take the advice of others. I learn from my mistakes. However, it is hard for me to admit that I cannot do the things I was doing a few months ago. I love to exercise now. A little of piece of me feels unfulfilled when I cannot do the high impact moves in class. Sometimes I do them anyway and then extreme guilt consumes me. What if something turns out to be wrong with this baby because I just HAD to jump around in my workouts? Then I back off. I still work hard. I still burn alot of calories. But it is not the way I am used to. It is not the exact way I want to do it.

Most humiliating moment of the summer (so far)? Well let me just remind you that I will take the most difficult cardio classes. I will do (or try) every high-intensity move to up my burn. I will take the class repeatedly until I get it. I have spent 2 years going out of my comfort zone and pushing through pain to get to the next level. This is the best and most accomplished I have felt in my entire life (and this includes graduating from college - undergrad and grad). But I did not feel that way Tuesday.

I decided to take a water aerobics class for some cardio and toning. I was running in the pool for about 10 minutes when it started. This horrible pain on my right side. So I push through it. Or I tried. After 5 minutes it got worse. I tried to bring it down a little, adjust my stance. More pain. Then guilt about what my body was trying to tell me. After 20 more minutes I could not take the guilt anymore. I swam through a full pool of 70 year-olds and climbed the ladder to land. I lasted 30 minutes. In water aerobics. Me. Me who loves turbo kickboxing and body attack. Me who competed in the Mud Run and completed it. After I was out, the pain stopped. Turns out to be round ligament pain from my super stretching uterus (now the size of a basketball). I know I made the right choice but it saddens me to feel like less than I was.

Triumphant moment of the summer (so far)? Well. I have been waking up around 3AM about twice a week, starving. The only way I was able to go back to sleep was to eat. I was eating cereal. And then something crunchy. And perhaps one more thing. But twice this week I awoke hungry at 3AM yet again. I did not eat a thing. I watched TV until I felt I could sleep again. I waited to eat until breakfast around 8AM. VICTORY!!! This did not happen before I was pregnant. And I hope it will eventually stop.

Doc appointment today. I gained 6 pounds in the last 4 weeks (my scale says it was 5). My percentage of weight gain per week is decreasing. I am hoping to get it down even more. My total gain is already at 28 pounds. And I feel it. I know she weighs over 1 pound now so at least that one is not on me. I feel pretty happy. I eat healthy stuff, I exercise daily, I feel the baby moving everyday, and doc did not say anything about my size or weight gain. Although, it is pretty obvious there is nothing she can say to me that I do not say to myself before I get there.

I ate better this week because of the appointment. But today is my birthday and there will be a lot of crab legs eaten tonight. I will enjoy myself and worry about the next weigh-in in a week or so.

Stay cool, get in a pool!

Weekly Recap

2010-06-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

Time to review this weeks goals:

Lots of water and vitamins daily - ACCOMPLISHED
Eat 2000 healthy calories per day - SOMEWHAT ACCOMPLISHED (yet again, I did not count but I am pretty sure I did decent in this department)
40 push-ups everyday - ACCOMPLISHED
Walk the dogs 1.2 miles everyday - FAILED (oops, I forgot 1 day, my routine was off, they were not happy)
5 days of 1 hour cardio sessions - ACCOMPLISHED (water aerobics, turbo kick boxing and body attack)
2 days with weight training - ACCOMPLISHED (I did body pump twice)

I did get a few naps in, nice visits with friends, even went to crappy trainings (well I learned things but I could have been at the gym, in the pool or in bed). I also made baby registries (thanks to best bud's help), did lots of reading of baby product reviews and hubby and I had the big daycare discussion. We had a friend offer to keep her for us. I went to visit a daycare to see what the pros and cons would be. This daycare was clean but all I could think of when I was in the infant room was - cages. The set-up of the cribs look like cages. No joke. Right now I think we are going with our friend watching her - for many reasons but I do not want anyone to put my baby in a cage.

I think I will keep the same goals for this week. There will be more visiting, doc appointment (oh lord help me on that scale), best bud's birthday and my birthday. I hope I can do it. I NEED to do it. Hope you had a successful week.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

2010-06-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a nice weekend. Relaxing. Yet I am still tired. Someday I will quit complaining, or at least complain about something else. I went shopping with best bud yesterday and we swam with the girls. Trying to teach them that they can float on noodles. So cute!! Want to know what is not cute? When someone poops in a swim diaper. This is our 3rd summer of swimming and the 1st poop. Yuck! That is when it is nice to hand them over to mom.

Today hubby and I went to the store I hate most - Babies R Us (I tend to be there when lots of unhappy, screaming children are present). We are in the process of working on baby girl's room so we went to buy 1 piece of the bedroom set to see what color of paint to go with. I am still undecided. We bought the window valance and hung it. It has been SO WEIRD all day passing that room and seeing that in there. That is actually going to be a little person's room. My little person. I am still amazed. I am not a super girly person so here is what we are going with.

We both like it. It has awesome textures for the baby touch. Man she is moving around so much right now. It is like she knows I am typing about her. This is way easier to pick than a name. Man, I want to make a huge list to consider but I am at 3 names. Lots of names just turn me off. Maybe I have too many years of teaching already. Some names, you never want to hear again.

Got to workout, swim, read and nap today. But I have also seen quite a few episodes of Man vs. Food on the Travel network. If you want to feel like you have an uber healthy diet (even if somethings are questionable) just watch what this dude has been eating. I do love this show! What a great weekend! Hope you are enjoying yours.

Weekly Recap

2010-06-12T10:29:00.001-07:00

Just to review, here were my goals for the week (from what I remember):

Drink lots of water and take my vitamins everyday - ACCOMPLISHED
Eat 2000 healthy calories each day - SOMEWHAT ACCOMPLISHED (I am pretty sure I ate over this, but not by too much and it was pretty darn healthy)
40 push-ups everyday - ACCOMPLISHED
Walk the dogs 1.2 miles everyday - ACCOMPLISHED
5 days of 1 hour cardio sessions - ACCOMPLISHED (all water aerobics)
3 days with weight training - FAILED (I did bodypump once)

I also managed lots of sleep/rest and a few days at the water parks (hello stair workout).

Where is the extra energy I am supposed to get in the 2nd trimester? I slept like 12 hours (minus the 4 restroom breaks) last night (I would not let myself take a nap yesterday). When I woke up this morning I was still a little tired but I did my push-ups and walked the dogs. Then I made a decision. I wanted to try a cardio workout on land. My foot has felt better this week (from the water aerobics I bet). So I decided to try turbo kickboxing. I was disappointed when I showed up and my favorite instructor was on vacation but I made a decision and stuck to it. I was early so I did 10 minutes on a bike (not as bad as I remember) and then completed the entire hour of turbo. My foot did not hurt but I came home and iced it anyway. I was proud of finishing but man as this baby gets bigger, exercising is more difficult. After that I was ready to come home and sleep again. I think I could nap for hours. Again I ask, where is my energy? Exercise, rest and healthy eats should equal energy. I guess someone needs to explain that to my body.

I think for next week I will keep the same goals but with weight training twice a week. For two reasons. #1 - double workout days are SUPER exhausting anymore and #2 - water aerobics does lots with water weights and toning.

Any suggestions for more energy? They have to be safe ones for the baby too (i.e. no Monster Energy drinks).

My New Workout

2010-06-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

So I have been working hard trying to minimize my weight gain this week. I am keeping true to my plan. I have been faithfully taking my water aerobics classes. These are are a pretty good workout for where I am right now. I cannot feel my extra 22 pounds, I cannot feel any pain in my foot. I can however feel my daughter. She is not light and buoyant like my fat and muscle tissue. She feels like a brick in my belly. I am okay with it until I got in the pool the other day and I was told it was "Tummy Toning Tuesday". After so much ab work (but with cardio) I start to cramp and get strained.

I tend to stick out like a sore thumb in these classes. I am about 30 to 40 years younger than the rest of the class. I look to be in decent shape. I am the only one whose skin has seen the sun this decade. I do not have super short hair or wear a swim cap. When the instructor tells us to jump, half of my body comes out of the water (most others do not hardly at all). No one can figure out why I am there. It is kind of fun.

There are at least 6 lifeguards on duty (there is our class, swim lessons, lap swimming, etc all going on at the same time). They are young. Men and women. I see them watching me. They want to know. The instructors are older too. They tilt their heads to the side while introducing themselves. The other people in class say things like "how long have you been coming to classes?" Everyone wants to ask but no one does. I feel like I am invading their territory. But I am okay with that. Oh, I do not tell them why I am there. I just say I started when school got out. I am wearing old one-piece bathing suits (maternity ones do not stay in place well with vigorous movement) so I just look fat, not pregnant. I am wondering if anyone will ever have the nerve to ask if I am pregnant. Older folks tend to be more tactful than that (most, not the rude ones who are related to you and feel free to say anything they want). It is like a game for me. I want to see how long until they figure it out.

I did alot of working out today. I am so tired that I think I will go to bed. Dirty dishes in the sink. Laundry still in the washer AND dryer. Makes me feel lazy. Yet I feel I deserve it. I did my push-ups, walked the dogs, took the power water aerobics class and (after a nap) took a body pump class. Exhausting. Growing this baby takes a lot of energy!

I also ate healthy - all day! For dinner I made fettuccine alfredo. I could not find the noodles I wanted to try but I made the sauce with fresh noodles. THIS WAS AWESOME!!! It is a low-fat mock sauce. I got the idea from Hungry Girl. It has light laughing cow cheese and light sour cream and reduced-fat parmesan cheese. KILLER AWESOME!!! In fact my hubby is in there eating it now telling me it is great! I did not have any cooked chicken but I did have broccoli. I must have veggies. I cannot believe that he is eating something without meat (and he can see something green in it).

Hope you all are having a super, duper week!

Summer is Here!!!

2010-06-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

What do teachers do when summer begins?

Take children to water parks, of course!

Do I have any children of my own? Nope. Working on one but none currently available. I spent yesterday with best bud, her kids and her nephews (and their folks) at Great Wolf Lodge. A long yet awesomely fun day.

Today I picked up my favorite student ever. And yes, teachers do have a favorite of all time. If they say they do not, 85% of the time they are lying. I had not seen her in a long time because her mom has moved her around so much. I had her in kindergarten and 1st grade. She has been through more in her short life than I ever will. We went through some hard times (when her parents divorced, she was very angry and she took it out on me at school - understandable as I am pretty safe).

I took her to Hawaiian Falls - an all outdoor waterpark. So fun! She is lovely and brilliant and just really learning to swim so she swims like a spaz (hilarious!). Here we are (before getting all drenched and sunburned). Isn't she super cute?!? Ignore my super not cute maternity suit.

This is the only slide I could not really go down because I can no longer lay on my tummy.
But Catherin sure loved it!

My eating yesterday was crappy (but it tasted good). Today was much better but not perfect. I did do my water aerobics, walking the dogs and push-ups. The result? After 5+ hours at the waterpark (and climbing all those stairs over 25 times), my legs were like jell-o. Sore and tired. Ready for bed. Tomorrow, lunch with fellow teacher friends (and probably more swimming).

Oh, and I can feel the baby like everyday now. Nothing big but when I sit really still I can feel her like twist around (at least that is what it seems like she is doing).

Oh summer is sooooo sweet!!!

Pregnancy - Half Way - Camp Day 1

2010-06-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Camp - Day 1

Some of you have requested baby bump pictures. You are right, I should post some. I complain enough about it. You should see it. People can tell. Strangers ask when I am due. Yesterday at work (maybe because it was the last day) people were touching it like they would never see it again.

The true baby bump view.

Last night I did not go to bed until 11. That is a record for me lately. I slept until 7 (minus a few bathroom breaks). Once I was up, I did my push-ups and walked the dogs. I grabbed a bite to eat while I iced my foot and then, I was off. Off to my new aerobic class. Aqua Fitness. Oh yes, elderly men with hairy backs (I still find them super cute), I was about 20 years younger than everybody else. But man that was a great full-body workout. I went balls-to-the-wall. I did it as hard and well as I could. Those older folks are bad-ass.

I could not feel my extra 22 pounds (bonus) but I jumped around for a solid 30 minutes (the full hour class, I never stopped moving, not even for a minute) and I could feel my hard uterus and baby. Weird feeling. Nothing hurt, just odd. My foot did well. If I can stick with this I will have super toned arms and legs (maybe with less dimples? fingers crossed).

Half way through class, a young middle-eastern girl who look familiar got in the pool. She talked to me about the ab work, we laughed. We were both new. Turns out she is the belly dancing instructor from my other gyms. She is going to start teaching one of these water aerobic classes. She is so nice, I may have to take her class too. I hope her class is hard core.

Man this cardio felt awesome!!! It was like high-impact but without the pain. I missed that feeling. The only thing is my maternity suits are a little big. They do not stay in place too well. I will have to work on that. I just love working out.

After that I came home, had a healthy lunch followed by a 3 hour nap (this was a long time coming!!). Woke up and put on another suit and got in my pool. Floated around for a while and then best bud and the twins came over. They are so fun!!! They are getting good at learning to kick their legs. Pretty impressive for 2 year-olds. They are also getting better at getting dunked under the water (one likes it, one does not but they are still getting better).

Then we ate pizza for dinner. Super delicious veggie pizza but still pizza. So I am sure I went way over calories today but up until dinner I did awesome. I also got in lots of water, the vitamins, skim milk, fresh fruit and veggies. Maybe I can be more strict starting Monday when hubby is not around saying "we could order pizza" or "do you want ice cream?" This is so not like him. We NEVER order pizza and he hates to leave the house. I think he just wants to drive around in his jeep. So we will probably get ice cream. Especially since he fell getting out of the pool today. How embarrassing. Better him than me. But then again I was not the one drinking all day.

Hope you have a great weekend! My life is now one big weekend!!! HOORAY!!!

Pregnancy Camp...time to begin

2010-06-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today was the day. I turned in my keys (woohoo for no more school!!). I drove to the YMCA and joined yet another gym. I picked up the water aerobics schedule. I then went home to lounge in my pool with my husband (I had to celebrate). After that, I went out and bought another prego swimsuit. I will need a few. God bless Target for a maternity swimsuit section (and decent prices).

The alarm is set. I begin in the morning. I have not done water aerobics in 4 years. Summer of 2006 best bud and I used to go to classes. I wonder if it will be the same. It does not matter. I am in need of cardio....bad.

I am working on the pregnancy camp plan. Remember this is in place of fat camp. I think I will go with the following goals:

consume 2000 healthy calories daily (lately this has not happened consistently).
continue to walk the dogs at least 1.2 miles daily (foot issue, not heat or laziness related).
continue daily vitamin and water consumption (this is one thing I have always been excellent at).
continue daily push-ups (40 but they are now modified and done on the wall as my center of gravity has really changed).
Five, hour long cardio sessions per week (right now I am hoping for them to be water aerobics since I have the foot issue and I hate cycling but time will tell).
Three weight training sessions per week (maybe more). Bodypump classes or pregnancy video. I do not care which, at this point I am not all hard-core like I was the first trimester.
Nap whenever I feel like it and try to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.

Any other suggestions? Am I missing anything? Will it be enough to slow down the weight gain and stay healthy? I guess time will tell.

I just pray my foot goes back to normal after this baby comes and I can get back to some high-impact, heavy-duty, calorie burning cardio. I am sure it will be worth it but it is hard to imagine in a few months I will have an actual little baby. If I really think about what is going on inside my body, I kind of freak myself out. I think pregnancy for everyone goes fast, except for the person who is actually pregnant. Mentally it is harder than I thought it would be. Mostly because I lost all that weight prior to pregnancy. It is a daily struggle to lose the control I had. Kudos to all of you moms. You have made it through and you look pretty damn good now so I know it is possible for me too. And some of you who have had multiples (best bud) and many more babies and look fabulous. I know you worked hard, I am willing. Now, if my body would just cooperate.

Exhaustion

2010-06-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

Exhaustion has taken over my body. Probably due to the baby. Man, about 6:30 or 7 I just want to crash (and have). It was a long, fun weekend but I survived.

Update on old friend - well she does not seem psycho. In fact, she seemed a lot like she did in the old days. We talked tons, no awkward silences. Our husbands got along well. Her baby is pretty perfect. Makes me jealous. I just keep thinking about the law of averages. The more people I meet with awesome kids (i.e. old friend and best bud) the more likely (it seems) my chances are of having a spaz for a child. Anywho, I met old friend at her hotel Saturday thinking we would spend a couple of hours together. We did - like 8. She came over on Sunday and it was about the same. We also had fun posting really old, bad pics of friends on facebook. She was very sweet and got my baby a gift - her kids favorite toys. Very thoughtful. I must say that there was no alcohol involved this weekend so that is probably why things went so well.

Then Monday best bud and family came over so I got to spend the day chillin' with those I love most. So fun. The girls (2 now) loved the pool. Yay because that is where I plan on spending my summer.

It is also the last week of school which is super crazy busy. We had splash day which meant water slides. Huge, inflatable water slides. Like 30 foot tall, inflatable water slides. There were also dry ones which were not as fun because it was so hot. But my large student (the one who love hot pockets) could not climb the ladder so I did it to show her how. Man, I shimmied right up that thing and it was a complete vertical climb.

I have gained about 22 pounds with this pregnancy so far. Way too much, I know. I have been depressed about this. I have for sure eaten too much and my foot is out of whack so I have not been doing my high-impact aerobics. In fact, the past week I have been so busy and tired I have not done much of anything. Once school is out (this weekend) I am joining another gym. I am going back to the YMCA (along with my other memberships) so I can do water aerobics. I need something BAD. I need daily cardio and a class with others that push me. I am competitive like that so the old folk in class better watch out!

Despite my recent, heavy gain and being 5 months prego, I shimmied up those water slides and went flying to the bottom. SO MUCH FUN!! I had to do it more than once (sorry kids). I was so proud and happy because when I was heavy I know I could not have done it. I know this because I tried to help a student a few years ago and could not get up the 8 foot, 45 degree angle ladder. It felt so good that I could still reap some benefits of my weight loss.

Remember last summer how I put myself through a self-imposed fat camp? Well this year it will be pregnancy camp. It will involve a lot of water aerobics, some weight training and lots of naps. I would just like to stop gaining for a little while and get some energy back.

Hope you all share your summer workout plans. I need your inspiration! Enjoy your week. The weekend is right around the corner.

I'm having....

2010-05-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

A BABY!!!

Oh, are you wondering what it is going to be? Well, it was a long, painful sonogram ('cause I had a full bladder and the baby was uncooperative). Finally, after 40 minutes (and lots of pushing and poking) the baby revealed its true self. Last night hubby and I went out and bought this outfit.

Oh yeah, she seems pretty healthy too. HOORAY!!! Yesterday was a very good day (except for getting on the scale, but that will be another post)! Hope you have a super holiday weekend!!

Family Circle Magazine

2010-05-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Family Circle magazine is a pretty good magazine. Full of recipes and tips on life. The clincher is that it only cost $1.99 (US dollars). Cheap entertainment and advice. Most issues have a health section that includes a "How I Lost It" story. It is filled with people like us. It is a small blurb with pictures - an interesting read. I used to go through tons of magazines looking for inspirational stories to provide motivation before I found you all. I wanted to pay it forward a little. I am going to be one of the "How I Lost It" blurbs. I just got the email this week that my issue went to print. It will be in the August issue so if you are in the grocery store check out, trying to avoid looking at the candy, pick up an issue and check it out (well, you will have to wait til August if you want to see MY blurb). It is a great magazine - totally worth the $1.99. By the way - I did the initial interview for this little article at the beginning of January. That is how long the process is.

Funny story of the day - My class (1st grade) heard that I was going to find out the sex of the baby this week. They are so excited. We took a poll to see what they thought it would be. I told them they did not have to vote for what they were. Girls could think it was a boy and vice versa. It came back at 14 to 7 favoring a girl. Then the comments started.

Boy #1 said - "You can handle a boy." Why is that, I ask. "Because you don't have to do hair and stuff."

Later in the day, while working at my table next to two girls, boy #2 said - "I hope you have a girl." (Now this is THE biggest trouble-maker I have and he has 2 brothers) Why is that, I ask. "Well (and in a low voice he says), they are so cute. Just look at (and says the name of a little girl sitting at my table with a shy smile)." To this I answer - you are right the girls in this class are quite cute but I am also fond of the boys.

So the general opinion of most (class, co-workers, gym folks) is that it is a girl. I have never asked them what they think, they just offer it. However, those I do ask - mother, best bud, hubby - we are stumped. Can't really say one way or another. I thought once I was pregnant I would have a feeling one way or another. Nope. Just confusion. Even on-line tests tell me it is inconclusive. Too close to tell. Let's just hope the baby cooperates on Thursday so I can know and start decorating.

Enough of my chatter. Hope you all have a great week. 6 more days of class!!! YAHOO!!!!

New Beginnings

2010-05-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

So I have a story to tell. I used to have a best friend (I have best bud now but this story is not about her). We met in middle school. We were friends all through high school. We became inseparable our senior year. She went off to college, I went to community college for a year. Then I transferred to the same college she went to - Michigan State. We became roommates. We ended up getting into the same college (inside the University you have to be accepted into a college which will determine your major - ours was business). We had the same classes, we got jobs at the same places, we worked the same shifts, we partied together, we dated dudes who were friends as well. Essentially we lived the same life. She had horrible taste in men and thought they were awesome. At least when I dated a loser I would say "yeah, I know he is a loser but I am just having fun."

It is important to note that she had a great deal of trouble holding her alcohol. I was kicked out of many bars because of her. She would start crying for no reason and if some dude took pity on her and asked her why she was crying she would point to me and whoever I was with and say we were being mean (because we did not respond to her tears) and then those dudes would try to start a fight with us. Ridiculous shit for anyone to have to put up with.

I met my husband through her and one of her loser boyfriends right before our senior year in college began. (These relationships were long distance as well - us girls in Michigan and the boys in Texas) As the year went on, it was obvious that my husband was awesome and her boyfriend was a total loser. He eventually quit calling and dumped her (we were stuck in the middle) and she had a total mental and emotional break down. She ruined MANY nights for us. At the end of the year I made the decision to move to Texas. Her response? "What about me?"

I wanted to say, "what about you?" This is about me. But I didn't. I was far to nice and invited her and another friend to move with me. BIG MISTAKE!!! The "other" friend ended up moving back after 3 months and it ended in a law suit about a year later. But my best friend and I continued on. We had different jobs but she could not handle it. She began to become more outrageous including physically attacking me and breaking in my door if I went in my bedroom and shut the door. Almost always alcohol was involved. I have never been a drama queen so I was VERY resentful by this point. I wrote her a letter and she decided to move back home.

We tried to stay friends. I went home for Christmas in 2002 and that New Year's Eve we went to a party. She was a total bitch. She called my husband names (he was nothing but SUPER nice to her) and then she began to cry. And that was it. I screamed at her in a bar. Later that night, I told her that was it. I would not tolerate it anymore. She left. I then wrote her a letter and said I could not be friends with her any longer. It was a poisonous relationship. I told her not only was she no longer in my wedding, she was not even invited to it.

I had not heard from her since. Over 7 years. Until a few weeks ago. I always knew I would hear from her again, I just assumed that it would be some part of a 12 step program.

She found me on facebook and started with an apology. I have been over this for years but I have no desire to relive a single moment. To my surprise she is married (and not divorced) and now a mother to a 7 month old little girl. She ended the email by saying that she is coming to town at the end of May. She wants to get together.

I was shocked that my husband and mother thought it was a good idea. I mean, seriously, we do not know how stable she is. However, I am all for new beginnings. For a life free from fat, a baby on the way, why not old friendships? We did have lots of fun along the way.

So we started emailing back and forth A LOT. It is hard to catch up on 7 years in email. She comes in next weekend. We will be getting together twice. Once, even at my house for a cookout with the boys and baby.

I am a little weirded out that the past can walk right back to you like that. I wonder how awkward it will be or if it will be like really old, good times.

Either way, it is an experience that life is providing and if I don't do it, I will always wonder about it. I will update you on this situation next weekend. I find it very interesting to think of the possible outcomes.

In a COMPLETELY unrelated story - I get my next ultrasound Thursday. Hopefully the baby will cooperate and we will know what we are having. Also, there are 8 days of school left. HOORAY!!! I am sure no one cares but me, but I REALLY CARE!! And I got in the pool today. Started working on my tan. I heart summer.

Feeling a bit like arse.

2010-05-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hey all. I finally have my internet back (let's hope for good). Sorry I have been absent. I have spent every spare moment this weekend sleeping. No lie. I took two naps today. As I got dressed to go to the gym I contemplated a second one but put it off until after my workout.

I have done no laundry, no grocery shopping, no cooking. I have done dishes but then I had to recover with a nap.

Yesterday was my 6th wedding anniversary. I knew it was coming but then it left my brain until the day before. So I told my hubby the 6th anniversary was the sock anniversary and bought him two packages of socks (because he needed them bad). He got me nothing because we were spending the day together and thought he would buy me something shopping. However, I never made it shopping so I asked for my internet back. It maybe a little late but he did deliver.

Lots has been going on actually. Even with all my sleep. I will explain in a longer post later. Interesting, bizarre stuff (to me anyway). 11 more days until my next ultrasound. I look forward to reading some blogs and sleeping. Hope you had a great weekend!

200

2010-05-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

200. Is this my new weight? Not quite. Although, I am not far off. I had a doc appointment today for the baby. In the past four weeks, I have gained 10 pounds. 10 pounds!!! That is an average of 2.5 pounds per week in the past month. That puts my total weight gain for pregnancy at 17 pounds. That is more than a pound a week thus far. Too much. The doc did not say anything but really, should she have to?

Oink, oink. I think part of the issue is lack of exercise from my stinking foot. I will try and get back to it tomorrow. So excited for that. The other part is too much food (I know, I am a genius to figure that out). Once people hear you are pregnant, they want to feed you. I have been eating out too much as well. I just need to refocus.

The baby's heart rate is good - 152 beats. The good news is they let me push up the date of the next sonogram a week so I can find out the sex before school is out. In 3 weeks (May 27th), I will know (hopefully). No excuses then. It will be time to paint, pick out furniture and the like.

Back to the title of my post. 200. That is the number of followers I have!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! You are amazing. I love sharing this journey with you (although mine is going slightly in reverse at the moment). I cannot believe 200 followers. I don't get many comments anymore so that leads me to believe there are a lot of lurkers out there. I must admit, my Internet comes and goes so in order to read more blogs, I comment less which makes me a lurker myself. That will change with summer vacation. I will be harassing the crap out of you and your blogs so brace yourselves! And thank you so much for all your support!!!

Time Out

2010-05-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well the good news is that I still feel good - stomach wise anyway. Sinus time. That is a little sucky. And I have been totally benched from exercise by the doc for an entire week! That is crazy! My foot has been hurting for 2 weeks. I exercised anyway. Thursday night I did turbo kickboxing. Friday morning my foot hurt so much it was hard to walk on. After school, I went to the doc. More plantars facitis and tendon/ligament problems. It is surprisingly painful. Way worse then when I had it before. Only icing and stretching for me now.

So I decided to go here:

Mayfest in Fort Worth. Lots of walking. I am sure this walking doesn't count, right?

This is my hubby drinking the margaritas that I couldn't. I found this stand funny. Ms. Piggys going places to stuff faces. It sold beans and rice, meat pies and fried oreos. Quite the combination. I got to eat a gyro - I "heart" greek food. There is like no greek food here. I did see LOTS of preggos eating their way through the fest. I felt like I had been called up to the mother ship.

I am off to buy a new ice pack for the foot. Hope you have a super weekend!

I am training to be a cage fighter!

2010-04-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

Um....okay.....maybe I am not quite ready for cage fighting yet but I feel good enough to!

THANK THE LORD!!! I want to shout from the roof tops how much better I feel (that is how improved my life is)!

I pray it was a virus because if this comes back continuously (as morning sickness) I will want to impale myself from listening to all my moaning (yes, at one point I literally laid on the floor and moaned - the dogs thought I wanted a tongue bath).

I even didn't mind going to school and dealing with my two button-pushers. By the way....26 days left my friends!!!

So in the glorious fortune that is my good health (seriously you have no idea how good you have it until it is gone), I went to the grocery store and bought all my healthy stuff again. And guess what? I discovered a new kind of m&ms. They are pretzel. They come in a blue bag and they are delicious (they are also a lot lower in calories than say, the peanut m&ms)! The checker took one look at me and handed me the bag directly and said "these must be for your purse." Of course they were. I did not skip a beat, I snatched them right from her hand (I was pretty darn hungry). You may think this is a rude comment, however, I am looking pretty pregnant today. I can tell because #1 - I have a mirror but #2 - many people stopped me today, stared at me and said "oh you look so cute and pregnant today" and one parent (whom I see daily) who said "what? you're pregnant? you were hiding it well (bless her - I wasn't but that was nice to hear)"

I am working my way back up to my high intensity exercise. So far this week - just walking. Hopefully Thursday I will be back to classes.

Hope your Tuesday was as good as mine! Wednesday I have one of my old students and her mom coming over. They are making me tacos. I love tacos! Seriously, someone coming to my house to cook for me. Does it get much better? The weekend is getting closer.....

My eating has slowed down

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

Well I have officially entered my second trimester. One third of the way there. Hooray!! But still, this has been a bad week. I have not done much exercise at all. A few nights and that is it. I was so sore from a double workout I took some time off. Then on Friday I took my class on an awesome field trip. Friday night - stomach pain. Bad. I was just convinced I was going to vomit or have diarrhea at any moment.

Saturday was about the same. Felt a little better at night which is good because I got to go out with best bud and we saw Chelsea Handler. We always have fun. Being around her probably made me feel better because today I am back to feeling like complete arse.

I wish I could barf my guts out just for some relief. The problem is, I do not know if I have the stomach virus from school or if I am one of those lucky people who gets their morning sickness in the second trimester. All I know is, that this sucks and I pray it ends soon.

On the other hand, it has slowed my eating WAY down. Since now my stomach feels best empty. I did force myself to eat some stuff today for the baby but I felt awful after. In fact, the dogs may or may not have finished my food.

I barely accomplished anything today (except I did get my Internet fixed - yay for me!). And I am moments away from dragging my lazy arse to bed. Hubby is gone, so I am left to my own devices as far as going to the store and such. Maybe I can do that tomorrow. If not, I do not care too much, I must say.

School story for you - you know I teach first grade, right? Well at that age the kids get obsessed with things. A vacation they took, a new toy, the color purple, playing with the velcro on their shoes until you want to rip their shoes off and throw them across the room (seriously, just teach your kid to tie their shoes - they are going to look completely retarded in high school when they still can't do it), etc. Well my super obese little girl (whom is beautiful and loves life and is repeating 1st grade - I enjoy her so) has a new obsession. She has been talking about it for weeks. Know what it is? Ponies? Nope, that was a few months ago. Butterflies? Nope, learning about them is just a hobby for her. Her obsession is.....wait for it.....HOT POCKETS.

Yes, I said HOT POCKETS. She wanted her mom to make them for the whole class. Then everyday this week she told me how she was bringing one on the field trip. I tried to tell her that was not a good option but she had her mom heat it up before school and she put it in a baggy. As she ate her hot pocket on the field trip (which I had to get a picture of) she had to tell me about her love of them.

I asked her if she ate them at home. Her answer? Yes, every night. EVERY NIGHT!!

She is very large. In fact, I even approached the subject with her parents. A defensive response is what I got. I have to say that I believe there could be a link between her childhood obesity and eating a pizza hot pocket every night. And that is after a school breakfast and lunch - which are LOADED in fat. Her lunch Friday was the hot pocket and jell-o. I find little to no nutritional value in that meal. That family needed to watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I am so sad it is over. I heart Jamie and his efforts to fight obesity.

I think it is okay to nurture a child's love of books or football or dinosaurs but I really have to draw the line at HOT POCKETS. They may kill someone some day.

Hope you all had a rockin' weekend! Just stay away from the hot pockets!

Today was tough

2010-04-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

When I started my weight loss journey, my goal was to weigh less than I started at. Attainable, yes? I know, way to aim high.

I started this journey for better health but I needed to get healthy to start a family and get pregnant.

I had originally said if I lost 40 pounds I would try to get pregnant. I lost 40 pounds and was still fat. So I kept going. I eventually lost 115 pounds (hitting a normal weight and my goal at Thanksgiving 2009). I could do triple workouts in a day if I wanted. I could keep up with the most fit people I know. It was addictive. I could get a high from exercise and weight loss.

In February, I planned to get pregnant. It worked - 1st time (lucky, I know). I made a plan, stuck to it, it worked. I was shocked.

I have been gaining weight since then. I know I need to. I know it is expected but today it was hard. I put on a size 12 pant (I have been in 10s for the 1st time in my life. I have been wearing those since December). They were tight. I looked in the mirror and looked and felt huge. I felt bigger than I did when I was losing the weight and weighed more.

I got in the car and called my mom to tell me something nice because I felt insecure (and this is exactly what I told her over the phone, 1200 miles away, while she was at work). And then I began to cry. An important note here is that I NEVER CRY. If I am crying, something is definitely wrong. And usually if I cry it is about someone else (like a student).

I know this is stupid. I know that I have to gain weight and that I eat healthy 75% of the time (25% is too many cracker and perhaps some yummy candy). I know my hips are spreading and that I am housing a human being (although it is not super real to me yet). This must happen. But it is hard. Especially this week. I may switch to dresses with leggings and maternity wear in the next week.

But I also know that I literally worked my ass off. I know how hard you have to work to get off 115 pounds without surgery or pills or liquid diets. I know the level of physical endurance I am capable of. I completed the mud run for crying out loud. Me. The girls who used to weigh almost 300 pounds.

I did a double workout on Monday. I am still sore (and have a new foot over-use injury). I cannot do that anymore. This makes me extremely sad. Will I ever get back my endurance level? Will I ever get back to size 10? I was only there for a very short period of time. The nice ladies at the gym have said they notice me putting on weight (they are not mean, they know I am pregnant). People at work are rubbing my squishy fat belly and telling me I am starting to show.

I am not used to this. I am only used to jaws dropping or comments about how much I have lost, not how much I am gaining. SO MUCH HARDER THAN I THOUGHT. I tried to prepare myself mentally but I don't think you can. After losing weight, it is hard to watch it come back and there is nothing I can really do about it.

So here is what I wore today. And yes, someone rubbed my belly again. Really? I have never done this to anyone but best bud while she was pregnant. Speaking of, bless best bud and my mom for always listening to me whine and always making me feel better when there are people in the world with real problems.

I don't think hubby can take a straight picture to save his life. Sorry about that!

I feel better now. But I think it will be tough like this for a few months until I look like I am actually having a baby. Not just squishy and fat. I think it would have been easier if I had stayed fat and gotten pregnant. Not healthier or better. Just easier to watch myself gain. But I am not sure if I would have ever taken it off. This is the path I took. I planned it. I still think it was the best path for me and a baby but it is bumpier than expected.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

It's not ALL bitching! Check out these pics!

2010-04-18T17:14:00.001-07:00

Warning: this post is very random and scattered. I would blame pregnancy but I am always like this. Read at your own risk.

So I know I bitch a lot. Especially the past few months, but I wanted to post about a realization that I had today. You know how we all have that one body part that really bothers us. I had the same one my whole life. Not sure why but it is my upper arms. Even in high school I would not wear sleevless things because I thought I had ham hock arms. I didn't. Until I gained 100 pounds. It was so bad I had to start wearing some sleevless stuff because the arms were too tight in many shirts. Here is a pic of me in spring/summer 2008 (before I began the weight loss journey).
Last week, best bud's twin daughters (one of them pictured above as well) had their birthday party (and they were dressed as the cutest little cowgirls I have ever seen). I happened to be checking out their photos today and came back to this one. Why? because for the first time in my life I thought my arms looked normal. I know camera angles play a part and I do have some flapping going on with my arms but I am okay with it. I have actually changed my mind about my most bothersome body part after all these years. Maybe I have learned something. It has also inspired me to make sure I weight train this week. My goal is to go to body pump twice this week. I hope I can do it.

Now for the best part of my post - the picture below. I live in Texas. I have a pool in my back yard. I plan on living in it this summer while out of school and very pregnant. I have been on the hunt for cute swimsuit before they sell out. I never got to buy any at my new weight for my new body. Looks like I won't be this summer either. I found two pretty decent swimsuits but I looked through hundreds to find them. Most of the choices look like this:

Dude. This woman is thin and attractive and she can't pull this look off. What makes a designer think us regular folk can do it? I am telling you, it is going to be a long summer. I wouldn't even want to be seen with me wearing something like this. Even in my own backyard.

Any good recommendations for pregnancy swim wear?

Ups and Downs

2010-04-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy week. Thursday was hectic but pretty good. I went back to the school I used to work at for their science night. I saw so many of my former students and their families. Their jaws dropped because they did not recognize me at first. It was like a great big reunion of my favorite co-workers and students who have forever changed my life.

I heard many - "Oh my god!" and "How did you do it?" and "I would have never recognized you" and "You look great, is it true you are pregnant?"

Two years ago I had a student who I taught for two years. His dad always came to conferences because mom did not speak English. One day, this student came in with a big smile and said "my dad says you are really fat!"

Now I had a few things I wanted to say back (especially because dad was very large) but the student was 6 and we had a talk about hurting people's feelings (even if dad thinks it is okay).

Well, I saw that student. He ran and grabbed his dad. Jaw on the floor. I could see his in his mind he was eating his words. Revenge is sweet.

Later that night I tried on my size 10 jeans and was proud I could still button them. I thought they could live another day until my hubby said "man, those are tight!" He was looking at my arse and legs! Not my ever growing muffin top. So I went to my size 12s. More room in the waist but not the legs. Finally I pulled out the 14s. Total comfort. A little too roomy in the waist but I will dig out a belt and live with it until I have to start with the elastic waist bands. Sounds attractive, I know.

Fast forward to Friday in the lunch line at my new school. My pants and black school shirt fit extremely well. Nothing too tight. A lunch lady (whom I hardly know) said "Man, you are BIG! Are you having twins? Ha, ha, ha!!" How effing rude is that? In front of my class too. Of course, I took it in great stride but I had somethings I wanted to say. Like pointing out that she is a foot shorter than me and has about 50 pounds on me.

I am not sensitive. I almost never cry. But what if I was and I did right there in the lunch line in front of my kids? She should feel like an arse herself!

What is it about being pregnant that makes people think they can say whatever they want? I have NEVER said anything about size or weight to a pregnant woman (or anyone for that matter). Maybe because I have been overweight (okay, morbidly obese) I am more sensitive to other people's feelings where this is involved.

Talk about a 180. From totally nice people and compliments to a totally rude person and insults the next. If I were rude (which I can be at times), I would go up to that lunch lady next week and rub her belly and ask her when she is due and then laugh like she did. Laughing does not make insults okay. And I think after you lose 100 pounds no one should be able to call you "BIG" anymore. She does not know I lost that much weight but if I had an eating disorder (besides my night-time carb loading), that comment could have been a major problem.

Enough bitching.

Hopefully you all had a good week. Rest up today. You deserve it!

Why do I do this to myself?

2010-04-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

What is it that I do? Extremes. Especially with eating and exercise. I have gotten better. I never give up the exercise. Even on bad days I do a little something. But I am usually hard-core high intensity or very low intensity. Eating is another beast since this pregnancy.

My breakfast is perfectly balanced, full of fiber, fruit, veggies, calcium and protein. My snacks are portioned and balanced. My lunch today was cucumbers and bell pepper, an orange, 1/2 a turkey sandwich (loaded with veggies), a handful of chips and a bottle of water. But once night hits, watch out friends! I have been eating carbs like cereal and crackers after a healthy dinner to keep my belly from hurting. Not today. A burger sounded good. It tasted good too. It just doesn't sit well. Even now, 3 to 4 hours later.

Was it the burger that made me miserable? Maybe it was after I added the fries. Or perhaps those few onion rings. I know, the regular soda (which I pretty much only drink water and milk right now). The crowning glory? How about not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 low-fat cookies. Oink, oink.

We are talking the kind of misery where you can't even sleep. Just feel the pain in your belly. So what did I do? Exercise. Man did I want to throw up. It was my punishment to myself. I have learned 2 things. #1- my hunger is exaggerated (it feels almost like a panic inside sometimes) and #2 - I should always exercise before dinner.

I used to only do this to myself at cheat meals. I need to learn control at night. That will be a goal for tomorrow as I have to eat out with some old co-workers (totally makes me feel even worse thinking about that). My belly will recover, but what a long painful night!

I finally did it!

2010-04-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got off my lazy arse and did actual weight training again. Nothing too intense but it did feel good. I have totally kept up on cardio and did some weight training using my own weight as resistance but I did not pick up a set of weights except for about 3 times in 3 weeks.

For those who may not know, I started with a personal trainer. I did a lot of weight training. When he and I parted ways, I went to a computer program at the gym. I was very consistent and did it 3 times per week. Then I wanted to try and tighten my loose skin areas so I did P90X. A bit hard core but I completed it. And got pregnant right at that time so I did not want to do another round of it. I went to Body Pump classes but they were not what I was looking for so I got all lazy and only did push-ups, squats and lunges and core work.

I ordered a pregnancy dvd that I thought was strictly weight training. It is not. There more to it. She throws in a few minutes of cardio to raise your heart rate. She also doubles up exercises to get some real bang for your time used. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. I did sweat. You can chose which sections to do. I did the 1st and 2nd trimester weight training/cardio sections, the core and butt kickers section and the flexibility section (I really loved this - I feel more balanced now). Altogether I did about 50-55 minutes and walked the dogs. I am happy with that. I do love my high-intensity cardio but this is good for a few days a week I think. Lots of "pelvic floor" moves to get ready for delivery. She put together a nice combo of moves. I did not wear my heart monitor so I am not sure about the calorie burn but I will next time.

I had never heard of her before I ordered her book. Her name is Tracey Mallet. I did her Fit for Pregnancy dvd. For her web site, click here. She has other non-pregnancy dvds. I may have to look into those. I prefer the gym to dvds but they are convenient. Especially since none of my gyms offer classes especially designed for the pregnant woman.

I also ordered a pregnancy workout dvd from 1989 (I am pretty sure it was just VHS then) in case I have to give up my classes at any time, I will have a safe workout. Kathy Smith. I used to do her workout tapes after school all the time.

In other news, did I ever tell you there was a girl at work who is pregnant and due within days of me? She is so nice. We have hung out together a bit. She told me her news but did not really tell anyone else. This week, I noticed I had not seen her in a while. I got a little worried. I finally saw her yesterday. She asked me how I was feeling and stuff and when I asked her in return, she told me she had a miscarriage. I feel so bad. She seems to be handling it well. I am not sure when she lost it but it is sad just the same. I feel guilty. Hopefully that feeling will subside after a while.

I went to a soccer game of some of my former students today. They get more aggressive as they get older. They made me proud! I walked past the 4 year olds playing. SO CUTE! I hope my kid wants to do that someday.

Today is my beautiful god daughters' birthday party. The adorable, lovely, smart, fantastic, lovies are 2. Time flies! I must now prepare for our trip to the farm. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Oh no.....it's starting

2010-04-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Today was kind of funny to me. Somedays as a teacher are kind of stressful. Like today, I had to have two parents come pick up their children for behavior issues. Not just sent to the office, sent home. One of them started in at 8:05 (the minute the bell rang) - he was hitting other children by 8:25. I think that is a record for any child I have ever had (and I have had a few emotionally disturbed and some bad post-traumatic stress disordered children). The office was NOT loving me today (hello paperwork - and it was a big testing day).

So I had to take my entertainment where I could get it.

A little back story - I started at a new school this year. I have only lost 25 pounds since I have met my fellow co-workers. I lost the majority of my weight at my previous school. Everyone watched me shrink. It was fun for us all. Most of my new co-workers do not know how big I used to be or how much weight I have lost.

Now I shall continue. I wore a new shirt that is cut like a maternity shirt (only it isn't). Two teachers (not one, TWO) teachers came up and rubbed my belly and told me I was getting a baby bump. There is a baby. There is a bump. However, at the moment my bump is chub and loose skin (which is from previous weight loss). Inside I was laughing and thinking, how does it feel to rub someone else's fat? It is not as squishy as I thought. It is a bit firm (but not by much). Outside I smiled and acknowledged the growing area. But I have to say, had it not been really nice people, my instinct would have been to smack their hand away.

Guess I will have to get over that. No one at my previous job would have dared to do that, knowing that there was the possibility of it being fat and excess skin. It was a bit shocking but I have a feeling it is just going to get worse. It's gonna be a LONG pregnancy.

By the way. I cannot stop eating starchy things (such as crackers). So if you have a recommendation of a great tasting cracker, I would love to hear it.

Oh, the other highlight of my day! My class and I started working on our Mother's Day cookbook. They told me the recipe that they want to contribute. This is going to be AWESOME!! My favorite activity every year. This year it is mostly desserts. The most interesting dish goes to a Vietnamese student who wants to write about fish, noodle soup. I cannot wait to hear all the details!

Hope you had an entertaining day as well.

Doctor Appointment

2010-04-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

My second prego doctor appointment was today. I always try to get the last appointment of the day (for anything) so I do not have to miss work (really hard as a teacher). My appointment was at 4:15.

First thing this morning I stood in my closet and pondered what to wear. Then I saw it. The shirt that best bud had with maternity clothes (which is so not a maternity shirt, although it is empire-waisted). I tried it on over the weekend and it is a bit tight. It zips up the side, but I did get it zipped. When I took it off, I saw it was a size 8. I have never worn a size 8!! Amazing how numbers can shock you sometimes (good and bad). I decided to wear this shirt so that when I stood on the scale and people oinked at me when they told me I gained 10 pounds in 4 weeks, I could still tell myself "hey, you are wearing the smallest size you have ever worn!"

All psychological. But if it makes me feel better I am for it. When I stepped on the scale, no one oinked. No matter what my weight has been in any doctor's office, no one has ever said anything to me. Except a nurse years ago took it twice and said "wow, you hide it well." When you are as big as I was, you take it as a compliment.

Here is the ironic part (for today at least). I bought a new pair of pants for work over the weekend and I bought a size 14 so I can wear them for the rest of the year (fingers crossed). They are roomy but I wore them today with the size 8 shirt. Talk about a pear shape!

The damage over the past 4 weeks? 4 pound gain. Add that to my 3 previous pounds and I am at a 7 pound gain total. Could be better, could be worse. Sometimes it feels like more. Especially because it is all in my flabby gut. But I am enjoying my food and she said we were healthy and the heartbeat sounded good so I feel happy about the visit.

We talked exercise and she said I should use the day of spotting as a guide - do less than that. Which, that was a pretty bad-ass day so I can tone it down a little. She also said the running is fine which is good because I started running with the dogs again this morning.

Good thing I can run. I made hubby and the dogs walk at the park on Saturday (they lagged behind a bit). When I saw a decrepit old man jogging, I was so jealous!! It took ever fiber of my being not to take off running. I felt like a slacker (and I am a bit competitive). After 2 miles I had to drop them at home and walk 2.5 more. I needed to burn calories to eat cake. I am serious about my food too.

Tonight I am going back to body attack. Now I will not feel too bad if I have a hard time sticking to some of the lower impact moves.

I am tired (as usual) but has been a good healthy day. Hubby just got back from the store so I have lots of healthy stuff to eat this week.

Now I must peel myself out of this shirt and get into some workout gear. Happy sweating!

Rough Week

2010-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is a big, whiney post. You may want to skip it. I probably would.

This has been the 10th week of my pregnancy. It was not as enjoyable as I would have liked it to be. Mostly because of exercise. I am a little scared now (after the spotting incident last week). I also read that if I exercise to full exertion I am depriving my baby of oxygen. Boy, do I feel like an ass. Sorry baby. So here was my wussy schedule for the week:

1. I only ran with the dogs 1 day and then decided to change to speed walking 1.2 miles each morning. I also stuck to my 40 push-ups each morning.
2. Monday - body attack - did my best at low impact and still burned 500 calories.
3. Tuesday - was going to walk in the park after dinner when I decided to lay down for a few minutes. I woke up 3 and 1/2 hours later. A little too late then.
4. Wednesday - Zumba - love the instructor, it was a lot of ab work and it kept me out of my kitchen for an hour but I only burned 250 calories.
5. Thursday - turbo kickboxing - again tried low-impact (kills me). I made it 50 minutes when I started getting cramps. I left early and decided to walk on the treadmill. After about 5 minutes the cramps got worse so I decided it was time to go home. Only burned 350 calories.
6. Friday - walking - decided to give my body a break from classes and walked 2 miles at the park with best bud and the twins (who turn two today!!!) luckily she let me push the double stroller so maybe a burned a few extra calories. I did not wear my monitor because the calorie burns are getting so low it is depressing.

Today I plan to walk again. Did you notice the weight training? Oh, perhaps that is because I still haven't done it. I did order some prego weight training dvds. Hopefully that will make it idiot proof for me. Just put it in and do it. Simple.

I have also been getting pains only on the left side of my body. In my back the other night, down in my gut and most annoyingly right under my boob in the rib cage. Not sure how to fix that. None are constant (thank goodness) but they are reoccurring.

I also sleep and lay on my belly ALL THE TIME. I love it. However, I tried to stretch out on the floor yesterday and it kind of hurt. I think those belly laying days are quickly coming to an end.

Week 10 has been disappointing (calorie burn wise, ability to exercise wise) and a bit more painful. I know, I know. It is going to get much worse. No need to tell me. It will all be worth it when I come out of this with a healthy baby. But like I said, changing my mindset on this stuff has been the toughest thing yet.

Monday I go back to the doc. I am not looking forward to seeing my weight gain. I can feel it. It is heavy. It is squishy. It is all in my middle. I am amazed each time I put on my pants and they button. However, the muffin top is growing at a rapid pace and is not attractive in the least.

Hope you all are having a more successful feeling week than me. I feel better now after complaining. And I must say, I am extremely fortunate to not feel sick. Especially during the day. Oh, the highlight of my week? I had my 1st grade class have an Easter bag hunt (we hunted for goody bags instead of just eggs - it was a surprise to them). It was hilarious. People could hear us screaming and laughing down the hall. Also, the twins ate Dilly bars at the Dairy Queen last night. Has to have been one of the cutest things ever!! They even shared when one dropped hers. Watching them try to lick....hysterical! I cannot get enough of those girls (or their momma). God bless great friends (especially when they listen to me complain about pregnancy and they were super sick the whole time and carrying two and never complained). I may whine but I am grateful that I can.

Well....I Tried My Best

2010-03-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

First I have to say I LOVE you guys!! This blogging community is AWESOME. You say the nicest, most uplifting things. So thank you for all your wonderful comments on my last post.

Tonight I did try my best. I went to body attack. The same class I did Saturday, except this time it was the full 60 minutes. I TRIED low-impact. It was hard at first because I realized that I never paid attention to it before. I never allowed it to be an option for myself so during the first few tracks (songs) I reverted to what I knew. There were 2 instructors tonight who were happy to point out that I had to bring it down (these are seriously like the NICEST instructors ever). By the end I really did well with keeping it low.

The results? I burned 500 calories but it was in 60 minutes instead of 40. I will take that. Since I do not have 4 hours to walk and that is probably how long it would take me to burn that amount of calories. Tomorrow I think I will let turbo kickboxing go (I am pretty sure I would not be able to control myself in there either). I will walk and get back to weight training.

Just so you know, trying to change like this is PURE TORTURE!!! I worked my way up to jumping around that room. I feel like this is a step in the wrong direction. I am in that class and these woman are working SO hard. Drenched in sweat. Some out-weigh me by 100 pounds (I know cause I have been there). They are giving it everything they've got (even if they are doing low-impact). I admire their red faces and super sweaty shirts. I felt lazy in their company. It felt kind of awful not doing what the instructor was doing. I guess I just need to adjust to it. It is still a great workout. I will continue to go back. Perhaps this week I will put a Zumba class back in my routine. I did like Zumba. Maybe it can help me strengthen my abs to carry a baby around.

Thanks again for your wonderful words. Hope you have a great week!

Wake Up Call

2010-03-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a wake up call.

I have been losing weight through diet and exercise since July 15, 2008. I have grown to love exercise. Cardio now gives me a high and leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment when I am finished and drenched in sweat.

Since finding out I am pregnant, I have continued my workouts everyday. I have continued high intensity. The doctor said it was okay. I have stopped double and triple workouts as pregnancy has made me very tired.

Yesterday I did my favorite class. I worked really hard. I burned 500 calories in 40 minutes (for me this is great because I do not burn as many calories as other people do). I was so proud. It was a tough 40 minutes.

And then I got home and saw spotting. Why? Probably me doing too much. Hello - wake up call. So I called my mom (who is a nurse). She was actually surprised it hadn't happened sooner since I did not adjust my intensity. I am supposed to bring it down a notch or two.

I am not sure I know how. For two years it has been about pushing myself harder. Doing all I can. Now I am going to have to go to class and do the "low options". This sounds like torture. But I do not have 4 hours a day to walk my calories off so I guess I will try.

I have to. I have been eating like crazy the last week and a half. Not counting calories. I have gained 8 pounds in 10 weeks. I was giving myself a slight break on my eating since 85% of it was really healthy and keeping up my exercise. I am lucky that I am still able to wear my pants and breath normally.

I am just looking fat (I am getting really thick in the middle and I already had loose skin there). My hair (which was already thick and curly) has gotten thicker and the texture has gotten worse. The knots were so bad it was ripping the bristles out of my brush, so I had to cut it. My skin has broken out badly.

I feel kind of hideous. But it will be worth it to come away with a precious human life to care for. I am willing to look like this (and possibly worse) for the next 30 weeks. I am willing to be exhausted (and I know this gets worse after the baby is born) and hungry and eat my way through the day. So I am also willing to tone myself down a bit in exercise. I am not sure how, but I will. I already told the instructor so she can just yell at me if I am jumping around too much.

The hardest part by far on this journey is changing my mind set. At first I had to change to put my health first and actually think about me. Now, even though exercise is important in pregnancy, I have to put myself second. My goals have to change. My goal now is a healthy baby. As long as I do not revert back to what I was, I think I can recover after this pregnancy. My biggest fear is not being able to get back to where I am now. Will my motivation (obsession) still be there? I hope so. I want to be a healthy mom. That is, after all, why I began this journey in the first place.

Confession

2010-03-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Okay friends. I must confess. I have done no weight training in a week and a half. I am totally unmotivated in that respect. When it comes to cardio - I have been a queen. I love it! Can't get enough. I also have done lots of push-ups and abs and a little bit of leg work but nothing involving actual weight training.

I find it ironic since this is where I began my journey. I know it is important. I know it will do nothing but help me. I just can't make myself at the moment.

Did I burn out? Did I get lazy? Was P90X just too much?

I don't think so. I am going to try and fix it.

I met with one of the trainers from my old gym today (because he is super nice and helpful) and he helped me come up with a sketch of what I should do. Now I just need to plug exercises into it and EXECUTE the plan. I need to quit dragging my feet. Stop thinking about it and just do it. If I were one of the kids in my class I would probably say something like "She is a wiz at language arts, above grade level. Math? Well she is capable of so much more. I don't want to say lazy so I will say underachiever."

Me. An underachiever? In certain aspects of life, yes. On this weight loss journey - maybe in the beginning but I still think I was doing pretty darn well for someone who weighed almost 300 pounds. On this journey I have given at least 110% for more than a year. Until the last two weeks. I am disappointed in myself. I am capable of so much more. I need a swift kick in the arse.

My new journey is to lead myself out of this darkness and into the light. Maybe I can get some of my muscle back. I am sure some of it has disappeared. Maybe that is why I gained a few pounds. I am burning less calories with less muscle. Or perhaps it is the fact that I love to eat lately. I am not doing too bad but I could definitely do better.

Is anyone else trying weight training on their own?

Shepherd's Pie

2010-03-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Shepherd's Pie - I know it is different but it is kind of like Shepherd's Pie

Sorry I did not get a picture of the ingredients before I started. Here is what I used:

3 large Idaho potatoes (I think I used 5 medium), peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 smoky bacon, chopped
1 1/3 lean ground beef (or ground turkey - my hubby eats beef)
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a sweet one)
3/4 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cups frozen peas
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups of chicken broth (same as 1 can)
1 cup light sour cream (divided)
1 large egg, beaten
10 to 12 blades fresh chives, chopped

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, 12 to 15 minutes

Heat a deep, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to skillet. Add bacon and brown it up, then add beef to pan and break it up. Season the meat however you like. Once the meat browns up add onions and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Add bell peppers and peas and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and combine. Add 1/2 cup light sour cream and combine. Simmer over low heat.

Preheat broiler to high.

When potatoes are tender, add a ladle of cooking water to the egg. Drain potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out a little. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of light sour cream, 1/2 the chives and salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes adding in the beaten, tempered egg. If the potatoes are too thick, add a splash of milk.
Pour beef mixture into a casserole dish. Top with an even layer of potatoes. Place casserole 5 inches from hot broiler. Broil until the potatoes are golden at the edges (does not take too long 5-10 minutes). Garnish with the remaining chives.

This makes a lot of food. I did not do portions or calories (shame on me). It is pretty healthy and it fed us quite a few times. I am not one who worries about pretty plate presentations, that is why there isn't one. I kind of slop it on the plate and my hubby gobbles it up.

Verdicts: SUPER AWESOME!! We both wonder why we do not make it more often. It also reheats well.

Randomness...next time a recipe

2010-03-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Many thoughts of randomness today...

I do not have a wonky eye. Those pictures from yesterday were pretty bad and I was probably giving my husband a "look" but when I saw my post today I thought "man sure does look like I have a wonky eye." So in case you were wondering (like I would be if I were a reader) no wonky eye here. Just ugly face.
I love milk!! Skim milk. LOVE IT!! Before I started losing weight I used to drink a gallon a week by myself. I cut down to one cup a day. Not a full glass, a cup. Which is equal to half of a very small glass. I am giving myself a break. I am pregnant and I say let the baby have milk! And boy is it good. I am not counting the calories either.
The texture of my hair has changed. Not for the better. I do not enjoy this part of pregnancy. I wonder if it will ever go back....
Thank you SO MUCH to those who suggested I get the book a "Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" I have been reading it on my kindle today and guess what? No mention of miscarriage at all!! Woohoo!
There are lots of newbies here is the weight loss blogosphere. WELCOME friends! I have visited your blogs (and enjoyed them). I have added you to my blogroll at the side. Hopefully I have commented on your posts. If not, I have stalked you and read them. I am sure to make a snide comment sometime soon, so be prepared!
Some of you have been so kind to give me a shout out on your blog and some even bestowed upon me some beautiful awards. I so appreciate this. I know I do not show it (because I can be a lazy turd) but trust me...I read the super nice things you say (even though I do not deserve it) and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. As time has gone on, it has gotten harder for me to pick people to pass these awards on to. So many are deserving. Especially the one about being "creative."
I do not want to hurt anyone's feelings here but it must be said. Those of you who are health food bloggers and take pictures of your breakfast cookie.....well....I have to give you kudos for putting that thing in your mouth in the name of health. To me it looks like somebody already ate that and had a bad indigestion issue on a plate. I laugh as I type this...really loud. I shall burn in hell....I know...no need to comment on that little ditty.
I woke up at 5:00 this morning (on spring break) to eat half of a peanut butter and banana sandwich and drink some milk. I also downed some Sun Chips and watched an hour of TV and then went back to bed. And I wonder why I have already gained a few pounds. This pregnancy thing really makes me hungry.
For the past 2 days I ran in the daylight and I did not melt. I usually only run using the "vampire method" (see the blog and/or book of the Amazing Adventures of DietGirl - totally awesome) - this is where you get up early and exercise under the cover of darkness so no one can see you or make fun of you. I started this at 270 pounds and just never really stopped (I like to run with the dogs before work). But I have slept in the past 2 days so I ran in the middle of the day. Past teenagers, lots of them. No snickering, no comments. No one cares. Not even me. That is growth!
This week I have totally slacked on weight training. I know I need to but the thrill is gone. I am totally loving cardio still. Can't get enough. I ordered a book on weight training for Preggos. Maybe that will get me going again. I do not want to lose my muscle definition or strength but we are talking I would rather eat a breakfast cookie than do it this week.
I like to watch 16 and pregnant on MTV. Why? Because no matter how hard I think things will be for me, I will never be 16 with a baby. It makes me appreciate the fact that I waited to have a baby even though I am approaching "advanced maternal age" (damn books).
My secret show I watch is Big Love on HBO. I did not see the 1st or 2nd season but when I started, I was hooked. Really good writing. And who doesn't love a freak show? I am embarrassed to say I watch it for fear people will think I support polygamy. I cannot imagine being raised in that. The hair and the dresses alone are fascinate me.
Tonight I got a pedicure right by my house. I live about a 15 minute drive from my school. I walked in and sat down next to one of my parents. Thank goodness I really like her but how random and awkward is that? The only thing more awkward is when one of my parents gave me a pedicure. How much do you tip on that?
Man what a horribly long post. If you are still reading, sorry. This is 10 minutes of your life you will never get back. But I feel better. Can you tell this post was all about me? Nothing new, it always is.

2010-03-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

I found another little gem. This is from Spring 2007. Want to know something really sad? This was one of my favorite outfits and wore it ALOT! This doesn't even look real to me.

I cut my hair today. About 3 or 4 inches. I had to. It was so snarly and tangled. It is growing in thicker at the top. My hairdresser thinks it is the vitamins. I also highlighted it a bit, just hard to tell.

God I take bad pictures. Rather, my husband takes bad pictures and I pose badly. I also got a new driver's license photo today (115 pounds lighter than the previous) maybe now I can make it through security at the airport without snarky comments and suspicion. It only took a 2 hour and 15 minute wait. I waited behind 80 to 100 people. Great people watching!

This crazy bastard is the father of my child (a.k.a. my husband). His St. Patty's Day tradition is to jump into our pool and drink green beer. The pool is 60 degrees. His splash totally got me and my eating pants (yes I was wearing special eating pants....I was hungry). I am glad I got some good sperm already because after today I am not sure there will be much left.

What are your St. Patty's traditions? Tomorrow I will be making Shepherd's pie. Today I wanted nachos. So nachos is what we ate! Homemade pico de gallo....my favorite food ever!!

Research isn't always a good thing

2010-03-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

The basic premise to losing weight is simple....take in fewer calories than you burn. We all know that put into action, it is more complex. What you eat makes a difference, how much cardio and weight training you need to do varies on results you want and your body type.

As I went along my weight loss journey, I did TONS of research. I read COUNTLESS weight loss memoirs, magazine articles, books written by doctors and trainers. I, of course, searched the Internet and read your blogs. I still read these things - daily.

So when I wanted to get pregnant, I started doing the same thing. There are somethings I just find hard to believe. If you have a regular cycle (sorry boys) there is a small window of a a few days each month that you can fertilize an egg. I think it adds up to about 30 to 40 days total all year and that is if you are regular and functioning properly which most of us are not. Are you kidding me? Are you telling me that all the "oops" and "I got pregnant my first time" and "I got pregnant while on birth control" and the TONS of babies born each year are all because these women had "relations" on one of the just right days in the year? I am not saying it isn't true, I am saying it is EXTREMELY hard for me to believe. And then I have to ask, if you do not complete your cycle for 2 more weeks after those days, what happens to the egg? If it cannot be fertilized, where does it go?

I should have known then to just stop reading. It spurs too many questions for me. Oh, did I ever mention my mother is a nurse for OBGYNs? So guess who I call with EVERY question? She gets a little annoyed. I make her ask the doctors things that I think embarrass her sometimes. But I need to know!!

There are these evil people out there who write these things called pregnancy books. So far, these books are horrible. I keep trying more of them and going on to the next chapter thinking it gets better. It doesn't. I thought I would feel better once I had a sonogram and heard a heartbeat. I did, for about a day. I was reading this book about week 8 of pregnancy and it starts out all good and sweet with drawings and how it is the size of a kidney bean and it has elbows that bend. Then, BAM!! The rest of the chapter is about miscarriage. Which I have read LOTS about already. I know it is a possibility but really does it need to be in EVERY chapter of EVERY book? This time it was about how it happens alot (they think) due to the age of the sperm. If the male is over the age of 35. My husband is 37. NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THAT A-HOLES. They should have one chapter called "Let me depress and scare the SHIT out of you" so we can skip it and move on to actual USEFUL information.

Of course I called my ma to ask about statistics on miscarriage after you hear a heartbeat. After she asked around, she said 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage before there is a heartbeat (so 25%) and the risk drops to 5% after there is a heartbeat. So why is there so much written to scare us all when the reality of that actual population is so small? And do you know what is written about it? "We don't know why this happens" or "No actual studies have been done to determine the cause" blah, blah, blah. THEN DON'T WRITE ABOUT IT!!

My mother's advice? "Stop reading all that crap!" She is wise beyond her years. But I want to know what things to expect that are interesting (not scary). I guess I will continue to read with caution. Sorry for the bitching. I think it would be less stressful to lose 115 pounds again. In fact, I know it would. I have experience at that. Weight loss people are WAY more logical.

I never want to forget...

2010-03-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

2006 (it has been a while but I assume I was in a bar....drinking. SHOCKER!)
2006 (teaching kindergarten at the time, hence the cool number necklace)

2010 (last month with no power, yes I roasted marshmallows in my fireplace and I was wearing 5 shirts - no exaggeration!)
2010 (when the fam came to visit)

My goal of this blog is not to constantly throw my fatness in your face. Although it may seem like it at times. But I really never want to forget how far I have come. I never want to forget how it felt to be that size. And I never want to go back. I was going through some old digital photos because I am sending a package to one of my old students and thought it would be fun to send some pictures. I also realized I have not seen her in a long time and if she saw me on the street, she would not recognize me. I am sending the pics anyway because they were a fun time in both of our lives. I am sharing them here just because they kind of took my breath away for a moment.

For those who are new to the blog, that is 115 pounds lost and I believe the jeans went from a size 24 to a 10. Such an improvement just on the dark wash of the jeans alone.

Some people never want to be reminded of the times they were at their heaviest. I never want to forget. It totally made me who I am today. It helps motivate me. It allows me to have empathy for others. Being overweight (or morbidly obese like I was) hurts...in many ways. It is a hurt I do not wish to feel again.

Time for a Make-Over

2010-03-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

Oh yes it is so time for a new look. For me and the blog. Did I tell you this coming week is spring break? THANK GOD!!! I need it. I want to sleep, workout, eat and catch up with friends. Aside from making Easter treat bags for the kids I shall do NO school crap. I am so sick of it. I had to do about 20 parent conferences plus open house and testing for the past 2 weeks. Sucky, sucky.

But, no more. Now it is time for MY life. Starting with working on this sad looking blog. It needed an updated look. Especially since I am officially done losing weight for the time being. I will still be talking about weight and health and exercise. Just not in "losing" terms anymore. I must admit, it makes me a little sad. Although I have pretty much just maintained my weight for the past 4 or 5 months it is sad to step on a scale and not anticipate a loss. The excitement is gone (but so is the occasional disappointment). I changed my ticker to a baby ticker. I will update you on weight gains but I will not be logging it on Fridays. Just too depressing for me. I feel decent and I do not want the numbers to change that.

I am feeling very lucky. Aside from being hungry and tired, I would not know I was pregnant. Thank goodness my boobs don't hurt (yet) I jump around in my workouts far too much. I am a super crabby person if I am nauseous (not a good trait in a teacher). But the tiredness when it hits is unbelievable. And the hunger. My god...it is like you must feed me NOW. I SAID NOW!! I have never known anything like it. I added 300 calories into my diet (some days it is a little more). I am reading books that say you do not need to add those calories in until the 2nd trimester. Holy crap! You try telling that to this little hungry grain of rice growing inside of me. Hopefully these extra weeks of extra calories won't harm me too much weight wise. My body feels the need. And alot of the calories are coming from fruit and cereal.

Since it is spring break I will be getting my hair cut and add a bit of color. Don't worry, I asked and it is safe. I only get a hair cut about every 4 months. I have not changed the color in well over a year. I do not want to do any blond as it reminds me of when I was my heaviest. My ma thinks if I go darker it will look bad. So I am thinking just some golden highlights. We will see. I usually let my hairdresser decide. After all, she is the professional. I am excited about it. Now I have to wait until Wednesday.

I look forward to catching up on blogs and relaxing. I hope you all have a super weekend!

We got the beat!

2010-03-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

Good news and not so good news. Today I got the beat so I can officially tell you (as many of you have suggested) I am pregnant with my first child. This is why I increased calories and have been feeling so fatty and gained a few pounds. That is the good news. Oh yeah and just to creep you out - here is my first ultrasound pic. I think it is creepy to show people my uterus.

The not so good news is no more weight loss. Only gaining now! But minimal gains. So cheers!

My weight loss is like house flipping

2010-03-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about it today and weight loss can be a lot like house flipping. You get this dilapidated property that has not been well cared for and try to turn it into something others would want (mainly you).

When you first get started you feel like you have no idea what you are doing, some may even tell you that you are in over your head. As the project goes on, you learn from your mistakes. You may start with a time line (I want to lose 100 pounds in a year) and a budget (so many calories per day, so much time spent exercising). And then life gets in the way.

It puts you over budget and throws your timeline out of whack. But you have to keep going because you cannot afford to carry that extra mortgage payment one more month.

In the end, all the upgrades are worth it. Jaws drop and people cannot believe what you have done with the property. It even gets them interested in flipping. And now they want to draw on all of your experience (and who can blame them, you have obviously learned a lot).

All I can say, is that for me, in the end, the net profit was WAY more than I expected it to be. The lost numbers, the clothing size, the ability to complete tough workouts, the sense of accomplishment and pride - it has been amazing. I hope you all feel this way or get to a point where you feel this way because it is worth the hard work and sacrifice and soon just becomes your way of life.

Okay, no recipe today as I have oodles of leftovers which I am fine with. It is a crappy rainy day and I still need to go to the gym and the store. I chose the gym first. We will see where the store falls. I will be posting again tomorrow or Tuesday so stay tuned....

Weigh-In

2010-03-05T02:12:00.000-08:00

This week has not been the best. Food and exercise were not the problem. Crappy things in life were. Funny how everything seemed to happen in one day. It was Wednesday. One of those days you just want to forget ever happened but something pissed me off so much so that it lingers in my brain. In the grand scheme of life it is small but right now I am majorly annoyed.

There is a bright spot in my week. My weigh-in today was 179. Which is down 2.2 pounds from last week. So hooray for that! Overall my weight is still up but I will just have to live with it for now. One more week until spring break. I plan on sleeping in EVERYDAY and working out and hanging with some buds. Exciting, I know, but it sounds heavenly right now.

Not much else to say at the moment. I am sure I will post again before the weekend is through. I wish you lots of scale-love this week!

Why do I even start with a recipe?

2010-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

I found a recipe in Cooking Light magazine. I wanted to try it but decided I would make some of my changes. In the end, it was WAY different than the original recipe. Here are the ingredients I used.

8 oz chicken breast

8 oz elbow macaroni

2 Tablespoons of flour

2 Tablespoons of light butter

3 cups of skim milk

2/3 cup reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded multi-cheese blend (like 4 Mexican blend)

3/4 shredded Colby jack cheese

cooking spray

1/2 bag of frozen peas

head of broccoli

I had some leftover grilled chicken breast (already cooked) and some smoked chicken and pork (thanks to my husband). I chopped that up and threw it in a pan with the chopped up broccoli and 1/2 bag of frozen peas. I also cooked the macaroni according to the box directions. When it was all cooked and hot I mixed it up in a big bowl.

Meanwhile, I made the sauce. I started with the butter and flour. I cooked it in a sauce pan for 2 minutes. In a bowl I mixed the cream of mushroom soup and milk. I slowly added the milk mixture to the pan and brought it to a boil for about 3 minutes to thicken it. I removed from the heat for 4 minutes. Then stirred in the garlic powder, salt, dill and the 1 1/2 cup of multi-cheese blend. It turned into like a white cream/cheese sauce.

I poured it over the meat, veggie and macaroni mixture. I put the mixture in a 8 inch square baking dish (after I sprayed it with PAM). I topped it with 3/4 Colby jack cheese. I put in under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

It yields 4 humongous servings. I am guessing it is about 600-650 calories each. I was not too specific in my measurements and I deviated from the recipe quite a bit. But it is still pretty healthy and very hearty.

Verdicts

Me: Yum, yum. I liked it alot. It was like a creamy casserole. Normally I do not like that sort of thing but this one was good. I kind of want to call it "crap in a pan." But good crap.

Hubby: "This is even better than the last one. If we owned a restaurant this would be on the menu." Cleaned his plate.

The original recipe did not have any veggies in it. I have to sneak them into hubby's food. Most people have to do this for their children. I have to do it for my 37 year-old husband. Okay, I have procrastinated long enough (like ALL DAY), I need to work on some report cards. Hope you all had a great weekend!

I know you've never met me....

2010-02-27T08:00:00.001-08:00

I know you have never met me but if you cannot tell, I like to be entertained. All the time. Perhaps that is why I got fat, entertaining myself with food. There is not much I will not do to make myself giggle. Including trying to dress up like the peeps I saw at BodyJam last weekend.

This picture was taken yesterday before my 5:30am workout. I look super retarded because I am laughing while striking a BodyJam move.

Don't worry, no one had a seizure while looking at me but we did laugh pretty hard. Especially because I proceeded to workout in this get-up. It was a little warm. Imagine a room of tired people all wearing gray and black clothing....and then there was me. I even sported a side-pony. There are holes in the back of the shirt and I wore a lace cami underneath to show off the holes.

All I have to say is that exercise is so much more fun when everyone is enjoying it. So go ahead....entertain yourself. Or others. They will appreciate it. Exercise can be fun(ny)

Fatty, fatty 2X4

2010-02-26T02:59:00.000-08:00

Friday weigh-in. Big gain. I am up 4 pounds. I added in some calories to my diet. Guess I am still adjusting. I am not too ashamed. They are healthy calories. Although I do feel roly-poly. I am still exercising everyday. Maybe this is my "motivation" to stay on track (or pay closer attention to the track).

In related news, I made my first ever banana bread this week (thanks to a recipe from Best Bud). It is yummy (not low calorie)! My mom used to make it all the time. When I pulled it out of the oven, I was transported back to childhood. I guess this means in some way I am becoming my mother. Soon I will be buying all kinds of crappy workout equipment from infomercials. Hide the VISA cards!

Well I am off to body attack. Need to burn off a super delicious turkey burger I ate last night (I did not make it so I am sure it had fatty goodness to make it taste better). Hope you all have a super day!

I have not been this sore since fat camp!

2010-02-21T06:41:00.000-08:00

I am not all that sore but I may take the day off from working out. A rare occasion for me.

Remember this summer when I made my own version of fat camp (well, if you are new to my blog I am sure you don't)? I was working out 3 or 4 hours a day. Well yesterday was a bit like that.

The classes I love to take at the gym (body attack, bodypump, etc) were created by a dude called Les Mills. He has many classes. They are awesome. Well, yesterday the Les Mills company held its quarterly event. This is where all the trainers get to preview all the new releases. I think there are 8 different programs. This is the first time the public was invited to come. So I signed up (for a small fee of $100 - good lord) and went with the trainers from my gym. It was held at the convention center. Why? Because there were supposed to be about 650 people there.

There were a lot of people but way less than 650. All those people were exercising in one room. And the room? It was set up like a night club. We were pretty much in the dark and there were some colored lights flashing around and smoke machines. A very interesting way to exercise. Imagine hundreds of people exercising, in the dark, all day. It was fun, but a long day.

The last class was hilarious. It was called bodyjam and it is the hip-hop dance class. It did not start til 6 at night so there were not many people left by then. In fact most of the people I went with left right after that class started. This class was awesome for the people watching. People dressed like break dancers from the 80s. And not just the instructors. And they wore glow sticks. There were also confetti cannons. Cheesy and funny. I am a poor excuse for a hip-hop dancer. Oh well, I had fun.

Body Attack (my fav) had a poster that I really liked. It said "Smiling is optional, finishing is not." This is how I feel about exercise.

This morning is pancakes and recovery.

I also must apologize. My last post was #200 for me and I asked you a lame question. Maybe I can think of something better to make it up to you. Just not today. Sorry. If you can think of something I should write about, let me know. By the way, I have been trying your suggestions. So far the winner is something called Crystal Clear. I found it at Kroger and it is carbonated, flavored water. No caffeine, no aspartame, no calories.

No weigh-in this week. I feel bloaty and fat and I think a weigh-in will make me shut down a bit so I am giving myself a break from the scale (also a rare occasion).

I want to leave you with a quote. I know, quotes can be lame but when I read this, it stuck with me. I am reading The Jean Nidetch Story (she is the creator of Weight Watchers). "Those who are successful with the program are the ones who tell themselves that they are not going to let anything stand in their way. People who say they can't succeed spend the rest of their lives proving it."

I think of this in terms of general weight loss, not the weight watchers program. But isn't true?

Challenge question

2010-02-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

I need your expertise. Since we are all focusing on health, I know you peeps have the knowledge I need.

Let me start by telling you that I love Diet Coke. Love it. I only drink one per day, but it is true love. That said, I am trying to quit it for a while. Here is where your challenge question comes in.

Is there a soda (I am from Michigan and really call it 'pop'), that is caffeine free, has no aspartame and is not loaded with empty calories? P.S. I do not like things that taste like ass.

I only want to drink one per day but still, I do not want to drink 120-140 empty calories and loads of sugar.

I drink tons of water and skim milk everyday. But you know how after awhile, you want something different. I do like Propel but I like the bubbliness (yes, I make up words) of soda.

Tell me wise ones, does such a soda exist?

So much for the weekend!

2010-02-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

As soon as I hit "publish" on my last post Thursday night....the power went out. I got it back last night at 5:30. I was without a voice and power for about 3 days. Talk about irritating. No internet, no heat, no lights, no tv, no heat, no hot water, no heat. It was sucky. I spent Valentine's Day (which I think is stupid anyway) at the laundromat with best bud who was pretty sick. Hubby went to the NBA all-star game.

Thank goodness the weekend is over. Although, I am not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I am tired still. We have to have our Valentine's party tomorrow. Kids are always crazy on those days. Oh well. They will have fun.

I finally weighed-in today. Same as last week. I am okay with it. I am bloaty but that maybe because I had to eat a little off my regular routine because....I had no power.

So this week will be a week of convience foods. No recipe. I will work on one for next week. Sorry. Hubby took off today and we actually got to go out to lunch together (which he never wants to do). It was nice. But still too cold. Man, I can tell it has been a long time since I lived in Michigan. I am getting really wussy in the cold. I think the loss of over 100 pounds made me super cold to start with. Yesterday morning my house was 56 degrees. With 5 shirts on (no exaggeration) it was doable. Getting naked to change for the gym? Brrrrr.

Hope you all had a good weekend! I will try and catch up on some blogs. Sorry for slacking!

Craziest week ever!!

2010-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Holy cow it has been a crazy week! I cannot even it put it in a post. I am in awe of life. Today I have no voice. I mean absolutely NO voice. My throat hurts and I cannot even complain about it (at least out loud). I am tired.

When I woke up this morning, there was snow everywhere. I live in Texas, it never snows. At present we have received 9.3 inches and it is still snowing (big time record for a year not just a day). I was sad when I realized I had to go to work in the snow and teach 1st grade with no voice. The kids thought it was the best day ever because I gave them word searches and had them take turns reading to the class. Oh yeah, and I took them out and we had a huge snowball fight (because seriously? when will they ever get the chance to do this again...it is awesome packing snow). We stayed out until one girl cried that her hands were burning (oops!). Don't worry we let them warm up under the hand driers.

But happy day...they already announced school is cancelled tomorrow. I need sleep. Major sleep. The gym cancelled my classes for tonight and tomorrow. Boohoo. At least I did a double workout yesterday and I have the Wii for tomorrow. A four day weekend my friends!!! Love it, love it, love it!

Looking forward to more snowball fights (I also nailed my teammates but have yet to get my hubby) and lots of sleep. I "heart" my bed. And reading. Like a surprise vacation.

Hope you all are doing well. Looking forward to reading more blog entries on my vacation!

FOOD - Fried Rice Recipe

2010-02-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

I went to the store today (after the super bowl started so it would be less crowded). Here are some of the foods I am craving lately (I am kind of proud based on the fact that I used to be a fruit and nut hater). I am pretty sure they will last me the week but you can never be too sure with me.

And since I have been so snacky lately I decided to make a veggie tray to keep in the fridge this week. Maybe I will eat less almonds this way. I don't count vegetables so load me up!
Hubby loves dessert (and me too lately) so I made the chocolate mousse again and portioned it out to eat through out the week.

Here are the ingredients for tonight's fried rice recipe.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cups cooked white rice (prepared according to box)
6 eggs (for less calories remove 2 or 3 yolks)
3 tablespoons of oil
1 or 2 crowns of broccoli (chopped in small pieces)
¾ cup shredded carrots
½ red bell pepper (chopped small)
½ green bell pepper (chopped small)
½ package of snow peas (they look like pods) chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup of low-sodium tamari (an aged soy sauce I find in the ethnic aisle at Kroger)
Directions:
1. Cook the broccoli with a little Pam in a small pan because it takes longer to cook.
2. Cook rice in a pot according to the box directions.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. While it heats, scramble the eggs in a bowl. Add them to the oil and cook like scrambled eggs.
4. Add the bell peppers, carrots and snow peas to eggs and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add in the cooked rice and tamari sauce. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the frozen peas and broccoli and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

It is ready to serve but will be pretty hot. The calories on this can vary. I think it is about 180 calories for a 2/3 cup serving. This has lots of veggies and protein and is very good for you. I have tried it with brown rice but we like the white better. I usually serve with Chung’s eggrolls (from the freezer section) or grilled chicken.

This recipe makes a TON of food. Best bud and I change this recipe from time to time. We love it but she makes it far more often because it is the girls' favorite. I now feel prepared for the week ahead. Hopefully you do too! Good luck to you, you big LOSERS!!