Ok, I haven't even LOOKED at this blog much less posted on it in quite some time. I've been really busy, but that's honestly no excuse, because I really haven't been taking care of ME! So what started as a few cakes for friends and family has now turned into me opening an actual cakery!! Yes, no wonder I didn't stay on a diet, huh? LOL Actually, cake has been the least of my problems on that front. I suddenly just seemed to have lost my resolve for a while. The last post I wrote I was .2 pounds UNDER my original goal weight, and at this moment, I can't tell you exactly what I weigh as I've been avoiding it, but I can guarantee you it's probably about 10 pounds more than that, maybe even more! We'll find out on Monday, as I have made that the dreaded "day of reckoning" between me and the scale. I'm not really beating myself up or anything, because to be honest, I have been really happy the last 6 months. I think I've regained a lot of my spirit through this new business venture, but now I realize my favorite jean shorts are tight again and it's time to try to live more balanced, and not let my weight get back up to a point that made me feel miserable!

So that's all I'm going to write for now. I have website stuff to do today and am purging my kitchen of all things bad and making sure all of my fitness gear is still in good order so I can get crack-a-lackin' this week!

I have been SO busy! All of a sudden I have become the "go to girl" for cakes. I feel bad blogging about my new cake business on a diet blog, but for me cake is not really a temptation. I'm just not a fan really. Now if someone was asking me to make home made ice cream, I'd be in BIG trouble. LOL

Also, my mother in law and two of my nieces were here for a week and that kept me very busy. They left Thursday morning and I gathered the strength to weigh myself on Friday. I was an even 145 lbs. Not bad, considering we ate like monsters and sipped mojitos many nights of the week while she was here. I did, however, manage to work out 6 of the 7 days so I guess it all worked out. Now, I'm back into serious mode since the kids are back in school and my schedule is more normal again. I have a standing restaurant order for 2 of my cakes each week so that keeps me busy too. I'm also starting a pastry class on September 7th that lasts 4 months. I'm super excited about that.

Otherwise, I'm pretty good. My self confidence is growing like crazy and I think that my weight loss and new healthier lifestyle is ironically enough, the biggest reason why my cake business actually started! Here are a few pics of the most recent cakes I made and sold.

This is a photo of me this same time last year at Disney World with the family. Wow, was I ever fat! Look at those chunk ass arms and that chin that doesn't stop! How did I think the shoulders of that shirt were remotely flattering on me? LOL








This is a photo of me from 2 weeks ago. I wish I had one from the front taken at this party. The funny part is, I'm slowly escaping an uncomfortable grill debate between my current husband (on the right) and my previous husband (directly behind me) LOL




I AM OFFICIALLY .2 POUNDS UNDER MY ORIGINAL GOAL WEIGHT! YEAH FOR ME....

Too bad I'm still a chunky muffin and want to lose another 10-20 pounds now.

I don't have much to write about lately. I've been doing lots of projects around the house (decorating, painting, etc.). Weight is coming off very slowly, but hey, at least it's headed in the right direction. I'm 2.9 pounds away from my original goal, but now I want to lose another 10 pounds after that!

It's been a whirlwind of a week. Our trip to Tampa last weekend for my daughter's birthday was a blast and my little reunion was SO fun. We left both of the kids in Tampa for the week with my ex husband. They are having a ball and this week has been awesome for me and hubby. We've been like teenagers, having no kids here! Lots of reconnecting, lots of wine, lots of nakedness. LOL (Sorry, TMI!) We're going back to Tampa tomorrow to pick up the kids and go to a dinner party with some of my old friends. It should be another fun one. I'm SO ready to have my babies back home though! I haven't weighed this week because it's my TOM, but I've been good and have worked out everyday since Monday. Life is good. I'm so blessed!

So tomorrow is my baby girl's 10th birthday. I can't believe she's gotten this old. She's out of town with her Dad for a month and I miss her like crazy. We are going up to spend the weekend there for her big birthday celebration. He usually throws her a great party every year and we never miss it. Her little brother decided to write her a "rap" song for her birthday and I'm so proud of how well he did helping me come up with rhyming words for the things he wanted to say! I'm so blessed to have not only 1, but 2 fabulous children!

I have to keep saying that to myself. I was hoping to have lost more weight by now, but I guess I should just be happy that I'm still actually losing at all. I have a little mini-reunion this weekend and was looking forward to being at my goal weight, but whatever. I think I'm still smaller now than I was the last time I saw any of those people. It should be fun. Maybe another pound or two will disappear by Friday!

A few weeks ago my husband called from work and asked me if I'd ever seen an "ugly doll."

http://www.shopatron.com/index/322.0?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=adwords&os=adwords&gclid=CNG43fn8zJsCFRJ4xgodMlzOnw

I had no idea what he was talking about so I went to the website and said "ok, what about them?" Then he asked if I could make a cake for a co-worker's wife who collects them. Apparently the guy wanted to surprise her for her birthday. I said sure. It seemed like an easy enough task and we agreed I'd call this guy and work out the details. Well, what started as a seemingly simple task turned into a true stressful ordeal. First the guy tells me his wife is lactose intolerant. OK, I can handle that so I ask him what flavor cake he'd like. (I'm thinking chocolate or vanilla, right?) He told me "well, I'd really like it to be a peach, caramel and vanilla cream cake." I was thinking "great, let me whip that recipe right out of my ass!" Then I asked him which doll he wanted me to make. He told me he wanted the one called "Suntan Target" - ok, this is the one with 5 arms and hair! See what I mean - a simple project gone bad!
Well, I JUST NOW AT 2:08AM FINISHED THE CAKE! It turned out awesome and I can't wait for him to pick it up tomorrow. However, I am a dumb dumb because I charged him $100 for the cake and tonight when I added up what it cost me to get all of the lactose free stuff and the huge supplies of fondant, I spent $70! So I guess with my $30, I probably made about $.05 an hour. LOL Oh well, another addition to my ever growing collection of hobbies. Now I'll be spending all day tomorrow getting the black and orange food coloring out of finger nails!

Well, my weight loss has definitely slowed down. I'm at the point right now where my body starts fighting me. It is apparently very comfortable being fat, and doesn't like being under 150 pounds, but we are going to have a fight and I am going to win, and not only is it going to cooperate, but it's going to LIKE it! I am at 149.9 this morning! Ha, ha ha silly silly old fat body! I'm beating you and you look good and eventually, you'll feel good at a smaller weight too!

I'm wearing my favorite Size 6 Levi's today. They are probably the smallest article of clothing I own, and finally, yes FINALLY, they are not tight. No rolls, no bunching, just a normal pair of jeans! Damn, it feels good.

Yesterday was a really good day. After I finished my usual morning chores (sweeping, mopping, a load of laundry, taking care of hubby, son, and animals) I worked out with Cathe Friedrich for almost 2 hours. I did her supersets DVD, which is a great strength training routine and then I followed it up with a step aerobics workout. By the way, even though I ate off plan this weekend, I still managed to workout both Friday and Saturday. I probably would have worked out on Sunday too, but I figured a full day at a water park climbing stairs was probably good enough.

A mood struck me to start painting yesterday afternoon. I had been putting off painting the trim in my hallway that goes upstairs for about 4 months. I finished it in just a few hours and had paint left in the pan, so I moved into my bathroom, which is the next room on my list that needs to be painted. I think today after I work out I'll get that room completely done.

Last night I still had some energy and felt like eating something bad so I popped in Jillian Michael's Metabolism Boosting dvd. 2 months ago, this dvd almost killed me. It's straight up, mostly intense old school cardio and back then I'd have to take lots of little 5 second breaks to even get thru it. Well, last night I kept thinking "why did I think this was so difficult?" the entire way thru. It's nice when you can finally feel yourself getting stronger. Honestly, I give most of that credit to Cathe Friedrich. She's really good and her dvd's are tough and smart. I'm doing another one today and can't wait to see how my weigh in goes on Thursday now!

This 3 day weekend seemed to go on forever and I'm really glad it's over. I only hope my waist line will forgive me for what I've done. LOL We started our weekend on Friday with a small bbq. I made italian sausages on the grill and friends brought over side dishes. While I didn't eat much, it was still things that aren't normally in my menus. (including that vodka and cranberry juice!)

Saturday hubby and I were desperately craving sushi for dinner and after driving to our 3 favorite places, we gave up as no one was open. We ended up at Carrabba's and I don't think I'll ever eat there again. We ordered mussels and calamari to start and I only nibbled at those. Then I had the chicken rosa maria. My son ate the mashed potatoes and I had a few bites of chicken. I don't know what did it, but I woke up at 3am with pregnancy style heartburn and my tummy was not good! I spent about 3 hours running to the bathroom.

Sunday we took Sebastian to a water park and had loads of fun. I didn't eat the whole time we were there (which was only 4 hours) so afterwards we went to one of our favorite tex mex restaurants and I had some shrimp and crab quesadillas. I brought home more than half of my small plate and ate the rest for dinner. I feel yucky today, bloated, full, just not right. I realized that it's been so nice the past month not eating out and how much better I feel when I eat the things I cook! I'm not even going to get on a scale until Thursday. Hopefully I can work it all off by then!

The smell of dinner tonight is SO delicious. I am dying for hubby to get home so we can eat! I made lean pork chops that had been marinated in apple cider vinegar and a tsp. of splenda. I sauteed them in cooking spray for just a minute per side then took them out and added onions and chopped apples. Then I added the marinading liquid back with some thyme, salt, pepper and garlic and put the chops back in and reduced it down. I sauteed some spinach with garlic and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice and I have brown rice going in the microwave almost done. (Yes, brown rice cooks much better in the microwave than on the stove!) It smells wonderful in here and I'm starving after a hard 2 hours of working out today!

I've spent some time this morning reflecting on the way my life has been lately. It's been simple, drama free, quiet, HAPPY. Yes, I'm really happy. I am finally feeling good about myself and it's just making the rest of my life fall right into place. I have so much more energy; for the kids, for hubby, for me. There's a marked improvement in the "intimacy" department in my house and hubby and I have just been having so much more fun with each other lately. Friday night we went out for a date night at a local karaoke bar that a friend owns and I don't think I've laughed that hard in SUCH a long time. True to his form, hubby was the life of the bar, singing and walking around meeting people, and constantly proud to show me off on his arm. It was a great feeling and I was so proud to be with him.

My kids are having a great summer. Zoë (my 10 year old) is in Tampa with her father and gets to spend lots of time with my family who all live there also. Sebastian has gotten to take over the neighborhood in her absence and constantly has friends here or is off playing with kids outside. We're going to Tampa the weekend of July 18th for Zoë's yearly birthday party her father throws and I'm also having a small reunion with some old friends I've reconnected with on facebook. I am really looking forward to it as I have been gone off to NYC for the past 7 years so I missed a lot of friends there. It will also be nice to show off my new body as I'm in better shape now that I was back then!

Going back to college was a huge decision for me and I feel super good about it. I can't wait to start in August. It's going to be so much fun and rewarding.

Really, my hugest problem right now is trying to decide if I'm going to cut my hair an inch or let it grow. I know, sad, huh? LOL Ahh, life is good.

I'm praying and working to be in the 140's by this Friday. I don't care if the scale says "149.9." That would make me really happy. If it doesn't happen, that's ok too, but I'm hoping it does. Now that I'm 7 pounds or so away from my original goal of 145, I'm thinking I want to be smaller than that. I still have lots of fat lingering around my mid section and on my arms. I may shoot for 135 and see how it goes.

Wish me luck!

My grandfather used to say that.. A LOT. It's something I say now to myself often when I'm in the middle of a two hour stretch of heavy workouts. I don't know what's going on with me lately or what I'm doing differently, but something has got my metabolism moving into high gear FINALLY!

Sunday began my "lady time" (I know. Sorry, TMI, right?) and it had been about 7 weeks since I had one. I'm usually on a 5 week cycle or so, but I think all the exercise and weight loss just made it late. (My tubes are tied so no worries there!) Well, it came on with a vengeance and a mission to destroy my day! I was sure I'd gain weight this week because of it. Being the impatient fool that I am, I decided to go ahead and weigh myself this morning just to see how my cycle was affecting my weight loss this week. Well, go figure. I am down another .7 pounds. YEAH! I'm thrilled with losing 1-2 pounds a week at this point. I'm so close to my goal and I know that a rate of 1-2 pounds is best for optimal maintenance. I'm hoping now though that by Friday it's at least 1 whole pound.

I worked out early today also in the hopes of catching the hot Florida sun pool side before the rain kicks in. I'm just now making it out to the pool. Let's see if I get wet!

Today is a day to celebrate my beautiful, sweet, handsome husband! I am wearing his favorite little sun dress today (mind you, this thing didn't even squeeze over my hips a few months ago!) and my son and I are cooking him beef bourguignon, mashed potatoes, peas, garlic bread, and peanut butter cup brownies. None of this is especially diet friendly, but I've learned that I can eat just about anything I want if done in moderation so I'm not worrying about it! My boys are already on the Wii trying out the new WWII game I got for him. Later we'll get out the other few presents we've been hiding for Dad.

Earlier I was out walking the dog behind our townhouses on the creek and my next door neighbor was on her back porch cleaning her sliding doors. She just had a baby in November so I don't get to chat with her often. She immediately turned to me when she saw me and asked "ok, so what's your secret?" I had no idea what she was talking about at first. Then she said "how have you lost so much weight and gotten that muscular so quickly? You look amazing!" It is nice to know that people are noticing my efforts. I told her there's no real secret, simply eat less, move more! I told her how I workout almost every morning in front of the tv and I think she's going to start bringing the baby over a few times a week so we can workout together. That should be fun! It's always nice to have a partner!

Well, I'm off to Publix. I realized I had forgotten flour for the beef! I don't ever have flour in the house. I also need some beef broth. I've had the meat, onions, carrots and herbs soaking overnight in a nice bottle of burgundy wine. I can't wait to taste it tonight!

I am SO happy this morning. All this hard work is paying off and it's paying off at an awesome rate. I lost another 1.8 pounds this week. I'm only 10.2 pounds away from my original goal, so losing 2 pounds a week or so is amazing. I think people forget that we're really not supposed to lose more than 1 or 2 pounds a week for maximum long term results. I know if I start weighing myself everyday, I will become obsessive and freak out over not losing a pound a day! SILLY! Since I've switched to only weighing in on Fridays, it's like a little morning "YEAH" every Friday morning when I see results.

I had a really fun shopping experience this week. I went to go buy a few new nice pairs of shorts. I picked up a brown pair and a black pair and went into the dressing room with my size 12's. Needless to say, I wasn't thinking and those things literally fell right off! So, I went back and got 10's. Those were too big too! So, I had to go try the 8's! They fit just fine, and I have a feeling, in 10 more pounds, those will be too big also.

I cleaned out my closet this week too. I gave away 3 garbage bags of clothes that I either wasn't wearing, or I don't WANT to ever wear again. Anything that was a 14 had to go! And some things I had were just stupid. For instance, why on earth was I holding on to 3 pairs of maternity pants when my youngest and last child is 5?? I must subconsciously thought I was going to get THAT fat? It felt so good to lighten the load in my closet and be able to find everything. It was fun to try on all my size 8 and 10 clothes too. It feels like I got a whole new wardrobe.

I really have to say that while I know diet is the biggest part of weight loss, I am seriously feeling and seeing the results of my working out. I've really increased my strength training and am only doing about 20-30 minutes of cardio everyday. I LOVE Cathe Friedrich on fit tv and have tivo'd almost all of her workouts. They are tough and she really focuses on form and stability. I can see my biceps and I don't think my back has ever been this strong. Her workouts have also really helped me tone my hamstrings and glutes and I feel those muscles working more now when I'm doing squats and lunges, which is nice because I was starting to notice my quads looking a little too bulky in comparison to the back of my legs.

That's really all I have. Otherwise life is good. I'm preparing for school in August. My daughter is in St. Pete with her father for the month. I'm babysitting the neighbor's kid everyday and so Sebastian has a playmate. We spend lots of time at the pool and we're doing the summer packets from their school. I can't believe my baby is going to kindergarten in the fall! Oh, how time flies!

Ok, so the scale is FINALLY moving! I was an even 157 this morning. YEAH! I'm so close to reaching my goals I can actually taste it. (diet pun intended) I've had a great week now that the kids are out of school. I've still been working out like crazy in the mornings and then we spend our afternoons in the pool. My tan is looking awesome!

does weight loss have to slow down so drastically? I hate that. It's so frustrating. I am hovering between 158 and 159. That's too close to 160 for my comfort!

I'm so very blessed. My husband is a gem. I've been babysitting lots of kids all week, and had 2 overnight gigs both Friday and last night. My dear sweet man literally put me in the car last night and told me be home by midnight and sent me out to hang out with my girlfriends at a local pub. I had so much fun and it was a well needed break. I'm proud of myself too because all I drank was diet coke. I tried to trick myself. See, just this week my size 6 Levi's (the smallest sized clothing I own) actually pulled up, zipped and buttoned. While still tight, by yesterday they were appropriately tight if worn with a loose top. So I wore those, knowing those jeans would keep me from drinking or indulging in bar crap food! It worked. I had a great time and came home feeling empowered and proud and of course amorous towards my husband due to his overwhelmingly good deed! LOL

Isn't that crazy? I really do love Monday. I think that I just enjoy the "routine" and consistency of my weekdays as opposed to the weekends. The weekdays are MINE to plan, do and make happen. While I love being with my husband on the weekends, I just don't get as much done when he's home! Sad, but true! I did fine without drinking this weekend. I will admit that the weekend was kind of boring, but that's mostly because we're kind of broke until payday, so we hung around at home and watched it rain, playing Wii and letting the kids have friends over.

I ate like an angel all weekend. I had fun cooking with Sebastian again on Saturday night, and I think he and I are going to make a recipe scrapbook this summer while he's home. I can't wait for the kids to be out of school on Thursday. I have lots of fun summer plans for us!

The BEST news I have to share is that I'm no well under 160!! YEAH!! I don't think I've been there in at least 2 years. maybe longer! It feels great and I can't wait to see what this next month holds for my body! Exercise is so amazing. Our bodies are really miraculous works of art and machinery!

Ok, so I'll admit it. I LOVE vodka. Seriously, I really do. Not to say that I drink everyday. In fact, I don't drink MOST days, but I'm a stay at home mom, and let's face it, Monday thru Friday are spent with kids, mostly trapped in the house and by Friday night, I could frankly use a drink. The problem is, my 1 glass of Grey Goose usually becomes, 4, 5, maybe even 6? NOT GOOD. Then, that's usually followed by some outing or at home party on Saturday night that includes the same routine.

So, for the last few weeks, I bust my ass from Monday thru Friday working out and eating perfectly. Literally folks. I'm working out like a contestant on the Biggest Loser over here. There's rarely a day that I don't exercise for 2-3 hours. I run for at least half an hour. Then I do one of my MANY dvd's, which are usually one of Cathe Friedrich's or the old school THE FIRM or our newest thing P90x! Then I follow that hour up with either a 35 minute or hour long step routine (either a FIRM one or another Cathe Friedrich) So I'm working out a LOT. Not to mention, that in order to have the time to workout like that, I wake up at 6am, make lunches, cook breakfasts, sweep/mop/take care of animals, do a load of laundry, or whatever needs to be done so that I can clear 2-3 hours of time for myself while the kids are at school.

All that happening during the week should really just make me want to sleep all weekend. Why on earth do I insist on partying like a rock star come Friday night, only to wake up on Monday with the same 5 pounds back I just spent all week losing? This is dumb, right? That's what I figured too, so last week, after the 3 day weekend, I decided I'm giving up my Grey Goose until I reach goal. Amazingly, it was very easy. The trick was, however, to not let myself feel anxious. SO, I worked out. I only did a short run on Saturday, but then I came in and took a nice, long bubble bath. It was great. Then this morning, I got up and did my usual Monday thru Friday gig. I feel great today, and go figure, I'm in the 150's!!!! YEAH!!!!

I'm thinking if I can keep this up for the next several months, I'm going to be at 140 in no time. And a glass of Grey Goose will be a nice little reward!

So my son, Sebastian, asked yesterday if he could help cook dinner tonight. Of course  I said yes and we started to look through the fridge and pantry to decide what he wanted to cook. All on his own, he decided we needed to use skinless, bonelesss chicken breasts, sugar free apricot preserves, romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, and raisins. So, with a little tweaking, that's exactly what we made. I mixed some of the apricot preserves with some chipotle tobasco sauce and glazed the chicken with it. Then I baked it. For the salad, I mixed romaine, celery and onions. Then I made a dressing of 1/4 cup of the mandarin orange juice from the can, 2 tbs. of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbs. of honey and 1 tbs. of dijon mustard with a nice grind of black pepper in it. We dirzzled that over the lettuce and then added the oranges and raisins. YUM! The whole dinner is about 400 calories and completely delicious! I think I have a little budding chef on my hands!

I haven't written on here in quite some time. I don't know why. Well, that's a lie. Yes I do. I completely fell off the wagon for a while there and it took me some time to get a grip on things.

Worst of all, I started smoking again in late February. Within days I was right back to a pack a day habit. It took me until mid April to realize what a fool I was after having worked so hard to quit in June! So, I put the patch back on, sucked it up, realized that I can NEVER have just ONE cigarette, and got back on that train. Of course, since I was smoking, what the heck, why work out? You can't breathe anyway, right? And since you can't exercise, why bother eating right? It's a complete snowball effect for me and I fell right into it. When I finally realized what was going on, I was back up to 172 pounds!

However, for the last 6 weeks, things have been back on track. I'm working out like crazy and while I've only gotten down to a mere 160.5, my body has gotten a lot smaller and the entire shape of it has changed. I've also gone off of the Atkins diet and switched to a 1200 calorie, lower fat, high protein, no sugar, no refined carb diet. The carbs I eat are in the form of veggies, fruits, and a few whole grains like double fiber bread, flax seed wraps, the occasional brown rice and skim milk. I'm actually enjoying food a lot more now and I feel just as satisfied eating this way. I REALLY love my fruit/milk/yogurt/protein powder shakes and I am addicted to turkey wraps loaded with veggies and dijon mustard. 

So anyway, that's my update. I'm going back to school in August. I decided I want to become a teacher. I have a degree already so it isn't going to take me long to accomplish that. I'm hoping I'm maintaining a happy, healthy 135 pounds by the time I start school, but if not, that's ok too! 

I guess it's official. I broke the small stall I was suffering! I've kept my wokrouts up very high this week. In fact, hubby made a comment yesterday like "wish I hd time to workout 2 hours a day!" I told him to shut up and that I don't hear any complaints when he touches my butt! LOL

I'm just glad things are working. I feel very tired, but in a good way. Like my muscles are tired every afternoon. I was so tired yesterday I took the kdis to the pool and half slept for about an hour while they played. Good thing I had sunscreen on!

I'm about to workout and then I'm off for a day of usual household shopping. Have a good one everyone.

So I make videos of my kids dinsing and dancing and funny silly family things. Several years ago I posted one of these videos of my daughter singing a gospel song that we love on youtube. I knew it had gotten a lot of hits, like 1000 or so. Well all of a sudden I go on youtube to look at something else and my inbox is BOMBARDED. Apparently now my daughter's video has been seen by 135,026! She's outside playing right now but I can't wait to show her when she comes in.

How exciting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_VknTKQQhw

I haven't written much lately. My kids have been sick. I've been working my behind off trying to get past this stall. I think I've done it! I'm at 165 today! YEAH! I keep reminding myself that I don't have that much more to lose. I'll be THRILLED to weigh 145 in fact! 

I haven't run in a few days because the kids have been home sick. I think I might run tonight.

Ok, my scale hasn't moved a bit! I don't know what's going on. I guess these last 21 pounds are just going to come off super slow! Whatever. I'll play along. I don't feel hungry, but when I look at what I'm eating everyday, I fear I'm not eating enough. Yesterday I only ate about 1100 calories and about 8 carbs. The day before that I had about 950. I think I need to up the caloric intake a bit because I'm working out like crazy. Today I ran 3 miles and had a burst of energy when I got home and so I did my 55 minute 1980's kick butt FIRM dvd, followed by my 35 minute Fat Blasting Cardio DVD.  I feel really good, but I must admit, I'm hungry tonight. As we speak, I'm waiting for hubby to get home and he doesn't know it yet but he's taking us out for peel and eat shrimp and naked chicken wings. LOL

I figured today that if I end up only losing a pound a week for the next 20 weeks, with this same workout schedule I usually follow (which is really on average an hour of intense exercise 6 days a week) that I'll still look hot by summer! HA HA HA Vanity. The Ultimate Motivator!

So I just spent the last 4 days either taking care of someone who was fatally vomitting, or fatally vomitting myself! All 4 of us got this horrible stomach flu (my son apparently brought it home from Pre-K) and I have been in bed for 3 days. I FINALLY feel human again today. However, I woke up only to look around the house and see what really happens when Mommy takes a day off. It looks like a hurricane came through here! On top of that, any time anyone in the house gets sick, I wash EVERYTHING. So, today everything is getting washed in hot water (blankets, pillows, towels, etc) and the new floors are getting a good bleaching! 

I haven't worked out since Friday and I am desperate to run today. I'm going to take it easy though. I also haven't stepped on a scale since then. Hubby told me this morning he lost 5 pounds from the flu, so maybe I did too. I haven't eaten much at all in the last 3 days so I would not be surprised.

Another pound gone! I've been working out SO hard this week. I'm really tired today. I think I may need a little rest from the running and weight training. Today is that day.

I registered for a 5k race happening in March. I feel very ready. I've been consistently running 4-5 times a week now. I can't say that I run very fast, but I run and that's all that matters right now. 

I'm going to Coconut Grove today to hang out with my best friend who's still in town and do some boutique shopping. I LOVE shopping in Miami. 

UPDATE: When I got out of the shower I weighed again and I am actually down 2 pounds! YEAH!

Ok, I'm going to pretend my last post didn't happen. (Although big hugs right back at ya October!) I felt SO much better after a run, an intense ab routine and an 8 ounce steak. LOL Yes folks, I ate an entire 8 oz grilled ribeye, every last little chunk of black and blue fat on it. And it was delicious! I think that's what I needed, just a nice big chunk of meat. Then, I actually went ahead and got on the scale AFTER I ate, and it said 168.5, so I'm all good. I would imagine that this morning (prior to the carnivorous carnage fornication) I was probably around 167-168. Then I took some measurements and compared them to my measurements from www.fitday.com that I took in December. I have lost 5 inches from my waist and 4 inches from my hips. YEAH ME! The working out is really transforming my body shape.I notice my muffin top is almost gone and my butt is a bit higher than it used to be.

Now, if only I could correct the damage done from breast feeding two children. How did my nice, perky 34 C's turn into 36 Longs? LOL

I think it's time for that dreaded TOM. I bet it comes today. I woke up VERY angry, about NOTHING. We just got a new cable/internet service and I was pissed off it wasn't working right away when I got up. The coffee couldn't brew fast enough. And poor hubby. I actually considered asking him to come closer so I could rip his lips off and make him kiss my ass with them. And for NOTHING. He did NOTHING. I just feel FOUL today. I haven't weighed in a few days. I'm a bit leary after my Friday night excursion. I did 35 minutes of cardio and arms yesterday, followed by 20 mintues of abs and then a 30 minute run. I'm eating fine. I really shouldn't care, but with TOM coming, I just don't want to see the number on the scale! I think I'm going to go for a run and see if that helps. Pray for me. Wait.. no.. scratch that. Pray for everyone else around me. LOL

My best friend and her husband came to town from NYC on Friday afternoon. They are planning a move here in February so they came down to look for an apartment. Her mom also lives here. So, Firday night we packed up the kids and went over there. They were so sweet in regards to my diet. We made fondue, which was totally low carb friendly and very wonderful. However, I don't know about that bottle of cabernet that I killed. LOL

So yesterday I ended up in bed most of the day sleeping off an intense hangover. It's nice that hubby let me do that. He's awesome. He took care of the kids all day and didn't say a word. 

I didn't work out Friday or Saturday, but I'm back at it today. I am almost up to running 30 full minutes. It's gorgeous outside and a perfect day for a run. Then I think I'll follow that up with an upper body workout.

UPDATE: I can't take 2 days from running anymore! It was SO hard to get thru 25 straight minutes, but I did it. Then I came home and did a 45 minute THE FIRM Total Muscle Shaping. I have jerk chicken thighs in the oven and I'm going to make a broccoli and cheese casserole. YUMMY!

Ok, so I have been stripping the wallpaper and painting my office since Monday. I thought I ripped the cable out of the wall so I didn't plug my computer in until today. Come to find out, the router was just not plugged up. DUH! The only upside to not having internet for 3 days was that I got A LOT done. I painted my downstairs bathroom, got down all the wallpaper in the house and finished painting the entire downstairs (including the trim!) I even painted the inside of my pantry closet! It looks great and I'll post some pics as soon as I can charge my camrea batteries.

I've also managed to workout everyday this week while I was painting, and I sure didn't cheat on the eating side, as I was TOO BUSY! I'm finally back down some. I'm super excited. Also, I'm up to running two miles straight.

My hubby took me out last night. it was much needed. We went to a Japanese restaurant and while I didn't order much, what I did get was DELISH! I had a Midori salad (asparagus, broccoli, avacado, cucumber, lettucec in a sesame dressing that was very vinegary) several pieces of sushi (I didnt eat the rice) and 1 order of Tuna Tataki (YUM) I also had a glass of wine. Then we went to the hard Rock Hotel and Casino and gambled some. I drank several rum and diet cokes. We had a great time. Then, he gave me a fun filled day of shopping alone today. He literally handed me his debit card and said "don't go crazy" and sent me out the door. I had a blast. I bought new running shoes and several pairs of yoga pants and work out tops. I got some new Wii games for the kids. All in all it was great day. I didn't weigh myself this morning. Yesterday before we went out I was still 168.5. I'm sure I was up today. I haven't eaten much today though and drank LOTS of water. Hopefully I'll weight the same or less tomorrow. I was going to take a break tonight and NOT work out, but I look too cute in my new "gear" so I'm going for a run as soon as the kids go to bed.

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed. I think I'm having a typical "stay at home mom" feeling. I feel very lonely these days. I don't get out much, other than to groccery shop or pick up kids. My husband has now started back college, and while of course, I'm EXTREMELY on board with this endeavor, he doesn't have much time for me anymore when he comes home. My best friend, (who happens to be my sister) lost her husband in Iraq on November 15th, so when I call her every morning, the last thing she really wants to hear about is me feeling lonely, right? And we've only lived here since June and other than a few neighbors, I haven't really made much effort to make any friends. Luckily, one of my dearest friends is moving here in February from NYC. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I actually have not had more than 5 minutes without my kids in 6 months, other than the 3 hours that the little one is at school in the am which as any mother knows, isn't enough time to do more than a few loads of laundry! So anyway, I think I need some ME time, and SOON!

Also, today, my son went on a field trip to the circus. They weren't supposed to be back until 1:30. I decided I would do a 55 minute strength FIRM dvd  and then also run before picking him up. See, his school is only aout a 10 minute walk away so I detour my route all around in order to make it a 3 mile trip and that gives me 30 minutes to run. Well, when I got there after running a full 20 minutes, the office said they wouldn't be back for another 45 minutes!!! Did I mention that the only thing near his school is a DAIRY QUEEN? I was SO annoyed. The last thing I felt like doing was walking all the way home, only to turn around and go back 20 minutes later. But, what was I going to do? So I came home and waited and then went back. However, the whole walk back up there, it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into tears! I think tonight it's time to tell hubby that Im ready for him to go ahead and buy that 2nd car now!

If there was any junk food in the house, I'd be cheating today, seriously! 

Yesterday I spent a bulk of the afternoon touching up trim from where the carpet had been removed and the new tile was installed. Dumb-dumb (aka  Stupid Reindeer or Buzz Lightyear or otherwise known as "THAT dog") decided to curl up in a freshly painted corner and is now spotted with white paint! He feels so ashamed. LOL

I THINK I finally got all of the tile dust up enough that we reloaded the living room with furniture last night. I took a picture before though. It's really very nice. It feels very "Miami" in here now. 

I'm down 1 pound today. YEAH for me. I worked out really hard yesterday. I did 40 minutes of pilates and then an hour of THE FIRM. I'm not even sore today, but I am noticing my tummy muscles engaging more often. 

half a pound.

And I blame naked bowflexing. 

I'm just sayin....

I just finished the first day of Week #5 of the Couch to 5k program. Amazingly, I got thru it just fine. I'm SO proud of myself. AND, down another half pound! YEAH!! Also, now that the tile is done, today I began attacking the "dust" leftover from all that tiling. It's been A LOT of work to clean it all up. I've swept and mopped and swept again and mopped again and swept some more. It seems never ending, but the house looks AWESOME.

I've really appreciated living in South Florida the last few days. While friends talk about 8 inches of snow and how cold it is wherever they are, I sit leisurely at the pool each day at around 3pm and joy in whatever podcast I happened to have downloaded to my ipod that day. Watching my kids get THIS much exercise in the middle of January makes me very happy. 

Naked bowflexing was a GREAT idea!

I'm just sayin...

Ok, so I actually saw 160's today. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my scale said 169.5 this morning. I'm so excited! I've workedd hard for this and in 24.5 more pounds, I'll be at my first goal!  Last night I went for a late run, because it cooled off nicely yesterday. This morning I woke up full of energy (but not the kind that made me want to start attacking all of this tile dust yet!) so I did my 40 minute Fat Blasting Cardio step dvd. I've really been mixing up my workouts that don't involve running and I noticed today that my muscles were able to move a bit better. I used to do this exact same workout every other day and I think I just burned out my thighs and it wasn't doing much for me. I like the idea of muscle confusion and that seems to make sense. 

I still have't been able to get hubby to actually give me a full workout on his bowflex. I really want to start incorporating that also. I've asked him many times and he's always busy. Maybe tonight I'll try "naked bowflex workout?" If that doesn't work, I'll give up! LOL

So the tile work finally moved into my office today and my poor IMac got booted to another room. I didn't even bother turning it on for most of the day. The amount of sandy dust all over my house is INSANE! I also have lots of trim and other painting to touch up. One of my best friends from NYC is coming on the 23rd, and I'd like to have my house back together by then! 

I lost 2 pounds since yesterday. I ran HARD today. It felt great. I'm thinking later I might do some work on the bowflex also. 

I'm not posting my menu today. But I will say I ate a big plate of tomato/mozz/olive oil/basil/vinegar for lunch and then had 2 hot dogs later on. Wasn't much I could do. The kitchen was ripped apart most of the day and we can't really afford to be eating out today. I just cooked Italian sausage and peppers and onions and I MAY have a little of that if I'm hungry later. 

I decided to start posting what I am eating here. I don't know why. I do it on www.fitday.com already for myself, but I know sharing is a good thing.

16 oz. coffee w/ 1 splenda and 2 tbs. half n half                      86 cal   3.7nc                                        

2 boiled eggs                                                                               143 cal      .8nc

1.2 oz. cheddar cheese                                                               137 cal       .4nc

9 large green pimiento stuffed olives                                       53 cal     1.7nc

1 small chicken leg (drumstick and thigh) roasted              212 cal        0nc

157 grams steamed broccoli                                                       55 cal     6.1nc

1 tbs. KRAFT Ranch Dressing                                                    74 cal       .7nc

TOTALS                                                                                      759 cal    11.9nc

The new tile is looking good. This is Day #3 and it appears to me he'll have at least 2 more before he's done. I didn't realize how much work it was. 

You know you are desperate to see a loss on the scale when you convince yourself if you took off that band-aid on your knee that you'd drop half a pound! The second I realized what I was rationalizing to myself  I started to laugh. That's just DUMB! 

But anyway, I'm the same today. No loss, no gain. Tomorrow, however, is another day. I'm just a little concerned about how I'm gonna be able to work out today. I don't have a lot of space upstairs to use and the tile is not ready down here for me to use. I need to think about it and figure something out. I'll let you all know what I come up with.

Down another pound (and a half!) YEAH! Something has obviously kicked in to get my weightloss going so well all of a sudden. But whatever it is, I'm all about it. YEAH!!

House is a dusty mess. Tile work still happening. Should be done by Friday. Messy, messy.

Had a long chat with my Dad yesterday. Feeling much better. Some of it was my own mis-perception. Glad I didn't fly off the handle and go crazy. I would have looked and felt like a fool. It's nice to be a grown up. Sad it took me 34 years to start acting like one! 

Took the exercise break yesterday. Today is a running day again. 

So I broke down and got ont he scale this morning. I'm down another pound. YEAH for me. My legs also feel better today. I'm not working out today though, well, not as of yet. Sometimes at night if I start to get really hungry, I try to work out instead. Last night I ended up on exercise tv doing the 10 minute pilates abs and then the 18 minute Arms of Envy. Have you ever seen the "Envy Girls" videos? Yeah, I hate those b*tches. (No envy there. LOL)

I'm feeling sad today. I don't know why. The tile guys are here and haven't even really made a mess. They're doing a good job. I started thinking about this serious disconnect I have with my family this morning. Not my husband or kids, but my parents and siblings. It's really very sad that they know so little about Hubby and me. We moved away to NYC and they just really don't know us. I've discovered that my father has made a lot of incorrect assumptions about my husband and they really have hurt my feelings. I guess I'm just wondering now if it's even worth correcting or if I should just let it go. My husband laughs about it. He doesn't care what they think. I guess I shouldn't either. The reality is I only really need the people who live in my house. Everybody else is secondary to that and if I start to find a relationship is hurting me rather than helping me, and I don't think I can fix that, then I'm going to let that relationship go. 

There, I said it! Now maybe I can start to get over it and move on today. I'm off to make a delish sounding beef stew recipe. I'll let ya know how it turns out!

So I ran my "Week 4 Couch to 5k" today instead of walking to pick up my son from Pre-k. It's about a 15 minute walk so I had to make a few loops and turns and detours to make it work, but hey, I figured kill two birds with one stone,  right? It's just so hot ehre in the middle of the day. That makes it difficult. How is it still 85 degrees? Gotta love South Florida I guess. I haven't run since Saturday. Yesterday I did THE FIRM. So, my shins and calves hurt. I think it's my shoes. I'm very flat footed and they hurt towards the inside of my legs. I think I need to go get better running shoes. I could barely walk home with my son after I finsihed the run. They feel better now after a shower, but I know that my legs shouldn't be hurting like they are. Tomorrow I'm taking a day off from both running and any leg workout. I may get on the bowflex and do some strength training on my arms, chest and back. 

There are people coming to our townhouse tomorrow to rip up the carpet in the living room/dining room and all the kitchen and office tile to put down new tile everywhere. My husband JUST called to inform me of this. Do you know how much work that's going to require? Emptying bookshelves, moving furniture, etc. I guess I'm going to be busy the rest of the night. I hope he realizes he will be moving heavy furniture upstairs later as there's no way on earth I can carry a sofa or a glass top table up the stairs alone! I can't even pick up our 37" tv. Wow, I guess I do need to use that bowflex tomorrow!

I've been eating well. Hubby made delish NY strip steaks for dinner last night and a big salad. Tonight we are having jerk pork chops and I might make some broccoli. I'm going to get on a scale on Wednesday and see how I've done. Wish me luck. You may not hear from me tomorrow as I probably won't have internet while those guys are here.

We had a small get-together last night. It was rather impromptu. In fact, the plans for it were conveniently made while I was out running! Go figure. Anyway, hubby ordered pizza from my favorite New York style pizza place. I ate ABSOLUTELY NONE! I had 2 ounces of almonds and refilled my water. I did have 2 shots of tequila with everybody, but that's not even a big deal to me. I had not eaten much all day, and what I did eat was pretty low calorie. 

Anyway, I still haven't stood on the scale but I know I'm doing ok. I decided that Week 4 of the Couch to 5k program is exactly where I need to be for the next week. The first 3 weeks were just too easy, so after 1 day, I moved ahead. However, yesterday's run was pretty tough. I'm going to do it twice more before moving on. I still haven't worked out yet today because the family has stolen the large tv for their Lara Croft Tomb Raider Wii endeavors! As soon as the kids go to bed, I'm going to do THE FIRM from 1989. (by the way, if you've never done THE FIRM, the new ones are okay, but the original videos from the late 1980's are amazing!) I hate the woman who leads this workout. Her name is Susan Harris. She has a dancer's body and she makes me sick with her commentary like "it's hard, eh?" and "isn't this better than dieting?" I want to shove my shoe up her proverbial, skinny rectum every time she says those words on my tv! Seriously, her workout is amazing and how she does all of the floor work with additional ankle weight on is beyond my small minded comprehension!

I completely fell off the wagon yesterday. I just finished putting everything into fitday that I ate/drank yesterday, and it came up to 129.5 carbs! Yes, internet, you red that correctly. It started out vry innocently, a good, hearty usual breakfast. Then hubby came home early from work and went to Costco for just a few things (i.e. cream, eggs, butter, frozen chicken, nuts) and we had promised the kids Dairy Queen on the way home. My daughter had won a contest at school and was given a certificate for a free large ice cream dipped in chocolate. So, both the kids got one and I went ahead and got the Breyer's no sgar added butter pecan in a small cup. Hubby got an iced coffee (probably one that was loaded with sugar!) We got home an di realized I had eaten about 4 half cup servings in that "small cup." That was 16 net carbs once I subtracted the sugar alcohols! Well, that was it for me for the day. it became a free for all. Then I had a beer, and a couple shots of tequila with hubby, some almonds (about 3 ounces worth). Even after all that, I was still ok. But then, I woke up at 3 am feeling like crap from the tequila, and I ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk. That was the kicker. In fact, now that I've seen the amount of sugar in those, I'm never buying them for my kids again. 

So, anyway, there's my written confession. It's over. I'm not weighing myself today, but I am having a very, very low carb day. I had bacon, eggs and a little cheese for breakfast. Going to have shrimp scampi for lunch and a little bit of zuchini and probably won't have anything else today. Also, I usually don't work out on Fridays or Saturdays, but I'm going to work out today. I'm sure it will be fine and hopefully I didn't gain any weight!

My scale said 175 this am. I am hoping it's just because of TOM. This is where I've been hovering for the last 2 months. I will admit though, I didn't stick to plan the entire time, so hopefully I'll get thru this little plateau number. To be in the 160's by next week would really make me happy! I did really well yesterday, so there's no real reason why I shouldn't still be losing. My carbs, caloris and water intake were all awesome. I also started the "sweet free" challenge yesterday and I even did well with that. I still find myself  craving sweets a lot, so the theory is that you give up all sweet tasting things to try and overcome the addiction. So far, so good. Coffee is fine with heavy cream in it for me. 

My run was fantastic. it's getting easier and easier. I even got a little speed going last night when I ran. I am truly enjoying the Couch to 5k program. Today is "clean the house" day and try to get ready for the kids to go back to school next week.

I don't know HOW ON EARTH I didn't gain weight since yesterday! I'm not complaining, just commenting. I looked back at my food log on www.fitday.com and I ate almost 2500 calories and about 28 carbs. I know there are a lot of people over on the Atkins website forum who say they have to eat around that many calories to lose weight! I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either. Although,  I may have actually lost. We'll find out in 5 days or so! Also, it's Day #2 of my "visiting Auntie" and that's usually the worst day for me (bloating, water retention, etc.). I guess rotating these workouts is really working. I did the 2nd level of the Jillian Michaels workout last night. It was tough. The good thing is it doesn't last long. It's literally 22 minutes. It's over and I'm going "Are you serious? That's the end? AWESOME!" So today is a running day for me. I feel good. I'm not sore or anything. I'm going to move on to Week #3 and see how that goes. 

Also, hubby said yesterday when he gets his year end bonus (which should be on the 15th) that we're going to get a treamill. We used to have a really ncie one, but we sold everything when we moved from NYC to Florida. I'm looking forward to having it again. Sometimes it's hard to run outside here because it's just so hot. Also, hubby is going back to college next week (so proud of him) and he'll be gone a lot so I may not get the chance to workout without the kids very often. Having the option of running in the house will be good.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!