Not one bite!

Three days in to the South Beach program, and I'm doing much better than I expected.  I wholeheartedly admit that being home for these three days has helped.  Tomorrow is going to be a real test....but I have a "plan".  I'm packing my lunch and snacks tonight, so hopefully I won't take a nosedive.  Shoot...I should probably preemptively make dinner, too huh?  Crap!

I digress.

I want to share a little triumph that I had yesterday, though.  I'm kinda famous for being a plate-picker.  Like, I pick off of other people's plates...well, loved one's...not just random people's.  That would be weird.  Anyway, when Boo isn't eating all of his dinner, or is offering a chip or cracker or veggie, I will partake in a bite here or there.  Don't judge me, you know you do it, too.

Anyway, last night, I made turkey cutlets with some bell peppers, onions, and zucchini--it was really delicious!  I gave Boo some wheat-thin chips and grapes to go along with his meat and zucchini...and I did not have one bite of either of them.  Not as I made his plate, not as he dawdled and didn't touch his chips, not as he offered bites to his mama.  Then, after he ate an amazing amount of his dinner, he got 3 vanilla wafer-sandwich cookies...and again, not. one. bite.  I honestly didn't even want one.  It was amazing.  It was inspiring.

I can do this!

So I did it...

Signed up for South Beach today....

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this...

Commonalities

1. You come home from a long day or weekend away, and your normally happy-to-see-you-I-didn't-think-you-were-ever-coming-back dog is alarmingly wary of your return and not happy to see you.  In fact, he appears to want to see anyone on the planet but you.

2. The normally has-something-to-contribute-to-every-topic-known-to-man coworker is surprisingly mute for a meeting where everyone has brought a little something to the table.

3. Your favorite cupcake has not posted a motivational, determined, and all out life-changing blog in a while.

What do these three scenarios have in common?  Someone ain't did what they'z supposed to been doin! ...that's what.

Someone has fallen off her diet wagon.  Someone has fallen right back into old habits.  Someone needed a breather.  Trying to become a better person is hard work, especially when one is so inclined to be a bit lazy about every aspect of her life in general.  Just sayin.

So there you have it.  The first step to correcting a problem is admitting it exists, right?  So since I've admitted it, let the magic begin....uhm, at some point.  The rest of the entire year already pretty much makes me want to shoot myself in the face with a bazooka.  But you know, whatevs.  There is always tomorrow until there isn't.

soapy chicken, but I shall try again!

1. I have a new obsession on the web, and that is Kalyn's Kitchen.  Basically a whole slewwww of South Beach friendly recipes, and tried-and-true deliciousness all at my fingertips with pictures, even!I tried a new recipe last night, a "tester" if you will for the South Beach Diet path I'm seriously considering.  I made Baked Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil and Goat Cheese, along with Garlic Roasted Green Beans.  And I learned that I am not as crazy about basil as I thought I was...well, not fresh basil anyway.  It almost had a soapy taste to it, for me....so while this recipe is definitely a keeper, I think next time, I will try to substitute the basil for parsley.  That should do it...or even use sweet basil flakes rather than fresh.  We'll see.  The green beans were FAAAAAAAABULOUS, though undercooked...I just didn't have the heart to make the boys wait another 5-8 minutes when they had been so patient already.  But dudes...you really should try this dinner.  It was delish!  Served a little salad on the side...and yummO!

Kalyn's Kitchen

Kalyn's Kitchen

Thanks, Kalyn!!!

2.  It is finally time for me to refocus.  I've decided to take the plunge and subscribe to the online South Beach program.  With a real-life friend who has had success on the plan, promises of reduced cravings and actually shrinking my ridiculous-amounts-of-belly-fat-first, I'm just flat out sold.  I think that the menu planner and shopping list tools alone will be worth $5 a week...at least for a few months.  (Dave Ramsey said it was okay!)  But without some serious planning, I don't think I will make it through the vital Phase 1, and lawsie knows I need all the help I can get for that phase.  The biggest challenge I see?  Labor Day Weekend.  Yep...another weekend away, and a long one at that!  So, I'm tempted to just wait until we get home to dive in.  I can squeeze 2 weeks at home in afterward to make it through the strictest phase of the diet plan.

3. David and I are butting heads a little bit over this whole change in our diets.  His focus is all about "is it low-fat?", to the point that I think he is going to turn into a grilled chicken salad.  So with South Beach, you're not counting calories or points, or necessarily fat intake (though, obviously, it is something to be aware of)...but it is more about the right kinds of fats and the right kinds of carbs/grains, so it's almost a point of contention to balance what will work on the SBD for me, and still fit in to David's rigid views of "healthy".   But can I just tell you, he has easily already dropped a pant size with his conscientious eating and religious bike riding?  I am very verrrry proud of him.  His pants that he had to buy for court (which he originally boasted for their elastic component in the waist) looked ridiculously big on him this morning as he got dressed.  Good job, honey...I am hopefully right behind you!

4.  The exercise mojo is revving back up.  I voluntarily got up at 6:15 this morning with grand plans of sending David to court with a belly full of eggs with bell peppers and onions, maybe a little cheese...but he had already eaten by the time I rolled out of bed. :(  It was alright though...maybe I will try again tomorrow.  But waking up at 6:15 was NOT difficult....much to my shock!  So I told David that I would like to do that on his "riding" mornings, and I will do my work-out DVD and then hopefully have a good breakfast waiting for him by the time he rolls in as well.  All that in time to wake up the bear and get ready for school and work and all the glorious things that each day will hold for us.  (Susie Sunshine, much?)  But seriously....if David can do it, and I'm seeing such great results with him, why can't I do the same?  It would be a great way to start the day, and heaven knows I'm not keeping up with it at lunchtime...so let's give that a whirl, shall we?  Tomorrow is day 1....(insert dramatic tone here).  Wish me luck...and hold me accountable!

for you, my sheep

It has been brought to my attention that I have left my sheep unattended for 23 days!  So sorry, little lambs.  Mama still loves you.  Let's go over what's new with me...which is abysmal, but we'll go there.

How's the diet going?  Ehh, it's kinda nahhhht.  I have "Healthified ADD", it's a real diagnosis.  I am a college graduate, so I'm allowed to self-diagnose.  It's the rules.  But yeah, so I'll be doing alright for a day or um, a meal, and then I'll slip.  Or I'll be away from home and, well, we've already been over being away from home being a huge hurdle that I have not successfully cleared yet.  I am holding steady at around 8 lbs down, but I need to kick it in gear again...I knowwww.   I'm still looking in to the South Beach Diet, but man it seems like a lot of work for those first two weeks.  Honestly, that's what is holding my horses on that front.  I know if I just sit down and plan it out and stick. to. it. then I'll be good.  Phase 2 seems more manageable on a day-to-day basis, but just getting through that bitch Phase 1 is what I'm focused on tackling right now.  Just give me a minute!

What else?  The new area of self-improvement that I'm venturing on right now is Financial Peace University.  Dave Ramsey is kind of my hero, but he gives me mixed signals.  I swear I know he wants me to have Grey's Anatomy on DVD....he wants me to be okay with buying that kyoooooooootsie backpack for Boo.  But his words don't match what I know he truly wants me to do.  So I'm kind of torn on which Dave to follow.  For now, I'm following the words that come out of his mouth as opposed to those that I'm receiving telepathically.  I figure that's the safer plan for now, but I don't know how long I can resist the overwhelming brainwaves he's sending out my way.  Just sayin.

I have checked another item off of my Day Zero (Zero Day?..whatever) Project...I went and donated blood at a Red Cross blood drive a week or two ago, and no kidding yall, a lady fainted!  I've never seen that happen to someone before, it was always just urban legend in my mind.  It was pretty crazy.  But I totally rocked it.  I gave blood like nobody's business and felt pretty awesome about it. I really like doing it, but we don't have a regular donation place down here, so I just have to wait for blood drives and hope that I catch an announcement for it on the radio or see a flyer or something.  But that's alright.  Anyway, you're welcome, person in need who receives my blood.  Glad I could help you out.

I'm currently listening to my Colbie Callait station on Pandora...and any song that she sings in the "iTunes Sessions"...uncut, broken down, acoustic....pretty much makes my skirt fly up.  Swoon.

That's just about all for now...hopefully more to come in a more timely fashion next time, eh?

I'd like to take a moment to give a celebrity endorsement...

The Hunger Games...read it.  Read it now.  Now.  It's a trilogy...I'm 2/3 into the first book and am HOOKED.  Go.  Natalie, not one word out of you about Harry Potter....thankyouverymuch.  Suzanne Collins...young adult section of your local bookstore.  And go.  Read. It. Do it.  Do it now!

There Is No Tooth Fairy, and That's Okay.

It's been quite a week or two for TheFabJG...you guys know.  But it's time to spill and share what's been going on with me bloggy-style.

So I've been reworking some of our favorite recipes to make them much lighter than usual and so far (with the exception of the previously mentioned turkey spaghetti) it's been going very well!  One item that I'm especially proud of is a new pizza recipe that even David enjoyed!  Now, let it be said that David doesn't believe in pizza without sausage on it.  For my sweet sweet husband, sausage-free pizza is like Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the one eyed one horned flying purple-people eater (spoiler alert!).   So when I found this recipe for Pesto Chicken Pizza I was excited but leery that the hubster would not approve.  Boy was I ever wrong!  Y'all...you have to make this pizza.  Like NOW.  Go to the store this instant...I'll wait.  Yummo!  I do have to admit that I served this on homemade pizza dough, because any pizza crust that does not come out of my bread maker is just sacrilegious to me...which reminds me I need some wheat flour.  Hey, when you go to pick up stuff for YOUR pesto chicken pizza, will you grab me some wheat flour?  I'll hitcha back.  You're swell.

I also reworked one of our favorites, King Ranch Chicken with virtually fat-free soups and cheeses, substituting corn tortillas for crushed corn chips. I'm sure it's still not the healthiest dish, but my general take on all this is that I can't stop loving what I eat.  So I need to figure out how to still enjoy our favorites but to feel better about them at the same time.

Speaking of: found a new treat that I would love to share with you as well!  My current favorite dessert consists of 1/2cup Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt, one sliced banana, 1/2 cup Special K Low-Fat Granola cereal.  toss these ingredients in a bowl and prepare to be amazed.  I bet if you mixed it up before dinner and tossed it in the freezer it would be even better....tryin it!  I estimate this around 325-350 calories or so, but it's fillllllling.  Like hard-core.


Now, let's talk for a moment about how David runs circles around me on this whole healthier living thing.  He resists all temptation but one day a week.  He gets up at 6 o'clock in the frickin morning to go and ride his bike 20+ miles and then takes the Bear on another bike ride every evening that he can.  I, on the other hand, have been on my bike twice for a total of about 5 miles and my lady bits are sore for two days after each ride...I've done my workout DVD once, with a promise that I'm going to start it up again...I swear!  Maybe at lunch time today?  Ehh, who knows.  But all that to say that while generally speaking, David is much more athletic than I am, it really grates me when he's on a health kick because it makes glaringly obvious my lack of true commitment to the cause.  

On a final and completely unrelated note: I am looking to branch out, at least a little bit.  Here pretty soon you may find new pages at the Cupcake Chronicles.  Including at least Photography and ZeroDay Accomplishments...so keep an eye out for that.  That's really all I've got for today!  Deuces...

Smorgasbord of Randomness

One of my favorite people on earth sent me this little e-card one day, and it totally sums up my relationship with dairy.  I claim myself to be "Lactose Irritable" because sometimes we're cool...other times it mops the floor with me.  Thursday evening, I took Christopher out for some ice cream and had a delightful scoop of Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate...fewer calories and lower fat than my regular Twist...look it up!  Anyway, that "accidentally" wound up being my dinner....and boy did I regret it.  Lesson learned: ice cream for dinner equals working Sudoku puzzles on the can for dessert.  you're welcome.

On a separate, and completely unrelated, note:  Since I've made this list of "things to do to make me a better person", I've been seeing a lot of changes.  Not in myself, mind you, but in others.  Case in point: I popped by the Red Box last night to do a little perusing.  I loves me some Red Box these days.

Anyway, I pull up my little buggy and park it next to a gal who is using the kiosk.  Kiosk is a great word, try to use it in a sentence this week.  Anyway, she asks me if I am renting, and I said yeah but go ahead because I don't know what I want to rent yet, thinking that she thought she was in my way or holding me up or whathaveyou.  So she asks me if I have a code for a free rental, and I'm all "meh?" and she's all "yeah I got this code for a free rental and it works!"...so she leans over and shows me this 7-digit unrepeatable code...I select my movie, swipe my card and hit the button for PROMO and viola, nooooo monies were charged!  I couldn't believe it!

Sometimes I wonder if I got extra Jesus-points for just putting "do random acts of kindness for others" on my to-do list and I'm already reaping rewards.  This is possible, no?  Just sayin.

Which brings me to my third and final point for this evening.  Here I sit alone in my house for the weekend.  David and Christopher went up to Normantown and I have been officially left to my own (battery-operated) devices.  Naw, just kiddin y'all.  But seriously.  Can I just say out loud that I accomplished more today than I probably have in the past year??  I mean, all I did was shampoo the carpets and push stinkin laundry through,  oh and got a coat of amazingly badASS red paint on muh kitchen door, but that's it.  I did that and I was like "um, when do I get to just sit and goof off?  OH...I start now." and that's about how it went.  I'm about as productive as can be until my attention gives out, then we might as well just call it a day. ...which sounds pretty good right about now so I think I wi

Facelifts and Tummy Tucks

This week I find myself doing all kinds of things to spruce up this blog to my liking.  All two of my followers out there, let me know what you think.  Do you approve?

Amazingly the scale budged!

...and I do mean amazingly!  The past two and a half days have been spent in Norman which translated in to:
1. Hamburgers, fries for dinner.
2. Sausage Egg biscuit for breakfast.
3. Enchilada meal for lunch.
4. Tacos for dinner.
5. Donut for breakfast.
6. Pizza for lunch.
7. Turkey sandwich for dinner....can you tell this is when I came home?


So rather than sit here and say "I'm not making excuses"....I am making excuses and each one of them is malarky.  It's like I lose all sense of drive when I'm away from home.  Goodness me it is a good thing that my job doesn't require much travel.  I'd be as big as a house!  I talked my office buddy in to buying a small fridge and microwave this week, though...so the "plan" is to start taking my lunch to work on my travel days.  Not only will I save a solid 800-1300 calories per day, but I will save at least $40 a month!  That's something that I can totally get on board with.  So let's see how it goes next week, shall we?

Anywayyyy.  On to other news.  Last week I worked out TWICE!  That sounds so pathetic, but hey, it's two more times than I can claim in the past 5 years for sure.  So Tuesday afternoon I started a new work-out DVD, The Biggest Loser: CardioMax.  What I like about it?  There are real people doing these exercises with me, not Betsy Bodybuilder who gets paid to live at the gym and thinks that the workout is a joke.  It's a fairly simple program that is designed to be a six-week guide to a better me.  Weeks 1&2 are a total 30 minute workout with 5 minutes of warmup and cooldown with a 20 minute session with Bob in between.  Weeks 3&4 adds in a 10 minute session with Jillian, and weeks 5&6 adds a third 10 minute session with whats-her-face.  I dig that.  It's not intimidating, it's manageable and the results can be seen quickly enough to hold my interest.  Of course, that six week program entails doing the tape 4-5 times per week, so I can't say that I'm officially on the program just yet.  But hey, this could be my week, right?  


Workout #2 was really a lovely evening bike ride with the family.  It was the first time that I had been on a legitimate bicycle in years.  Years.  So I was pretty proud of myself for going 2 1/2 miles and not feeling winded.  I could have easily gone 5-6 miles before becoming uncomfortable I believe.  David will be home this weekend and I'm hoping that we can go on one of his famous 10 mile rides with the Bear.  I know that would test me even more, and I will probably want to die afterward, but I'd love to get to where I can ride close to 30 miles.  My sister in law can do it, and I like to think that I'm at least in her league of physical capabilities.  Ideally, David and I would get to where we could go on those rides in the early morning before it got really hot...the sun goes to bed too early for us to be able to do so after it cools off in the evenings.  But we'll see.

By the way, this is my new bike.  Ain't she a beaut??   I think she's purdy!  Oh, and while we're on the subject of my pretty new biiiicycle.  I would like to take a quick second to officially go on record as saying that I, at the age of 28, now own my very first bike helmet.  Ever.  And I feel like a complete f-tard having to wear it now when I never did before, in all the thousands of miles that I rode a bike in my youth.  F. Tard.  But I can't very well expect to set an example for the Bear that "we always wear our helmets" if I, in fact, do not wear my helmet.  I hate when I get called out on those types of technicalities.


So that's a little update on what's new in my world.  Thanks for stopping by.


Exes and Hos!
JG

Grad School

Well, kids.  I've officially marked one of my DayZero tasks off my list.  I have applied to Grad School at Cameron University!  My degree will be a Master's of Science in Education Leadership; the rough equivalent to a Student Affairs degree.  What will I do with this, you ask?  Well, I'm not totally sure.  Ideally, I would like to continue working for OU and nab an adjunct teaching position while somehow finagling a full-time location in SW Oklahoma as a continuing education liaison.  You know, work with adults in this part of the state who are interested in starting or completing a degree program get pointed in the right direction.  Sounds swanky, huh?  What can I say, it's how I roll.

I think we even have uniforms!!  Can you just imagine?! 


I do have to be completely honest, though, and admit that while I do love school--no, truly, I do!--my motives for Grad School are not completely pure and self-fulfilling.  A number of people that I know, love and admire have either already completed their master's degrees while working so I know that it can be done, or are currently entering or have already taken some graduate courses, so again, I know I can do it.  But....


more importantly, two people that I cannot stand are also entering grad school this fall.  And I cannot and will not be one-upped by either of these individuals.  Cannot and will not happen.  Motivation is motivation, that's all there is to it.  It's just the same with the defattification--ultimately, I'm in some unspoken contest with an individual who I see as beneath me who is working very diligently on her weight loss journey. It is simply unacceptable to me for her to beat me at anything, let alone self improvement.  Unacceptable.


Signed,
Definitely Not Beatrice

No more unicorns?

I'm really thankful that David is on this health kick with me.  Last week I packed him a lunch...two turkey sandwiches (he cannot survive on one sandwich, go figure) some baked lays potato chips, a low fat yogurt, aaaaaand a package of Nutty Bars.  Nutty Bars?!? you say?  Yeah...well, I'm just trying to get rid of them and if I'M not going to eat them, and I'm not going to feed them to the bear, they have to go in David's lunch right?  Apparently wrong.  He wound up giving them away, but here's the moral of the story.  When David starts getting healthy, he goes all out.  He doesn't half ass it like me other people, and he actually inspires me to take myself and my defattification process more seriously.

New philosophy on food:  If I wouldn't feed it to the bear, I won't eat it myself.  Period.  Except on holidays.  PERIOD.


So I decided to try to make a healthier spaghetti last night.  Whole wheat pasta and ground turkey, as well as a heart-healthy no sugar whatever spaghetti sauce.  I ground up my turkey and toss in some garlic and spices and it smells wonderful....mix in the sauce while the pasta finishes cooking...throw in a dash of garlic salt and a pinch of sugar because the manufacturer clearly left it out on accident and the sauce tastes great?  I keep telling myself that anyway.  Then put it all on a plate and it was like eating sadness one excruciating bite at a time.  As if I took one of my favorite meals and stripped away all the goodness in the world.  No more kittens, no puppy breath....Grey's Anatomy, bubble baths and unicorns existed no more.  Seriously.  No bueno.  The bear wouldn't hardly touch it!

My bossman tells me I went wrong with just using plain ground turkey breast...shoulda used turkey sausage she says.  So that's been duely noted in my noggin.  We'll try it again.  David did not request leftovers for his lunch.  Shock.

Anyway, all this to say that there's not much to report.  I'm muddling through new recipes to find what we like (and clearly what we don't) but I'm officially another pound down!  7 down, 70 to go!  It sounds like a big number, but having eased in to this transitioned state of mind, I am not intimidated by 70 pounds.  Nope.  Not one bit.

A Better Version of Me

I know that there is a better version of me locked up inside.  I'm currently tinkering with the lock on the gate that keeps her contained...and have decided that The Cupcake Chronicles are not only going to document my slow and painful trudge down the path to weight loss and improved health, but also be my real sounding board where I can reveal the new and improved me one little tidbit at a time.  But let's talk more about this BVOM shall we?  You game?  I almost picture this BVOM as a completely separate person, shall we call her Beatrice?  (Beatrice is a pet name I've obtained from my ILs, and it just seems easy enough to remember on my end, and really she does embody all that I strive to be.)

Beatrice is a delightful young woman.  She volunteers her time to public service projects, bakes for her neighbors, takes her family for picnics, and would never dream of presenting her husband with slice and bake cookies...no, no, no, Beatrice only makes homemade goodies for her man.  She keeps a neat and orderly home (just short of vacuuming in high heels and pearls), enjoys gardening, photography, and seeks out an adventure in every single day that she is given.  Beatrice wakes up at 6am every day to make time for an exercise regiment, and has time to have breakfast for her boys to boot!  She is not boring, she is not vanilla; no one is want for conversation in her company.  She can strike up a delightful banter with anyone, and is well-read on current events and all the classics.  She never loses her patience with her children or her husband, but when she loses her patience with those outside her circle she has a tongue that will crack a spirit like a whip.  She's pretty much a bad ass.  I heart Beatrice.

But enough about her, and back to just plain ol' "me".  I came across this "Day Zero Project" last week and it has really been an inspiration.  The gist is that you set 101 goals for yourself to achieve within 1000 days. This is exactly the kind of thing that I need!  I always have these tentative and loosely defined (read: generic and totally intangible) list of "things" that I want to do someday or am planning on getting around to.  This website gives me more structure in my quest to get off the bench of my life and get back in the game.  Feel free to take a peek at my list.  For me, it reads very much like a backyard swimming pool--from shallow to deep and everywhere in between, it's all relative.  Obviously, I'm only about a third of the way through my list.  Here's why this site is so great.  It's structured, but the timeline is not too aggressive, nor is it too wide open.  I'm totally diggin it right now.

So, now it's time to fess up.  JG tooooootally did not follow through with her ambitious (albeit foolish) goal to resist temptation in all its forms over the holiday weekend.  But, all in all, I'd give myself a solid C+ for my efforts.  Avoiding second helpings of my meals and being conservative with my sweets landed me with a big +1 on the scale just a few minutes ago.  This +1 is also after lunch, though I don't believe that there is a full pound of food in my belly right now...it's just me trying to say that weight fluctuates throughout the day and this is not my "typical" weigh-in hour.  So meh.

All this to say, Operation Skinny Jeans is still on.  A minor hitch in the road, yes, but we're right back on track.  Aaaaaand go!

I'm a saboteur...what the bloody hell??

Having just sat here and boasted about my (suspicious, but I swear I didn't make it up) 6 pound weight loss in just over ehh, two weeksish with no true focus and just living by three words, "make good choices", I find myself already plotting a sabotage.  I want to eat bad things...I want to make a cake and leave the other half of it for the hubbs to fight me over.  A battle to the death, 'twould be.  I'm already salivating over upcoming holiday cooking goodies for the weekend.

Whyyyyyy do I do this to myself?  I really don't know.  I seem to always do it though.  Make a little progress, a fraction of "notable" in my overall goal, and I start thinking that I've earned some kind of right to slack and splurge and go back to my old habits.  My thought process literally sounds like this "well, I've lost __lbs, no biggie to gain a couple back for ________.  It's (insert special occasion here) for crying out loud!".   Sigh.  How about NOT THIS TIME!!!?

The plan?  Well, 1) I'm totally going to use my leftover doctor-prescribed-speed diet pills over the weekend as a crutch.  Noooo, I don't really take them with any sense of routine, but they definitely give me the energy boost I want and the appetite suppression I need all in one glorious little easy to swallow pill.  Just sayin.  B) How's about I increase the proportion of greenage on any plate I serve up over the intoxicating (and thus very dangerous) hamburgers/hotdogs that are inevitably in the line up?  And III) I don't really have a third item...well, okay, increase water intake.  I think that 'll just about do it.

Next week, we're back home again...hopefully for a good long while.  I lust to be home for the next three full weekends or so just to take a break from all the travel.  Gives me a chance to plan out some yummy and healthy meals on a more consistent basis, right?

Anyway, gawd this blog is so boring...how's about I try to punch it up a little bit in the future, eh?  Clearly I should not quit my day job in hopes of becoming some pheblogmenon.  Honestlyyyy....

Time to check in...

Well, I do hang my head in a bit of shame, but I've got a glint of pride in my eye at the same time.  Somehow, when I checked the scale at the beginning of the week, I'd managed to lose 4 pounds since my first weigh-in.  Did I read the scale wrong when I first weighed over a week ago?  Perhaps...well, most likely.  Am I still going to "count" the 4 pound reduction I saw when I hopped back on on Monday morning?  You bet your sweet petunia I am!

I've basically been away from home for over a week.  From spending the work week in Norman to a weekend trip to Dallas to a turn-around-travel-day, my environment has been working against me.  I have felt out of control of my environment but things are settling back down.  Being home this week has made my journey to better choices much easier.  In fact, yesterday I shall boast that I only consumed somewhere around 850-900 calories.  Not on purpose, mind you, but just happened to work out that way...and I wasn't feeling destitute!  Eh, it's the little things.

Anywhooo...hopped back on the scale this morning to see that I was another 2 pounds down.  I totally call shenanigans on the whole deal...but yes, yes I am going to count them!  So, 6 pounds down with an erratic schedule?  I'll take it!

I've been tagged!

My sweet friend Courtney tagged me in her blog yesterday, and because I'm pretty fond of her I'm participating. :)  So here goes:

1.       Favorite color:  Officially it is blue. Blue makes me feel mysterious and inquisitive; it’s calming and invigorating all at the same time.  Unofficially, it’s pink because pink just makes me happy.

2.       Favorite brand/designer:  I honestly don’t have one.  I’m very much a WalMart/Target/Ross shopper for my clothes.  But truth be told, I don’t care for a lot of the stuff that comes from the high-end designers.  Coach, Gucci, Rodeo Drive?   Puhhlease.

3.       Favorite restaurant:  Hrm.  Probably El Chico.  I don’t get to go there much, but pretty much anything they serve provides a party in my mouth that I want to never end! 

4.       Hobbies:  I’m actually “hobby shopping” if you know of anything interesting and relatively inexpensive to get in to.  I’d LOVE to take a cake decorating class or digital photography/photo editing course or something like that.  I like the crafty things, but I’m admittedly inept at most attempts to be artistic.

5.       Favorite thing about yourself:  Probably my sense of humor and quick wit.  I luh-HUV banter!

6.       What does your room look like?  It’s a boring shade of blue with two dressers, two nightstands and a Queen bed with a new headboard/footboard.  It’s not too messy, not too clean…just “lived in” looking at the moment.  And I’m alright with that.

7.       If you could have dinner with two people (dead or alive) who would they be?  Probably Hillary Clinton and Jesus.  The first because she just generally rocks my world and I want to join her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits, and the other because I would be interested to know what he’s got to say about anything and everything and if he really does keep score.

8.       What’s your next “big splurge”?  I’m planning to buy a Financial Peace University “kit” to help us budget better and start making our money work for us.  I feel like all I’ve done is splurge over the past couple of weeks, so it’s time to rein it in a bit!

9.       What’s your favorite joke, quote, or saying?  “Time will pass whether you do anything with it or not.”

10.   Anything else you would like us to know about you? (Random fact)  Today, my uterus feels like it is going to explode and then fall out on Slinky springs.

So, now you have a little more useless information about me than you may ever need or want.  Congratulations!

Part of the game is to tag a buddy, so since not many people know about this blog, I'm tagging GOOSE!

Rocky Road start, but hobbling along

Well, apparently my plan was flawed. ‘Twas ill prepared to be on an impromptu diet, so I had to kind of make do with better “choices” over the weekend because our menu was just not (repeat NAHHHHHT) diet-friendly over the weekend. Beefy Mac and Hamburgers were on the menu for dinners and I will just say this for the record: on account of us being out of town for the next week and these items *already* being set up, I just rolled with it.


Friday night I had marinated chicken bewbs, cooked up some carrots and had a beauty of a leafy Romaine salad. Check! The small child ate the crap out of that chicken, too! So that went over really well.  I had a couple of extra bewbs leftover, so those went toward Saturday and Sunday meals for us as well.

Saturday started off pretty bad—David talked me in to going to our little breakfast café…half an hour later I floated out of there in a pancake induced euphoria the likes of which you’ve never seen.

The rest of the weekend was not as savvy as Friday night, so rather than focus on a “diet” per se, I focused on making “better choices”. Opting for leftover chicken/veggies or turkey over PB&J for lunch and fruit over chocolate for snacks, I kind of hobbled my way through the weekend. Limiting myself to ONE serving of my dinner plate as opposed to my usual two and having salad or steamed veggies for a side with each meal proved more difficult though. I had this vivid picture of some petrifying alien beast trying to claw its way through my belly to get to the second helpings its damn self. But I won. I’m the weiner.

Now it gets trickier. As always, I am having a harder time making good choices when I’m not at home. At home I can control my environment a bit more, out of town, doable but not as easy. So this week will very much be an uphill climb. But we’ll see if I can make any headway on getting the goose-egg off of my ticker by next week. One thing I did do yesterday was attend a water zumba class during my lunch hour. It was really fun. I had myself halfway talked out of going but got bullied and am so glad that I caved. I had a blast! I was totally zapped the rest of the day, but I got an hour of pool time and flailed about in the water like nobody’s business so that was good times. Truth be told, I’d love for water aerobics to take up the rest of the summer’s lunch hours.

I’m very seriously considering starting Weight Watchers again, but we’ll see how far off the ground that idea makes it. I have a buddy at work that just recently got off the WW wagon, so I’ve asked her if I can bum all of her goodies with point-values and meal ideas and whatnot and got the green light there. She’s been working her tail off lately doing aerobics classes with the girls at lunch, going to the gym wither husband and just watching what she’s eating and she’s lost 3 dress sizes probably over the past 3 months or so. She’s pretty inspiring.

Today is the day.

Today is the day.

The day I start feeling like me again.  The day I start shedding this whole other PERSON I've packed on over the past decade, one pound at a time.  The day I get real with myself.  The day I admit that nobody can help me but me.  Today is the day I claim responsibility for what I shove in my cakehole.  Today is the day I stop baking so many sweets and sabotaging my desperate want for a better physique.  Today is the day I start doing the work.

Today is the day that I put down the cupcakes.

Join me if you will, as I begin my official weight loss journey.  77 lbs is the goal.  Roughly a size 8-10 is the target.  Health, happiness, and love for myself are the ultimate rewards.