Wednesday weigh in !!

Week 30=185.6lbs

(-2.8lbs)

I was quite surprised that not only did I loose the 1.4lbs I gained last week but also another 1.4lbs on top of that! YAH !! I am back on track, I am paying a little more attention too my non-NS choices and with the little help from some friends I am better understanding nutrition labels. It's not all about calories, you need to understand whats in those calories! This is not as easy as you may think, at least not to me.

Yesterday I tried the turkey pepperoni that was recommended by Jordanna and I have to agree it was very yummy, low cals and high protein - perfect for someone trying to do NS on their own! I read some more of the book she recommended too last night and I am also starting to wonder about this pregnancy thing!? Maybe I should have waited to read the book until I couldn’t back out of it!? Sonya from “Goodbye Belly” was wondering what book I have been talking about so I thought I would post a pic. She has recently had a baby and her blog reminds me of my good friend Denise who has also recently had a baby and is trying to shed that baby weight.

It is a very good book and I often find myself laughing out loud when I read it, you would think that I would find it hard to relate to a lot of her stories because I haven’t experienced labor yet but I often agree with a lot of the things she mentions and I am quite surprised by other topics. I have just finished reading the part on hemorrhoids and I am honestly thinking about getting that shot she is talking about cause I really don’t want to experience my insides coming out?! Which I’m sure is a common situation for most new mom’s but no one ever tells you about that kind of stuff! Hopefully there won’t be too many more unmentioned, uncomfortable surprises talked about in this book or I might change my mind on this baby business stuff! LOL - Just kiddin!

After I finished taking the dog for her walk last night I wanted to try out my new Yoga DVD but something happened to my new DVD player in the basement and it won’t play any disc’s? I guess that’s what you get for being a value conscious shopper and buy the cheapest DVD player out there!? So upstairs I went to use the good DVD player. There are three disc’s - abs, upper body and lower body. Since I just got home from walking I decided to try the upper body one. This DVD is suppose to be “beginner” level, well if this is beginner I would hate to see advanced! It was flippin hard, H-A-R-D!! I had to learn and get into 100 different positions in a split second!? Going from “down dog” to “up dog” and other positions I can’t even remember what they were called. Some of the positions I had to hold for so long that my finger tips and toes went numb! He did the bridge one, you know where you lie on your back, with your knees bent and your hands by your head and push your self up to make a bridge!? I can’t do that! I gave up half way through and just watched, I like my Pilate’s DVD way better - it is easier to follow with simple positions and has different levels in case you feel a little lazy that day! ;) Hopefully the other Yoga disc’s aren’t quite as challenging.

As you know I also took the animals to the vet yesterday, it went fairly well. My dog Roxie (a Rottweiler) weighed in at 94.4lbs, the last time she got weighed (two years ago) it was 103 so she lost almost 10lbs! The vet was very happy about this but said he would like to see her at 85lbs! Now the cat, Kitty, was a different story! She weighed in at 7.4lbs, that is 100% loss from the last time she was weighed! The vet was very concerned by this and after I told him about other conditions she has he thinks she may have kidney failure. He wanted to do blood tests and urine samples to be sure but then I told him how we had already discussed this at home and decided we weren’t spending any more money on her. This is going to be her last summer, he then recommended that we not bother giving her her shots and that it would be a waste of our money. He also asked me if I wanted to leave her there, that day, forever … this was very upsetting for me! I thought that I had prepared myself for the day that I would leave her at the vets but yesterday was not that day and I was not quite ready to say my goodbye’s. I suppose the good thing is that kidney failure is a “silent killer” and is usually accompanied with little or no pain, she will just become weak. The vet also noticed that I had lost weight and suggested that I not loose anymore!? I don’t think he realizes that to be considered “normal” I still need to loose 25 more pounds!? He told me about how his daughter is anorexic and how it is a disease. I don’t think I could ever be anorexic, I like food too much! If anything I would be a binge eater. I can totally understand how dieting could turn into a addiction just like how before I dieted I was addicted to fast food. I can see how you could get into the thought pattern of “just 5 more” or if “I look good now then I’ll look really good after I loose 5 more pounds”. I am not loosing weigh to just look good, I am loosing weight to be healthy! I also know that I have friends and family that would not let me become addicted to dieting, they would let me know if it started getting out of control! Or at least I hope they would!?

Tidbits

I took Jordanna's advice yesterday and stopped at Costco on my way home from work. I picked up the book she recommended on her blog, turkey pepperoni she also recommended and I saw a 3 pack yoga video that I decided to get as well (I'm starting to get a little bored of my Pilate's one). I wanted to start reading the book as soon as I got home from taking the dog for a quick walk but as soon as I got home from Costco my hubby informed me that he received 2 cheques from the good ole government, they had made a mistake and we over paid them - so they were returning the money to us! YEAH - gotta like when that happens! ;) So he said "let's go shopping" - gotta like that too! So off we went looking for a new fridge, I really want a bottom freezer fridge and have seen some good deals before at Future Shop, so we made this our first stop. We bought our dishwasher from them and so far it is good, I like it. We found a 18.8cu stainless steel bottom freezer fridge that was a very good price but it was made by Samsung and I kinda wanted all our appliances to match (the dishwasher is GE). I also have never bought any Samsung before and am not sure about their quality? I always thought they made stereos and electronics? I wanted to see what one of their stoves looked like cause I figured it was ok if the dishwasher was different but it would be nice if the stove and fridge matched. Unfortunately Future Shop didn't have any Samsung stoves so now I'm wondering if they even make a stove? I now need to decide how important it is to me that my appliances match?! I think I'm more of a value conscious person then a appearance person so I'm almost certain that we will get this Samsung fridge and worry about the stove later - if it matches then that's a plus but I don't think I'm too worried about it (as long as it's stainless steel). Here is a pic:

Some things I like about this fridge that we didn't find on any other fridge is.....

-- the freezer door swings open as opposed to sliding out and has individual draws instead of those little wire bins.

-- there is a child lock for the freezer door (so toddlers don't figure out how to open the freezer)

--of course the price was good ($899)

--and it has lots of shelf and storage space.

Of course we forgot to measure the space where the fridge goes in the kitchen so we didn't buy it yet, in case it doesn't fit. We also stopped at Leons too see what they have, I was surprised to see they don't really have too much in the bottom freezer department but I did notice they had a little upright freezer that we also want for the basement - so I hinted to the hubby that this would be a good 30th b-day present! ;) They also had some good deals on stoves so when it does come time to get a stove I think we will end up at Leons for that.

When we got home I started reading the book and found that it was quite humorous but also thought it was a little odd of me to be reading a "what to expect when you are expecting" type book when I'm not even expecting yet! ? My hubby saw it and asked -"why are you reading a pregnancy book???" thinking that maybe I haven't told him something!? he he But then I explained how Jordanna said it was a good book and that it was funny! So he kinda raised his eye brow, shook his head and walked away! LOL

I have to take the pet's to the vet's today so I get to leave work early !! YEAH!! I think it is good timing for the vet appointment cause of the big food recall I can talk to him about that a bit and he can check them out really good. Kitty needs her nails trimmed really bad but absolutely goes bonkers when you try to clip them, it's like you are taking away her only defence mechanism. They usually ask me to leave the room when they trim her nails, probably cause they have to man handle her so bad that they don't want me to think they are hurting my cat. Last time I tried to help hold her down she bit me, little b*tch! I even bled a bit, so it doesn't bother me to leave the room!

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm hoping that I lost the weight I gained last week plus a little extra !! But I'm not holding my breath, I'll take anything as long as it's less then what I am now! ;)

10 things !

10 TV shows I used to watch as a kid:

(in no particular order)

#1- - Little house on the Prairie (what little girl didn't watch this show?)

#2- - Sesame street (the original one, where Ernie and Burt were still in the closet!)

#3- - Lassie come home (I cried almost every episode)

#4- - War of the Worlds (Had nightmares every time I watch but still watched it)

#5- - The Friendly Giant (look up ... way up) :)

#6- - Inspector Gadget (and his sidekick Brain!) :)

#7- - Astro boy

#8- - Macgyver (he was so smart and sexy- *sigh*) LOL

#9- - Teddy Ruxpin (Everyday after school)

#10- - The Littlest Hobo (I loved this dog- I cried a lot watching this show too)

~~ UPDATE ~~

I just received a few pictures from my SIL - Kenzie at the hospital. The pic's don't really show exactly how pale she was but I'm sure you will understand how overwhelming it was to see her with all the cords coming out of her. I am so happy that she is much better now and happy at home! :)

My brother with Kenzie.

She has the little pink pig I bought her on her chest.

Back to work :(

In a couple more days it will officially be the first day of spring!! Although it is pretty chilly today and doesn't really feel like spring. The snow has melted quite a bit and I can see patches of green in the grass!! I think I prefer fall over spring just cause all the trees change color and everything looks so pretty. But I'm still pretty excited about the weather getting nicer! :)

As expected my weekend was pretty uneventful, my hubby went to the hockey game on Sat - they lost ... again! So I had the evening to myself, it was great, I played around with our taxes to see if we would be getting any money back. It looks promising, the hubbies taxes are fairly easy and simple but mine are a little harder cause I have RRSP's and a pension. I think I figured mine out wrong cause according to my calculations I should be getting alot of money back and usually that means I figured something out wrong! LOL I might have to ask my mom or FIL to look at my taxes too see if I did them right!?

I also decided to start a recipe book, my mom made me one when I got married with a bunch of family recipes and recipes that she likes but some of them I doubt I will ever cook. So I found a few in my Low GI recipe book that I will probably make and I'm going to pick out the ones I will make out of the book my mom made and go through all the ones in my cupboard. It will take me a while to do this, I have quite a few recipe books that I have only looked through a few times and don't think I have ever made anything from! I also plan on ordering the NS cook book from Chapter's which will hopefully have more Low GI recipes that I will like.

On Sunday we decided to go visit the grandparents cause we haven't seen them for a while but we only got about 5 feet from the house and realized we had a flat tire!! My first one ever! We switched vehicles and the hubby changed my tire when we go home. One of the hubbies cousin's (the only one I really like) was also at the grandparents. She recently had a baby (two days before my niece was born), and I hadn't seen them since his baby shower so it was nice to see them. He is getting big, not as big as I think my niece is but he looks completely different from his the last time I saw him.

The hubbies grandma was quite concerned about the whole Pet food recall and made sure that we knew about it. There is actually quite a long list of cat and dog food that is affected by this recall, it looks to me like it is only wet food that is affected but if you have a cat or dog it may be worth while to check out!

TGIF !

Is it just me or did it feel like this week would never end! I blame the whole time change thing, I wish we didn't worry about it like Saskatchewan! I think my computer is also glad it is Friday cause it is slower then molasses today! I'm typing faster then it is showing on the screen which is pretty bad cause I'm not a very fast typer! :) So my doctors office called yesterday and let me know that they cancelled my appointment and that I needed to re-book! How weird is that? Usually it's the other way around, the patient cancels with the doctor!? I think they said something about her being out of the office so maybe she has to go to a seminar or maybe she'll be on holidays!? Anyway so I re-booked today for April, which kinda sucks cause this was suppose to be my pep talk for TTC! Oh well, we don't actually plan on starting TTC until June so I still have time to ask any questions I have.

Not too many plans for this weekend, hopefully it is nice enough to get some work done out side. I planted a whole bunch of tulip and lily bulbs last fall so I'm super excited to see how many come up and what color they are! I love tulips, if I was going to have a spring wedding that was going to be my flower but instead our wedding was in the fall so I had sunflowers and Gerber daisies! Which are also really nice! I never used to be so into gardening - my parents were but I really couldn't be bother by planting them and picking weeds all the time. Now that I have a house of my own I find that I enjoy gardening, I find it to be a good stress relief and a good work out!

The only plan I have for the weekend so far is grocery shopping, I need to pick up a few "staples" milk, salad, tomatoes, etc. And of course the usual house cleaning, walking the dog and Pilate's. We need to give the dog a bath this weekend too (before her vet appointment) - this is a very hard chore that I do not enjoy! She does not like bath's and fights to get out the whole time. Trying to hold back a 100lb Rottweiler in a slippery bath tub is a very hard work, but needs to be done! With all this sloppy weather and taking her on more walks her tummy is like a giant mudflap and collects all the dirt/ water!

You Sometimes Don't Get Enough Sleep

You're often more tired than you'd like, and you're probably not getting enough quality sleep.Sleeping a little more could make you a lot more energetic and happy.Try having a bedtime, keep your bedroom cool, and only eat fruit before bed.

Do You Get Enough Sleep?

Thursday

I weighed myself again his morning too see if maybe it was just water weight yesterday, but no .... it wasn't! :( In fact I gained another 0.4lbs! WTF ? So I'm back on the wagon 110%, I need to go for my evening walks every night and push myself to go a little further then usual. No more stealing goodies off the hubbies plate and no more eating out. I know this may sound kind of extreme for some of you, I mean it is only the first time I have gained in 29 weeks and I should be happy about how far I came and not dwell to much on this gain but I am a little disappointed in myself. I can not afford to be on this diet forever and money is an issue in our house. We don't have 6 digit incomes and I would rather be spending my money on other things, like hardwood floors or a hot tub! So the quicker I can teach myself the rights and wrongs of dieting the happier I will be!



**UPDATE** My brother called me yesterday to let me know they were taking my niece home! YAH!! :) She still has a slight cough and stuffy nose but she is much better then she was! Hopefully by the weekend she will be back to normal 100% !

I liked Jordanna's list of thing's she loved so I thought I would let you know a little more about me and I will do a list of 10 thing's I have collected:

#1- - Buttons

#2- - Archie comic books (I still have a few of the oldie's)

#3- - Post cards (I think I also still have these somewhere too)

#4- - Sheira "Princess of Power" stickers, Heman's lady friend! he he

#5- - ALF cards (complete set) :)

#6- - Feathers (ok - this one is weird)

#7- - Care bear comic books (I'm missing #1, but have #2-30)

#8- - Stickers

#9- - Key chains (I still have tons of key chains, not sure why? I just keep getting them?)

#10- - Penguins (This is the only one I still collect, even though they are still at my dad's house) LOL

Wednesday weigh in ....

I knew it was gonna happen someday ..... I was just hoping that maybe I could get away with not being so stricked.... I should have known better! I totally blame it on last night and maybe a few days last week ! The inlaws came home last night so we took them out for dinner, I had a veggie burger and a ceaser salad. I don't quite have the "stop when your full mentality" - I like to finish what's on my plate, every time, no matter what! I think I need to either change this thought process or ask for a "to-go" container before I start eating and split my meal!? I have been awfully lazy for the past week not only with some food choices but I also have not been doing as many walks and not doing pilates as often as before. It finally caught up to me ..... for week 29 .....

I gained +1.4lbs! yikes!

I suppose it is normal to gain at least once during a person's weight loss journey and you can only hope to learn from it and carry on! But it is still upsetting, seeing's how this is my first gain in 29 weeks - I suppose that's a plus (no pun intended -LOL)!? Today is a new day - a new week!! Time to get back to the basics!

On a better note, as I mentioned above ... the inlaws are now home! We had a good visit with them last night, it sounds like they had a really good time and are already talking about going back. Next time they want to take us with them and their "6 grand kids" (non-existing), I think they have high hopes! Maybe they should hope for one grand kid first before raising the bar to 6! gesh! They said the worst tour they went on was probably the "Captain Hook" one - they said it was too "young" for them, loud music, everyone was yelling and the more you yelled the better service you seemed to get. It doesn't really sound like something I would enjoy either!? They went on three tours of the ruins - Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza, they handed out coloring books and crayons in Coba which I thought sounded like a nice gift for the kids! Although a lot of them turned around and traded their coloring books for food! They also went to Xel-Ha, a water park in Playa Del Carmen and my FIL went deep sea fishing! Hopefully in four or five years we can go back to Mexico with them! The only bad things that happened were my MIL stubbed her toe on the second day and broke it! Apparently her whole foot was swollen and black and blue for a few days from that! And remember the "tequila boom boom" night and tattoo's I told you about .... well I guess it was like that ink that East Indians use in their ceremonies too draw designs all over their skin and the ink stains the skin leaving a nice design. So anyway it was like that but my MIL found out that she is allergic to the ink stuff they use and ended up getting an infection on her ankle (where the tattoo think was) - it swelled up and got all red. It still looks gross and she is going to go to a doctor now that she is back in Canada! Of course they brought gifts back for us, no - no baby sombrero's, although that would have been super cute - he he! The hubby got a parrot made out of leather which looks really neat! And I got a hand painted ceramic candle holder - it's really pretty!

I thought it would be easier to go for my walks now that it is getting warmer out when in fact it seems to be getting harder to find the time to go. We seem to always have something on the go and I'm sure with summer on it's way it will just get busier. I need to focus on getting that half hour of exercise in and not reach for the darn candy bowl on the table! Especially with Easter on it's way, I love those little eggs! So - here's to a new week with a lesson learned and hopefully next weigh in will have better results! :)

Trivia

** UPDATE **

So my brother called last night to let me know that they took Kenzie off the oxygen just before noon and she seems to be doing good. She has also been eating a bit from the bottle and not bringing it back up so that's good. She still has a cough but hopefully she will be able to go home tomorrow?! :)

My inlaws come home today from their Mexican holiday! Their plane lands at 5pm so we will probably end up going out for dinner with them and hear all their fun stories of their trip!

Tomorrow is also weigh in day and I'm a little nervous about it, I don't think I have had a single NS meal all week! I have been on my own about 95% this week and I'm curious to see if I did ok!?

Thinking of trying something new? How about ...

Eggplant
Eggplant, although commonly thought of as a vegetable, is actually a fruit, specifically, a berry. There are many varieties, ranging in length from 2 - 12 inches (3 - 30 cm), in color from white to rich purple and in shape from round to oblong. Choose an eggplant with firm, smooth skin that is very heavy for its size; avoid those with soft or brown spots. Eggplants are very perishable and become bitter with age. Store in refrigerator and use promptly. When young, the skin of most eggplants is edible; older eggplants should be peeled. Cut eggplant just before using as the flesh discolours very quickly. Eggplant can be prepared in many ways including frying, baking and broiling.

PREPARATION - Wash the eggplant just before using it, and cut off the cap and stem. Use a stainless steel knife because carbon blades will discolor the eggplant. Eggplant should not be eaten raw. Eggplant may be cooked with or without its skin. However, large eggplant and most white varieties have thick, tough skin and should be peeled prior to cooking with a vegetable peeler. Unlike many vegetables, eggplant is not harmed by long cooking. An undercooked eggplant can have a chewy texture; but overcooked eggplant is just very soft. Do not cook in an aluminum pot because the eggplant will become discolored. Spices that enhance its flavor include allspice, basil, bay leaves, garlic, chili powder, oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, and parsley. Eggplant is most often paired with tomatoes or onions.

BAKING: To bake a whole eggplant, pierce the skin with a fork several times, and cook it at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Baking whole eggplants produces a soft flesh that is easy to mash or puree.

BROILING: Cut the eggplant into thick lengthwise slices, and score them lightly with a sharp knife. Place the slices on a broiler pan or grill; brush them lightly with oil. Broil about 5 inches from the heat, and turn slices when they begin to brown. Eggplant should be cooked for approximately 5 minutes per side.

Eggplant may also be MICROWAVED whole, cubed, or sliced. Cooking times vary from 6 to 8 minutes for a whole eggplant to 3 or 4 minutes for a pound of cubed eggplant.

STEWED EGGPLANT is called ratatouille. For this dish, eggplant may be stewed alone, or with other vegetables. Simmer, covered with a liquid such as tomato juice, until the eggplant is tender. The cooking time is usually 20 to 25 minutes.

Weekend update...

Hopefully everyone had a good weekend, mine was busy and full of excitement!! After work on Friday I was surprised to see that my new kitchen sink tap was installed!! We bought a new tap when we moved into the house almost a year and a half ago - so it was nice to see it was finally installed !! :) I broke down and went shopping for new jeans Friday night, I decided to check out Old Navy. Highly recommended by almost everyone I know but unfortunately I didn't find anything there that fit right or that I liked!? I ended up going next door to them and finding two pairs of jeans that were on sale, I was surprised to find out that I fit into a 34W 32L (they are a little long)!! It has been a long time since I fit into a 34W!! That's only one size bigger then my hubby! Other then that Friday was a pretty typical day, after dinner I walked the dog and watched The Next Great Chef, this Friday is the finale and Alberta is in -- I hope we win!!

Saturday I went over to my mom's in the morning to give her some computer disc's and have a visit. We were suppose to go shopping for kitty stuff but she is still unsure about getting one so needless to say we never went shopping. After our visit I headed to Costco to pick up a few things and lucky for me everything I wanted was on sale! They have pretty good kitty liter there and it was $3 off so I bought two boxes for the same price as one! And their Splenda was also on sale $3 off!! I picked up some WW cereal (Honey almond) and was going to try it this morning but I slept in a bit and had to grab something to go instead. After dinner and walking the dog we got a phone call from my SIL to let us know that my 9 week old niece was admitted into the Stollery Hospital!! WTF ?? Apparently she has something they called RSV - which I understand is just like a common cold to an adult but to a child that doesn't have a immune system yet can be quite serious! I went to go visit them Sat night at the hospital which thankfully Edmonton has the second best child care hospital in Canada! So she is in good care, I was very over whelmed by all the sick babies - it was very upsetting! :( When I got to her room my brother was holding her trying to comfort her, she was as pale as a ghost and there were tubes and cords all over her. I get teary eyed just thinking about it. :( I guess it all started last Tuesday, Kenzie started getting a fever and had the runs so they took her to the doctors on Wed. By Friday they had to take her to the emerg cause she was pale and her lips were blue. They did blood tests and found out she had RSV and sent her to the U of A.

Sunday I re-arranged our spare bedroom and cleaned up a bit more. The whole time change thing had me feeling "off" for the day. My mom called after lunch and said she was headed to the hospital so I got dressed and met her there. Kenzie looked 100% better then from the day before except for she now has a feeding tube. But she was much more aware of her surroundings and almost even smiled a few times. Hopefully she will be able to go home by Wed this week! She has quite a bad cough and even gave herself a hernia from coughing so much! Her "inny" is now an "outy" but should go back to normal?! Part of me wonders if this may have been brought on by things that could have been preventable? Like the hot tub incident and the mashed potatoes!? I wonder if maybe her mom thought she was prepared for anything just because she is a nurse? Or instead of being one of those mom's that is worried about every little thing she was more laid back but maybe too laid back?

I also think my cat is sick now too, it's like it's TOM for her but she has been spayed so I'm not sure what that is all about? We have a vet appointment next week so I guess we will ask him about it then? I think it may be "time" for her now!? :(

Well hopefully tomorrow is better! It can't get much worse so ..... here's too tomorrow!

Friday fun!

So I guess I have to make a correction from yesterday .... I was wrong about the "Maui wowi's" - my MIL did NOT discover maui wowi's, she discovered Tequila Boom Boom's!! Which totally surprise me cause I never would have thought that she would like tequila! LOL I won't even drink tequila, ewww !

Last night was bowling night and as we walked into the building we discovered buckets and tarps all over the place! Apparently with all this warm weather we have been having the snow seems to be melting faster then the roof can handle! It wasn't too bad for our league cause we don't quite fill up the alley and we were still able to play, but the league before us fills up the whole alley so they had to rotate teams on one lane! Needless to say we had to wait for them to finish before we could start so it was a late night. I'm almost certain that two of the lanes are ruined and the wood is all warped from all the water, good thing the season is almost over!

This month is a pretty exciting month for me not only because it is looking like spring is here and I can start wearing some new clothes to show off my new body but because I have a doctors appointment later this month! I can't wait to hear what she has to say about my weight loss and I 'm so excited to talk to her about TTC!! Hopefully everything goes good and she doesn't foresee any problems for us in that department! I'll make sure I keep you informed ;)

You Are a Cadbury Creme Egg

You're the type that stole little brother's easter basket so that you could have MORE CANDY!

What Easter Candy Are You?

THIS n THAT

Wow - thanks for all the encouraging comments yesterday! I also wanted to tell you about my awesome supper I had last night. I made "healthy" pizza, similar to NS but on my own - here is how it went:

1 Whole wheat pita = 140cals

2Tbsp of pizza sauce = approx. 10cals

loaded with veggies - green pepper/ red pepper/mushrooms/ red onion/ black olives/ hot banana peppers

1/4 cup of Skim Mozza cheese = 80cals

Set oven to broil and bake till cheese is melted and starts to turn brown.

Total calorie intake = about 250 cals

I wish I would have taken a picture of it to post but after I took one bite I couldn't stop, It was Deelish with a capital D !! ;) I will definitely be having more of these! Not only is the pita bigger then the NS pizza crust it tasted better and was easier to pile the veggies on. As suggested by fellow NS member Jordanna that maybe next time I should add a little more protein by adding some chicken or ham to the pizza. Great idea Jordanna - I'll definitely try that next time!

Well the inlaws called from Mexico (again), they are enjoying their trip and said that today they are going on THIS pirate ship dinner cruise! It sounds super fun and I am entirely jealous of them! LOL Next time maybe we can go together cause it sounds like they are having a blast! The hubby talked to them while I was on my walk so when I got home he informed me how his mom was introduced to "maui wowi's" and THAT she had so many of them it led to her getting a tattoo! I almost fainted she is not the type of person to go get a tattoo but then I thought the same thing about my dad and he came back from Mexico with one - so who knows! After I finished my little freak out about how his mom and dad got matching tattoos the hubby told me they were just fake ones - rub on's or something! I nearly had a heart attack! LOL Little jerk scared me !

Jordanna asked me this morning what pedometer I had and as I reached in my pocket to make sure I spelt Omron correct I realized that I had forgotten my pedometer at home!! WTH ?? I thought I learned my lesson last time I forgot that silly thing at home! GRRR I'm kinda mad at myself now but at least it is bowling night so I won't be doing too much walking today (unlike last time).

My M&M ! :)

I found this on Jordanna's blog and thought I would give it a try! I've been to these ruins and thought they were amazing, maybe Jordanna will see some ruins on her fancy cruise trip! :) You should create your M&M HERE and post it on your blog - it was fun!

Wednesday Weigh in!

Week 28=187lbs (-2lbs)

I was actually quite surprised by the 2lb loss! I feel like I barely even tried this past week, less walking and less Pilate's?! I think my metabolism is kicking in - gotta like that! ;) Grocery shopping last night was oober fun! Even though I just received my NS order I still picked up a few things to use as replacement meals. I was looking at getting some oatmeal but they didn't have any low fat ones? All I could find was Quaker 33% less sugar, but the nutritional value of that one seemed worse then just the Quaker regular oatmeal (except a little less sugar of course)? I ended up picking up one made by Nature's Path (the same company of the granola cereal I have been eating), it was only 150cals as opposed to the 200 in Quaker but was close with the rest of the nutritional values except this one has Omega 3 and Flax added. Oh and blueberries too - I think I'll try it tomorrow and let you know how it is. I also picked up some "Veggie dogs" I couldn't find turkey dogs and these veggie dogs are only 90cals and 10g protein each so I am having two for lunch today! The only bad part is that I also couldn't find wheat hot dog buns so I opted for the white ones? I was also looking at buying some rice, NS recommends long grain brown rice - which I have never had before. Usually I have minute rice (white)- so I compared the labels of the brown rice to the white minute rice and I was so confused cause the white minute rice looked way better to me then the brown? Less calories, less carbs, and less fat? I don't know why brown is so much better when according to the label it seemed worse? Maybe it is because it has less chemicals in it to make it white?! Dunno - I didn't buy any rice! I'm so confused when it comes to eating either white or wheat items (bread/rice/etc.) if you compare labels the wheat stuff really doesn't look better I need to get educated on reading labels I think!

My buggy was stocked full of veggies and when I got home I made a marinated salad. I cut up pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, celery, carrots, red onion, red pepper, and threw in a can of black olives, mushrooms and some mixed beans. Added some low fat Italian dressing and stirred it up! YUM - not only is it a good salad for a change but it lasts quite a while in the fridge. I don't usually put beans, onions or pepper in so we'll see how it is.

I have a few things planned for this weekend, my mom is probably getting a kitten so she needs all the essentials (litter box, scratching post, bowls, food, toys) and we bought our scratching post at Costco for a good price, so I think I will end up taking her to Costco this weekend. I have a list of things I need to pick up as well so either way I need to go there. I also think I am going to break down an go to Old Navy to check out there clothes, I have only ever heard good things about them and I could really use a new pair of jeans now (a pair that fits good would be nice).

Other then that not much else is new .... Happy hump day! ;)

** UPDATE ** Well I finished my lunch and the salad was pretty good, I'm not sure if I'll add beans to it again but other then that it was good. And my veggie dogs were also good, I think I like the NS Turkey dogs beter but these were ok. I think they would be beter if they were BBQ'd instead of nuked! ;) I think I'll try and find a turkey dog at the grocery store next time, but if I can't find them then I'd buy these again.

Tuesday trivia

I'm awfully stiff and sore today, not too sure why? I didn't do anything extra yesterday just the usual 30min walk and Pilate's? Maybe it's old age? LOL I got my shipment yesterday and yes my 60lb bear was present and accounted for! he he There are a few things in my order that are new and I'm excited to try. Like the cherry vanilla pudding and I noticed that they have changed the packaging on the vegetarian chili? It is now in one of the little microwave bowls and not in the tray, more like the chili with beans?! Well today is grocery day and I get to go by myself cause the hubby got his shipment of metal tubing for his car and he is excited to get started on that. I'm totally fine with going by myself, in fact I think I like it better, I don't feel so rushed and I can take my time and try and find new healthy foods! As long as he helps unload the car when I get home it's all good! ;)

I found this on the WW website and thought it was good info and I'd like to share.

Q: I don't know how to store fresh veggies in the fridge. Do I take them out of their plastic bags? Is there anything special I should do before putting them in the fridge? How long can I expect them to last?

A: Although the best storage methods for fresh vegetables can vary within each vegetable category (green onions differ from Spanish onions, for example), here's a list with some basic guidelines. A few overall points to keep in mind first, though:

**Refrigeration can damage some vegetables (such as potatoes), yielding an off-flavour or mushy texture. -- I always put my potatoes in the fridge ??
**Keep vegetables that are not stored in the refrigerator (such as potatoes and onions) away from heat sources and out of sunlight.
**Some vegetables (like tomatoes and eggplants) can be left on the counter to ripen and then refrigerated to extend their lifespan.
**When storing veggies in plastic bags, make sure to poke some holes in the bag to allow for proper air circulation. Or buy perforated plastic vegetable bags.
**Keep vegetables and fruits in separate produce drawers because some fruits, such as apples and pears, produce a substance called ethylene that hastens ripening of other produce. --I've heard this before and try to keep my apples separate but my fridge is only so big!
**Do not store potatoes and onions together because they each give off gases that can cause the rapid decay of the other. --Who knew!? Not me! LOL
**Although some vegetables can last for long periods of time when properly stored, try to use them sooner, rather than later, for optimal flavour and nutrient value.
**Add crispness back to limp veggies like celery and asparagus by placing them stem-side down in a small amount of water; refrigerate until crisp.
**Last but not least, do not wash vegetables until you're ready to eat them! -- I always wash my veggies as soon as I get home so that they are prepared and ready to eat whenever I want! I guess they stay fresher if you don't do that ?

I found that the WW website is quite helpful and usually has tons of tips. If you are curious you should check it out, WW Website. Hopefully soon I will be able to get my new fridge, bottom freezer, then this way all my veggies will be at eye level and the first thing I see when I open the door!

Weekend review ...

Hopefully everyone had a great weekend, I had to work Sat so it made for a short weekend but was still good. The funeral on Friday was actually really nice, the service was fairly short and they had a really good slide show. The place was quite full as I had expected and I did see a lot of old friends that I hadn't seen for a few years. It was nice to catch up with everyone and find out where they were in their lives. Most were married and had kids but I at least I wasn't the only one there that doesn't have kids yet! We ended up staying at the funeral home till 4:30! I was surprised at how fast the time flew by, then me and Denise went for coffee. Other then that my weekend was pretty un-eventful! Denise and her hubby came over on Sunday with their little guy (aka-bruiser) LOL ! He is almost walking now and always on the go, I got tired just watching him ! I found out super fast that my house was not baby-tised, I put the candy bowl up and cleared off the coffee table for him not thinking that he would also make his way to the stereo stand and tv to find the remotes, and find his way into the kitchen to discover other things I have laying around!


I have been trying to pick up another new but good habit (other then healthy eating), I have been trying to get into the habit of flossing my teeth! I have heard from friends with kids and even my dentist has told me that when you do get pregnant it takes toll on your teeth. So this will be one more preparation for me in order to have a happy healthy pregnancy!


Tomorrow is grocery shopping day, I'm so excited!! I am thinking about trying one of my low G.I. recipes next weekend so I might pick up the ingredients for that. I'm debating between the Chocolate Zucchini muffins or the Broc. Cauliflower salad (it's a warm salad) ? I also think that it is going to be one of our longer grocery shopping expeditions! I need to find more low GI friendly supper ideas?! Breakfast and lunch seem so easy but it is my suppers that I am having a problem with?! I think one thing that will help me out is if I make large batches of supper meals and freeze them in individual containers, like vegetarian chili or stew. I just need to figure out how to calculate the nutrition value of recipes!? Thank goodness for the internet! ;)

Friday fun !

Well this Friday isn't so much fun, not only do I have to attend a funeral today, blogger also ate my post! Grrr I hate when that happens .... it was such a good post too! ;) And I have to work tomorrow so it really isn't a Friday at all!

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need.You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law.While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top.You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Hopefully this is true, I sure would like to be a "cool" parent! ;)

So I have another NS order on it's way and hopefully my 60lb bear is in there too! I delayed my next order for a month and I probably could have delayed this order a little longer too but I like my security blanket! I'm still a little weary of taking off those training wheels! It's mostly the suppers that worry me, like last night I had supper on my own and as I looked at my plate I couldn't help but think it was too much food!? I had grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts and had one about the size of a deck of cards. I also made noodles and mashed some sweet potatoes, oh and a spinach salad. Now I am wondering if maybe I had too much starchy food? Is sweet potato a veggie or carb? Speaking of sweet potatoes... they were disgusting! It's funny cause before NS our family would have sweet potatoes once a year and only once a year (at Christmas). I would take a small tablespoon and choke them done just for tradition sake. But after I signed up with NS and tried their sweet potatoes I found that I actually liked them! I thought that maybe because I am older now that my tastes have changed and I had grown to like them. So I thought I would give them a try on my own .... big mistake! They were horrible - I don't think I will be eating them again, unless they are NS. On a better note, the last time I was at the grocery store tangerines were on sale so I bought one and thought I would give it a try! Well I tried it yesterday, my very first tangerine ever! Besides it having a more reddy skin and being cheaper then a orange ... it tasted just like one?! It was good, really juicy and sweet!

Any who-- I hope everyone has a good weekend! ;)