Diet, Growing Up, and Yummy Treats

Well, I've been a slacker with the blogging, once again. Surprise, Surprise, lol. But just to update you, on Monday my weight was the same as last week. No loss, but no gain either, so thats good. I think this week will be the same as well, but I am hoping to do much better this week (I'd better or I will never make my goal....yikes!).

Now I haven't mentioned this before, but man, Grace is really growing up. My little girl, who's really been doing some reading here and there for a bit, has just ballooned into a really good reader out of no where. Makes me proud AND sad that she's getting older (and that I can't spell things in front of her anymore......guess I'll have to learn a new language soon). I'd love to figure out what "level" she's reading on, but she surprises me all the time with the things she's picking up on. At first, I think we just thought she was memorizing the words, but she has picked up books for the first time, never having anyone reading them to her before, and reading 98% of the words. Now we just have to pray she gets better with her handwriting.....lol. That still needs some work =)

Now, here's a yummy recipe for you to try. I just tried this last week and it was soooo good and over all pretty healthy. After the recipe, I'll tell you the modifications I made, which wasn't really all that much. By the way, I saw this recipe made on a show called Jon and Kate Plus 8, which is about a couple who had a set of twins and then a set of sextuplets through infertility treatments. Talk about a full house! Anyway, a chef named Sara Snow visited and made this on the show, so I went to Sara's website and grabbed the recipe. Yum Yum Yum.

2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C Ground Flax Seed
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cardamon, or Cloves (ground)

1/2 C Room Temperature Butter
1/2 C Natural Cane Sugar
1/2 C Honey
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Small Apple, Chopped (Granny Smith is the best)
1/2 C Raisins
1/2 C Chopped Apricots
1 1/2 C Unsweetened Coconut
3 C Oats (oatmeal)
1/4 C Applesauce
1 C Chopped Walnuts or Almonds (Optional)

In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking soda, spices, flaxseed)

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar. Then add in honey, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add in the dry mix and beat together. Stir in oats, applesauce, coconut and fruit. Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

Now I used golden raisins instead of regular, I used dried apricots (which I think is what they meant to use, but they didn't specify). I used sweetened coconut because I couldn't find unsweetened but I didn't use as much. I also used only about 2- 2 1/4 cups of the oats because it seemed that it was going to be too much. I didn't make it with the nuts, but I think if you like nuts, it would be good to add. I also baked it for more than the 14 minutes, and I think it came out closer to 20. I basically baked it until it was starting to brown around the edges. The recipe takes some prep time, but its a very yummy treat. Try it and let me know what you think!!

Playing Tricks

You gotta love it when you and your spouse can play hilarious tricks on one another and the both of you can laugh about it. One of the things I love most about my husband is his sense of humor and ability to make me laugh (and his ability to laugh at my jokes, too). I love you, Ray!

So, I'm getting ready to leave the house today to run errands and I had to jump on my computer for something. As soon as my laptop is powered up I noticed the cute little computer background I had of Grace and Nate had been replaced with this:

In case you don't know who she is, she is the gorgeous Italian chef on the Food Network show Everyday Italian. Well, I pretended nothing happened and never mentioned anything to Ray about the incident; instead, when I returned home after running my errands, I set this as the background on Ray's computer to subtly let him know I saw what he did to my computer and that I was getting him back:

And in case you don't know who that is, that is Brody Jenner, the son of former Olympian Bruce Jenner. So, I then shut his computer back down so he wouldn't suspect me of anything. A little while after Ray returned home, he turned on his computer. A minute later I heard a yell from the bedroom and he mumbled about getting me back. But wait! I was getting HIM back to begin with!

Ah, the perils of playing tricks on the ones we love......

Growing Up

Ok, so you get two posts in one day. What a deal! But really, I actually would have posted this earlier, but I wanted to ensure I got a decent pic before I blogged.

My little girl is indeed growing fast. The other day Grace asked to get her ears pierced. Ray and I decided before Grace was born that when she was old enough to want and ask to get her ears pierced, we would do it. You see, I came from a house where my parents (mostly my mom, I'm sure, lol) pierced my ears when I was still just an infant. Ray, however, grew up in a different house, and so our views happened to clash. But, we decided on this little compromise, and then 5.5 years later, the day came. After waiting a few days, I asked her again if she still wanted to do this, and her answer was an enthusiastic YES. So there it was, our little girl wanted to pierce her ears.

We had to make a trip to the mall, and decided that while we were there, we'd surprise Grace and get her ears done on Sunday. When we got to Claire's there were 2 other girls in line wanting to get their ears done, too. One girl was about 8 or 9 and the other girl just turned 5. I wasn't sure Grace would still want to get her ears done after watching the other girls, but she was adamant about watching them, and not for one moment during the piercing process did she take her eyes off of the girls. While we were waiting, she got a chance to look at the earring choices and pick which one she wanted. I had scoped out the earrings ahead of time and knew she'd pick the white gold pink flower earrings, and she proved me right. I don't even think it took her 10 seconds to decide either. She also decided that she did not want both ears done at the very same time; she decided she wanted one ear done at a time. Whoa. She was really determined about this, too. I must have asked her like 6 times, and each time her answer remained the same. So one at time it was. And let me say, she was very brave, and she didn't even flinch. I wasn't quite sure who she was, because this is supposed to be the same girl who screams bloody murder when I try to brush knots out of her hair. But anyway, Here are some pics of the journey.

We just told her about her ears


Getting the marks for the holes done


This is her getting the second ear done,
look how calm she looks


All done!

Weight Loss

I've been in sort of a rut lately. It all started back in February right around my birthday. I got a nasty chest cold that left me with an awful cough for weeks, making it difficult to speak at times without hacking up a lung, let alone trying to work out with an elevated heart rate. I know, I know...excuses, excuses but it was the truth. I did let it get out of hand, because eventually I felt better, but I still hadn't made it to the gym. And then it seems like every week, and every day, there's yet another reason I can't go. Sigh.

Its been frustrating to say the least. Add to that my actual "diet" has struggled with a war between what I should eat and what I want to eat. Let's just say that what I wanted to eat has usually been the victor each and every time.

A couple of weeks ago after being at my highest weight since AUGUST, something inside my brain turned off some switches and turned some other switches on. I have ALWAYS wanted to stay on track, but it has not been easy. I never wanted to stay the same for nearly 6 months either. While its great I've basically maintained my weight that long, I should have still been making progress; I have a long road still ahead of me and treading water isn't going to get me anywhere. I am sick and tired, as cliche as that sounds, of maintaining. I had a plan that this summer was going to be great, and as the weeks and months have gone by and the weight has went up and down the same 5 lbs, I saw my summer slipping away. But two weeks ago, that trigger in my brain, somewhere, said enough! I was maintaining, fluctuating between 5 lbs, but then once I got up to a point where I hadn't been in 8 months, it was time to get back in control of this weight thing for sure. I got back on track with the Weight Watchers Core plan (I'll explain that in a minute) and last week I lost 4.2 lbs, and this week I am down another 1.2 lbs. I had close to the same success the first two weeks i tried this last time, but I let it slowly get out of control and didn't follow the plan too closely. This time I plan on making it farther than 2 weeks, for sure. My plan, as of 2 weeks ago, was to be down 30 lbs by June 30th. Basically, if I lose an average of 2 lbs a week from here on out, I will make it. I plan on trying my hardest to do that, because that will put me at weight (that I should have been at MONTHS ago) that will allow me to have a pretty good summer after all.

Now what is the Core Plan? The core plan is a plan that consists of a list of foods that you can eat from. Now, with WW Points plan, you can eat whatever, but you must count your points. You get a specified amount per day and then 35 extra for the week to use however and whenever you wish. So, if you really terrible, and you don't have any points left, too bad. You starve. With the core plan, however, you can eat when ever you want and whatever you want from that list of core foods. Now, I know eating from a "list" may sound restricted, but its not really. I think, probably out of the majority of diets I've learned about over the years, this is probably one of the most sound. This to me is how we should be eating with the occasional treats. Here is the list:

• Any vegetables- canned, fresh, frozen, as long as there's no added sugar (i.e. spaghetti sauce)
• Any fruits- canned, fresh, frozen, as long as there's no added sugar
• Non-creamy soups (w/o rice or pasta in it)-canned, frozen, homemade
• Whole wheat pasta, brown rice (limit to once a day), potatoes (limit to once a day), and grains
• High-fiber and other cereals with no sugar added
• Lean meats, fish, poultry, and eggs
  
• Fat free milk products (skim milk, ff cheese, ff yogurt, etc.)
  
• Healthy oils such as canola, olive, safflower, sunflower and flaxseed oils
• Condiments such as capers, cocktail sauce, extracts, flavorings, spices, herbs, horseradish, hot sauce, ketchup, lemon or lime juice, mustard, fat free salsa, soy sauce, steak sauce, sugar substitutes, taco sauce, teriyaki sauce, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
• Coffee, tea, and sugar free beverages
  

Now the core plan also gives you 35 points a week to eat non-core foods. Now what I've been doing, which isn't following it to a T, but as close as possible, is I've been making things like eggs for breakfast with two thin, low calorie slices of toast with a little bit of smart balance on top. Or I make oatmeal with skim milk (all core) and add a tad of sugar. Little things that I add back in, but are probably within my 35 pts a week even though I'm not keeping complete track of it. I think its still eating WAY better than I have been eating in the past, even with the WW points plan. This plan also allows you to eat as much as you need to be satisfied. they obviously want you to not stuff yourself like Thanksgiving every day, but you're not limited to have to stop at three bites either. I don't know exactly what it is with this plan exactly, but my body likes it. I love my milk and I get at least a glass a day with the core plan with no worries.

So anyway, that's my weight loss update for now. Sorry I've been lacking, but along with my renewed spirit I will try to blog more often about my journey.

Something's Missing

From this picture.....can you guess what?

Grace lost her THIRD tooth this morning. Well, maybe I shouldn't say lost, but rather "pulled" out =)

Nature's Beauty

There's one thing really awesome about living in the HOT place I live. The sunsets are UNREAL. This past weekend, my wonderful husband surprised me with a short trip to the west coast, or should I clarify with Gulf coast. I've always wanted to watch the sunset on the west coast, as I've seen plenty of beautiful east coast sunrises. Folks, it was beautifully breathtaking. Here are some pics from the trip.

Just before the sun's magnificent decent, it was hiding behind the clouds


Pure beauty

The sun wasn't hiding, I was just taking a picture of the clouds

Almost gone...


Once the sun was out of view, you can hear people
all over the beach applaud




After the sun is gone

This last photo wasn't a sunset, but it was a really cool pic I took
on the way home. Just look at the sun rays beaming through the clouds.

American Idol

Watch out American Idol.....here comes Grace! Here's a video Ray's sister, Katie took almost 3 years ago. It was lost until a few days ago, and boy is it funny to see. The video is Grace singing a song from Kelly Clarkson called "Since You've Been Gone." And in case you've lived under a rock for several years, Kelly Clarkson was the very first winner of American Idol. She's still my favorite singer out of the American Idol competition, and I think she's still the most talented one. But anyway, enjoy the video. It's HILARIOUS!!

You'll notice the milk breaks, the smooth dance moves and how all the notes are in tune! Ha ha. But its seriously cute. And in case you're wondering, Grace is about 2 years and 8 months old in this.

Back in the Old Days.....

On Friday a girl in Grace's class fell on the playground and busted her lip open pretty good from how Grace explained it. This was the arched monkey bar type thing that Grace also fell and busted her lip on, too. Well, Grace said the little girl had to go to the office, which when Grace got hurt, she did not have to go to the office, so this told me that this might have been pretty bad. Anyway, the little girl was back in school today. I asked Grace how the girl was doing, and Grace told me she was fine, but she had stitches. Then Grace proceeded to ask me whether or not I ever had stitches. I've never had them because I got hurt, so I told her about the time Ray cut his hand at work pretty badly. At the time, I was working at a dermatologist office, and I was pregnant with Grace. I told her that he came by office and one of the doctors stitched up Ray's hand for him. Grace then says, with all seriousness, "Oh. So, back in the old days, Daddy had to get stitches?"

Thanks, Grace! I had to tell her that she wasn't born "back in the old days," that it was only a mere 5 years ago. Kids.

Trying New Things

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I've been looking for and trying new things and ideas for dinners. I really don't mind cooking too much, however, I must add that I don't mind cooking too much IF I can focus on it, pay all of my attention to it and just have some peace and quiet without interruptions while in the kitchen. So basically, its very rare that I enjoy cooking because none of the pre-requisites seem to ever exist. I've really fallen in love with crock pot cooking because the beauty in it is that I get all the "hard" parts of the cooking out of the way when I have one child at home and there's no fighting between the two, less distractions in the earlier part of the day because there are no cranky, tired children around needing me every second. I am not complaining about Nate and Grace. I understand Nate's 2 and kids are kids, and at the end of the day they are cranky and tired. I don't mind them needing me, but it makes it hard for me to cook when they want me with them. So with the crock pot, when the end of the day starts getting a little hectic, I am able to be more useful and dinner is happily cooking away by itself in the kitchen, and it makes for a less stressed evening for all parties involved.

Now, not all recipes I've been discovering have been crock pot based, unfortunately. However, I have found one VERY easy recipe that I just tried last night and I must say, I was very surprised by how yummy it was. Even Ray, who is not a fan of the dish usually, said it was quite good. I liked it so much that I wanted to share it on my blog for all to enjoy. **I take no responsibility though if you do not like it =) I put the recipe below, and in bold italics is what I did. The nutrional info is if you follow the recipe to the T....however, to figure out the info on what you use, just add info for the can of soup, the crescent rolls, the vegetables, and the chicken, then divide by 4 since the pie serves 4. If you need to feed more than 3 people, I suggest doubling the recipe. You can also use other pans than just the pie plate if you need to.

Bon Appétit!

Chicken Pot Pie:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast; cut into bite-sized pieces (I used about 1 lb)
• 3 cups Petite Mixed Vegetables (or any other frozen mixed vegetables) (I bought a small bag and added some little by little so I didn't add too much)
• 1 can (10.75 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Soup, 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery
• 3 Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (unprepared) (I used 4 on top and I also used some to put on the bottom. However, the recipe only calls for these to be on top and is less in calories if you follow the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute chicken pieces for several minutes in a pan spritzed with nonstick cooking spray, until chicken is light brown/cooked but still tender; set aside. Heat frozen veggies in microwave according to package. Mix chicken, vegetables and soup together and put in a 9" round baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place dish in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly (stir about halfway through). While dish is cooking, unroll 3 crescent rolls. Combine pieces together with hands to make one large ball of dough. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle to cover top of dish. Add dough to the top of the dish and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serves 4.

Serving Size: 1/4th pie (approx. 7 oz.)

Calories: 210

Fat: 6g

Sodium: 800mg

Carbs: 24g

Fiber: 2.5g

Sugars: 6g

Protein: 16.5g

*Weight Watcher Points: 4 Points

This in my opinion is just as good as the ones you buy in the freezer for WAY less calories, fat and sodium! You can also alter this to use biscuits or whole wheat products as well. This was VERY simple and very fast! I'm trying some other recipes this week, so look for more recipe blogs!

I Hate Heat

Can someone tell me why exactly it's 87 degrees outside in FEBRUARY for Pete's sake? I mean really? I get it that I'm supposed to be lucky that I live where its warm and not in like 17 feet of snow, but really, even southern California has cooler weather than this. I just hate it. Sorry to be a complainer today, but really when its pretty low humidity out, and the wind is blowing at like 16mph, and its still 87 degrees outside, I feel I almost need to say something. Sigh.

As for the weight loss department, this week has been a resting week. I still have a cough and I am hoping I am well enough to start back up again with my classes at the gym and my C25K program on Monday. I also restarted the Weight Watcher points program. I've been just trying to watch portions and eat better choices, but that left too much room for me to mess up. So far, its going well. On Monday when I weighed in, I was up a little more than last week, but the exact number I don't remember. (I'll fill that in this Monday when I have the info up) Anyway, that's all for now. Just trying to get rid of this headache I've had for a few days now.

A Tad Bit Frustrated

I'm just frustrated. I took a butt kicking kickboxing class last Friday (the 8th) and it literally kicked my butt. I had been sore for a good part of the week, so I didn't realize that I had pulled/strained one of my right gluteal muscles (you know, one of the muscles in the gluteus maximus, medius or minimus, i.e. butt). Anyway, I realized the other day that all of my muscles are no longer sore, except one in that area. I started thinking about what I could have done to injure myself, and then one deep lunge type move we did in the kickboxing class came to my mind. I’m so competitive when I take these classes because I don’t want people to see me as someone who can't finish the class just because I may not seem as athletic as some of the others. And I certainly do not want to be the one who can't keep up, so I make sure that I keep up, no matter what. I push myself beyond my limits, beyond what I would ever do on my own, and I keep up with the class at all costs. This is good and bad, because on my own, I would usually stop before reaching my limit because I "think" I can't do a workout. Yet if I had a trainer, that person would push me to go further than I thought I could, and I would get a great workout. However, when I take a class, its possible I may push myself too far. Apparently it seems that in this case, I may have pushed myself beyond a physical limit within my body that I failed to adhere to, and pulled a muscle in that process.

So, anyway, I can basically do one of two things. I can continue to workout and I could end up being out for weeks if I injure myself further, or I can just sit it out now for a few days and be better off in the long run. I hate doing this, especially now I'm on a roll, but I know after having torn the muscle in my quadriceps (right leg) back in high school, that if its not fully recovered with rest, it will just get worse.

At any rate, I just feel frustrated because I still have the left shoulder issue I am dealing with, too. After two steroid injections it's just not better. I was seeing a doctor who is a family friend because I don’t have insurance, and I know he was doing his best (this area is not his specialty), but I know the issue will not get resolved without seeing a specialist. That, with all the testing a specialist will do, will cost me a fortune and that I can’t really afford that at this point.

So here I am FINALLY really getting into exercise mode, and I’m hit with yet another exercise inhibiting injury. Sigh. On top of that, I am in the beginning stages of a nasty chest cold, which let me tell you, I am just so looking forward to. I've been feeling it starting these last few days, and today I wake up with a terrible tightness in my chest, and when I cough, OMG it feels like my chest is on fire. Anyway, I think I am going to cut back on my workouts some this week, take it easy without completely sitting it out, and see how it goes, and reevaluate at the end of the week to see how I feel. And hopefully my little pain in the butt will be gone, my chest cold will be history, and I will be set to hit it hard next week!

No More Slacking

I decided to takes things easy this weekend with my eating since it was my birthday and all, and I happened to slack with my water drinking as well, and I ended up gaining 3 lbs (definitely a lot of water retention there!) So this week, it's back to normal, no slacking. Here's the workout plan for the week:

MONDAY:

• C25K Week 2 Day 3
• Salsa class @ gym
• Yoga

TUESDAY:

• C25K Week 3 Day 1
• Hip Hop Dance Video

WEDNESDAY:

• Kickboxing class @ gym
• (Maybe) Salsa class @ gym
• Yoga

THURSDAY:

• C25K Week 3 Day 2
• Hip Hop Dance Video

FRIDAY:

• Kickboxing or Salsa class @ gym
• Yoga

SATURDAY:

• C25K Week 3 Day 3
• Hip Hop Dance Class @ gym

So far today, I have done the C25K Week 2 Day 3 (had to catch up since I didn't do this on Saturday as planned due to the overwhelming soreness I had) It went well and I was doing better on my breathing. Week 3 is just like week 2, but the walking intervals are cut down from 2 minutes to 90 seconds with 90 seconds of jogging. I also did the salsa class at the gym, and I am currently getting ready to do some yoga before lunch. I'm starving.

Funny thing, Saturday I got to sleep in until after 9am, which for me I am usually up between 5am-7am pretty much everyday of the week, so that was definitely sleeping in for me. But usually when I go to bed between 10-11pm and I have to read a little in bed to help get me relaxed and feeling tired. Well thanks to my kickboxing class on FRIDAY, my body was still exhausted on Saturday that I had a lot of trouble staying awake until 11! I was trying to finish some things up and I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I'm looking forward to feeling this way again soon!

Post-Birthday Post

So Friday night my wonderful hubby surprised me with dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant I had wanted to try for a while now. the restaurant is in an old 1912 mansion that was once used as a farmhouse until the Port was built, which ended up flooding the farm land. Its really hard to imagine there was ever a farm around here!

Anyway, the food was fantastic, and the garlic bread is the best I've ever had. It was a very romantic setting and the ambiance was really nice. I totally recommend this restaurant to anyone, so if you're in the area and you want some good Italian food, let me know and I will tell you the name.

As far as my Saturday C25K run/walk, and my hip hop dance class at the gym- they were non-existent. Why, do you ask? I am so stinkin' sore, I have never been as sore in my entire life! I really must have worked hard in that kickboxing class. I loved it but man, I am having a hard time sitting down and getting back up, walking, and any other task. I am sore in muscles in my back I had no idea I even used in the workout. Dang, how long does it take to stop feeling sore after doing the same activity?

So how did I do on my workouts this week? Well, I am 8 for 13. Not bad, and if it hadn't been for my soreness, I would have been 10 for 13. I will definitely try to do better this week!

Oh and by the way, I think my weight will show a gain this week. Sigh-birthdays!

Catching Up

Wednesday: My workout for Wed. was heading to the gym for the salsa class, and doing a dance video back at home. I did both and was feeling my poor muscles in my abs burn. Burn= good, right?

Thursday: Today went well. I think my breathing is pretty much the same, but my legs felt good. I'm hoping that I'm feeling better with the breathing on day 3, or even day 1 of week 3. We'll see. I was supposed to do Yoga also, but I did not get it done.

Friday: Whew. What a day so far. I woke up dog tired and said to myself, "Self. You're tired. And it's your birthday, so why not just take the day off." Self then agreed. However, I thought I would just bring my workout clothes "just in case" and proceeded to take Grace to school. After leaving school, I found myself driving to the gym. Once I got there, I did hesitate a tad before going inside, but I am glad I did. I went and dropped off Nate with the child care, changed in the locker room and proceeded upstairs to the group exercise room where I was about to get my butt majorly kicker, aka, Turbo Kickboxing class. Man, that was intense. I think I burned like a million calories or something. It was hard, it was some major cardio work, but in the end, it was fun and awesome and I am going to have a hard time moving around tomorrow. They have a class on Wednesday mornings as well, however if I do the kickboxing, I won't be able to do salsa, too since there is like an hour gap in between both classes and Nate would get a little worried about me if I was gone that long. But I am looking forward to hitting this class up again next Friday. What am I, crazy? (Oh and I decided to nix the dance video today. I mean it is my birthday afterall, even though I wouldn't consider it slacking off after doing that class this morning).

Week 2 Begins

Today I started week 2 of the program. I didn't think it was too bad, but I could definitely tell a difference between this week and last week. Each interval of running this week is 90 seconds (as opposed to last week when they were 60 seconds). It seemed as if for the first 60 of the 90 secs I was fine. I felt strong, didn't seem like my breathing was too bad, but then for the last 30 secs I was definitely breathing harder. Anyway, it felt really good despite it being in the 80's and running. As many of you already know, I really hate the heat.....hate it hate it hate it, so being outside exerting energy making me hotter isn't usually at the top of my list of favorite things to do. But I did it.

Funny thing is, I set my alarm to wake up at 5am to do it, but I overslept and never heard the alarm go off until almost 6am and by that time I had no time left to do it before having to get Grace to school. But I couldn't stop thinking about when I would be able to get this done, and really just felt the need to. I just thought that was kind of cool to see how my body is really wanting the exercise.

Also, speaking of bodies and cravings, I've been really good with my water intake, and I am currently averaging about 10 glasses a day. What's funny is that now that I am used to that amount, I can feel that my body just craves the water, and I'm drinking it all day long. Who'd a thunk it?

Oh and last but not least, I have kept up with Tuesday's scheduled workouts. So far I'm 2 for 2. =)