Knock, Knock!

I promised some tidbits from BigBoy's library joke book. I really thought the book was from the '50s.

Nit: What's red and red and red all over?
Wit: I have no idea.
Nit: Measles with a sunburn.

My son has no idea what measles are. And measles weren't really around for my childhood either.

What is the difference between a photocopy machine and the Hong Kong flu?
One makes facsimiles and the other makes sick families.

Hong Kong what??

The jokes use dialogue with names like Ambrose, Claude, Arnold, Willard, and Gertrude. Seriously? These are name from my grandparents (literally) and their friends.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Pasteur.
Pasteur who?
It's Pasteur bedtime.

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Hewlett.
Hewlett who?
Hewlett the cat out of the bag.

A few were keepers for us, like:

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Annie.
Annie who?
Annie body home?

But for the most part, BigBoy looks at me and says "huh?" The book was actually written and first published in 1992!

Be the Rooster

As a mom I find myself constantly trying to be "A Mom" and finding "Mom Things" to do. It really shouldn't be this hard, right? I think I have a lot of reasons (ahem, excuses) for just not doing it. I'm in a new area. So venturing out with a newly potty trained toddler who likes to bolt any chance she gets is still a bit daunting. Spending the time and effort to do something that ultimately isn't worth it is frustrating and disappointing.

It's also work. I didn't grow up in a home that did "family oriented" things. My parents went on vacation without me and promised to take me when I was 18- never happened. We took the traditional road trips to visit family, but that's about the extent of family time- at least what I can easily recall. That kind of childhood. So just taking trips to the library is "thinking outside the box" for me. (btw, I hate that saying, but you know... it sums it up) As a kid, I didn't go to the library, ever. In fact I don't remember even being read to as a kid, no favorite childhood books, no bedtime stories, etc. My house is now filled with books galore and my MIL is a retired pre-K teacher. of course.

Yesterday we went our little local branch of the main library. I totally felt like the alien mom, fumbling on how to even find books. And we went during story time. of course. Which was fine, we watched from a distance, but the kids' section is just one big room, so we had to be quiet. After they were done, BigBoy asked the librarian for help finding a joke book. More tasty tidbits to come from this little gem of a book! So, we did it! The first step. The kids loved it and we HAVE to go back since we checked out a bunch of books. I can do this, make it part of our regular routine. Maybe even hit a story time or two on purpose. woah! crazy mama! watch out!

Today was co-op homeschool day. The Babe has been a snotty waterfall since yesterday, not sure if it's a teething thing or a getting sick thing, so BigDaddy had some father/daughter time and took her to lunch while BigBoy and I went on our group's field trip to The Big Campus (TBC) to visit the planetarium. This is why I love my homeschool group. I would NEVER, in a million years, take my son to TBC, figure out parking and watch a planetarium film on atoms and molecules. (apparently they are making this into an actual IMAX movie. see the preview here: Molecules to the Max) He LOVED it! Since we were with a part of a group, it wasn't so scary for me. I know, big chicken. Baby steps, right??

Speaking of chickens... on the way home a rooster flew out in front of my van, in the middle lane of lots of traffic. WTH?! I screamed. BigBoy perked up from the back. A freaking rooster? Downtown in the middle of TBC? This is supposed to be "the city", our closest big city, with the big box stores and everything.

Anyway...back to being the scared mom. This is why I love my homeschool group. They are always looking for things to do that are educational and involve your family. Things I never think of doing or even notice are going on. I really need to get out of my comfort zone and they give me the nudge to do it. I guess I need to be more like my friend the renegade rooster. Get out of my comfort zone. However, I'll definitely look both ways before crossing the street!

Bliss:

• Hearing the Babe sing and play the guitar. A version of Hush Little Baby that has a monkey in it.
• Seeing BigDaddy walk home with the Babe on his shoulders.
• BigBoy telling the Babe his birthday cake is going to be chocolate cake (his favorite) with PINK icing, cuz it's her favorite.

I'm a big loser!

Weigh-In Thursday.... drum roll please! Down 3 lbs! Yahooo hooo!

Grand total is now 9.5 lbs in 6 weeks. This past week BigDaddy was home a lot more and it made a huge difference for me. I stayed on program, fulfilling my pinky promise with LisAnt. I also switched out more carbs for protein in the morning and for snacks, which seemed to keep me satisfied for a lot longer. I toss in blueberries with yogurt, spinach on sandwiches, little things like that. I only worked out twice and once was the bounce zone. :) THIS IS WORKING!!!

I'm pumped. I actually haven't even been really counting points much. Now that I'm back into it, I'm eyeballing, a lot more and just journaling during the day, when I need it most. As long as I am in the low teens by dinner, I make sure to have one helping what we've made (which is almost always low points) and then I wait to see how my body feels. Most of the time, I'm satisfied and don't need anything more. If I do, I'll have some cheese. Seems to be working and if I start to slow down, I'll go full blown point count again. But I think this is more realistic to what life will be once I hit my goal weight. I don't want to live the rest of my life calculating every bite, but I'm making smarter choices, better portion control and being aware of WHAT and HOW I'm eating. Can you say Lifestyle?

I really don't like Diets or even the word "Diet". RonisWeigh had a post about this recently and it's interesting how people are all over on this. It's so important to just find what works for you. If I'm on a "Diet" and I'm not allow to eat something, then of course, that's all I can think about eating.

After my big celebration, I ran into my disaster. MickyD's. I love their chicken salads, which is totally what I SHOULD have had, but I can basically make it at home with the same dressing and we were taking it to go. So I did it. Cheeseburger and Fries. I did get a regular burger and small fries, but nonetheless. The damage was done. This would be all fine and dandy if I had planned, but I did not. So here I am and here's my journal so far:

Food	Units
bfast- mg cheerios, banana coffee w/ milk	5
ww yogurt w/ granola, blueberries	2.5
md's chzburger, sm. fries	12.5
ww ice cream bar	2
Total:	22

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

I'm not going to beat myself up. Life happens, this will be a high points day, obviously, since I haven't had dinner. Move along people.... nothing to see here.

On a good note, my bliss moments all involved BigBoy. We actually had a pretty nice day together, more on that later or tomorrow.....

• "Can I please have a kiss? I looooove kisses from you!" aww. pitter patter!
• BigBoy massaging my foot while blogging. One handed as he played his computer games.
  
• His choice of clothes when we got home to relax in.... favorite blue soccer shorts and his dressy gymbo Christmas pic shirt. He cracks me up.
  

Jumpzone + me = hurt

Where have I been? Seems like it's been forever since I've done anything on the computer. You know what they say... Life gets in the way. Or am I the only one who says that?

BigDaddy was home most of the weekend, so we had lots of good family time. Then I stayed up waaaayy too late watching the Oscars, which I never do, but a) it was just bizarre and b) I was twittering while watching- which made it 100x more fun. Miss it? get a re-cap here

I haven't been posting my food journal (since I haven't been blogging), but I've totally been on top of it and I'm down 2 more pounds- woo hoo! changing my points from a target of 22 back to my old school range of 20-25 has totally made a difference. I'm down 9#s total in about a month 1/2. I've also noticed that I need more protein in my diet and have been eating more eggs (NOT egg beaters, which I can't stand), meat and cheese in the morning instead of cereal. I miss it, but it's kicked started my metabolism. So I'm going with it.

Monday I decided to take the kids to a local jump zone place, you know with inflatable jump houses, slides, etc. It's more money than I'd like to pay, but worth my sanity during winter cabin fever (and midsummer melt down). The kids had a blast. I had this great idea that I was going to be the "fun mom" and lead the boys in some P.E. type jumping - big strides, knees high up, side slide jumps, and backwards. WTH was I thinking? After doing that for a while, chasing the kiddos around, climbing up ladders and running up slippery walls, I was beat. totally exhausted. And I used muscles I wasn't used to using, the whole deal. How lame do I feel telling my neighbor how tired I am after taking them to the jump house. So. Lame. I was pretty worthless the rest of the day (and kind of the next).

But highlight for my day... I met another mom! woo hoo! Back to feeling like I'm dating. She has a son, same age as BigBoy (they are actually one day apart) and they had a blast together. she also had a baby girl and we were talking about how hard it was to meet other moms you like who also have kids you like. (All you singletons/DINKs who are reading this, we're serious) So we exchanged cell numbers and talked about getting together soon. You KNOW I'm calling her. So all in all, a successful outing and $16 well spent. (ouch.)

Verizon officially owns us as we now have TV service through them and got rid of Comcast yesterday. My house was invaded by DirecTV for three hours. Yes, three. BigDaddy was a star and made us a healthy salmon dinner as Tuesday is our fish night since I was done after dealing with the kids and service guys. Much easier to stay on program with a hubby willing to step up when you are feeling a bit down.

I'm also trying to just enjoy the little things in life more. Stop and soak it in, if just for a moment. I am going to keep track, like my points and log them in. So for today, my daily bliss:

* Sibling chatter.
* When BigBoy yells "MOM!" from down the hall. And instead of yet another request, I get "I love you!!"
* The Babe doing yoga with me.

Special video pick for one of my BFF :) Love you Pet! Love for the fatties...

Fashionably Late

I've had quite a few people ask me "What's a Twitter?" Congratulations you have just become your parents!! We'll get you up to speed in a bit.

I've always considered myself just barely in the loop of all things tech. Like I'm getting the party after it's already started... Fashionably Late. I keep thinking I got into the Internet when I was planning my wedding. But actually it was before that. I was into yahoo chat rooms, then discussion boards for wedding planning, then all my "online friends" started getting preggo, so we moved to the baby boards, then people started sharing blogs, then FB, and now Twitter. BTW, this is MY timeline. I skipped the whole MySpace thing as I always felt like it was for high schoolers and it looked so cheesy and too chaotic to me. Hence my love affair with the Target version of MySpace: Facebook. Bright, clean, organized and highly addictive.

I'm also a communications geek. Majored in journalism, did a stint working in public relations both agency and corporate, and then threw in some promotions and special events into the mix. Then I met BigDaddy and threw it all out the window for love! j/k BigDaddy! ;) I'm fascinated with all things dealing with communicating and the written word- in all forms. I asked for call waiting for my birthday in high school. seriously. I subscribe to so many magazines I can't really keep track. yes, I read ALL of them. I love blogs and always seem to get lost following links in cyberland. I wouldn't consider myself an Early Adopter, but I guess for my ahem, age group, I'm a little ahead, just barely. (*Now that I posted that definition link, I guess I'm an "Early Majority")

So back to "What's a Twitter?" It's kind of like saying a few years ago "What's a Text Message?" Let's get you up to speed, shall we? Check this for the text book answer. But it's essentially a cross between a text message and a blog referred to as micro-blogging. It's not for everyone, but I don't want to be left behind in the workforce, if at some point I want to get back into PR or communications in general. SocialMedia are big deals and Twitter is a major player. It reaches over 4.1 million users a MONTH. And their numbers are starting to skyrocket because of other people like me being a late in the game. If you interesting in a bit more specific info, check out mashable.com. It rocks. Here are some links to get you started

http://mashable.com/2008/11/10/twitter-community/

http://mashable.com/2008/11/17/twitter-community-donts/

http://mashable.com/2008/11/15/twitterspeak/

http://mashable.com/2009/02/20/big-brands-social-media/

http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/

*** ETA Just found this cool video:


I'm twittering now. If you want to check it out, jump in, make a few tweets, meet some tweeps. (you can follow me @lunzy) You too may be able to start your day with notes from Shaq or private messages from Pete Carroll. Not too shabby for showing up a little late.

Just call me Kitty. MeYow!

Yesterday was quite the great day and today was our home school co-op, so I haven't been around much. (And I'm now addicted to Twitter- shhh!)

I'm not really sure if my great day started because we made a huge effort to make my morning as easy as possible, or if was just meant to be that way. The night before BigDaddy and I powered out the kitchen, shiny sink a la flylady, prepped coffee for the next morning, and picked up our "hot spot" (aka the kitchen area).

I woke up, weighed-in (SCORE!!! another pound down), pushed the button to start my nectar of the Gods and didn't have to feel guilty about not doing a single thing. The Babe was up early, as usual, but BigBoy slept past 7- this rarely happens. He must have slept well because he had my favorite goofy, sleepy grin on. pitter patter, pitter patter!

We are in the market for a swing set since we had to sell ours before our move. I decided to do a Costco run with the kids and check out the set they have. We needed to get out of the house and Costco is so big, they can usually run around a bit. So can anyone tell me if it was "I'm Almost Dead Discount Day!"? Seriously. I don't think I've EVER seen more really, REALLY, old people at Costco in my life, with the electric carts (more than one!), the whole nine. Bizarre. But of course the kids loved saying hi and old people jump right into that song and dance.

I was also "That Mom". But not like I usually am!!! That Mom you hate because her kids are so great! Go me!! The kids, with all the mega-senior attention, really laid it on thick. I'm talking ultra manners and deliciously sweet siblings. BigBoy went back to the taste tester "Excuse me, that was REALLY good! I liked it a lot!" This was after he had used AWESOME manners to ask for his sample and then one for his sister too. He's also on this Save the Earth kick. We found a cup lid in the parking lot that he absolutely had to pick up to throw away, to help the earth mom! Fine, that's wonderful and I'm running with it little man.

I managed to buy two whole things on my list, and of course lots that wasn't, but with the kids I really can't meander much anyway. It's all about the food and then how quickly we can get out. We checked out the swing set (HUGE! and major coinage) and looked for a compost bin- remember, we're helping the earth- which weren't in yet. Bought a few random things and fruit and off we went. And get this. I escaped for way under a hundred! are you jealous?

We got home to a Nap Striker. This Scab was all over it and finally got her to relent. Which brings me to my next opportunity to brag: BigBoy read his first sentence. I couldn't believe. It was in that split second that I considered home schooling forever. It was really amazing to be his teacher at that moment. I'm actually teaching this kid to read. Granted it was "see me eat". But he read!! And it was cool. The moment of reconsidering public kindergarten passed, but that moment we shared rocked my Mama world. He's totally into it and I don't force the issue, not too much anyway. His writing is really improving and it's all pretty painless. He actually LIKES it. Nikki (You can find her in my comments. It's really easy to do since she's basically the only non-stalker. You too can be like Nikki and tell me you exist, since I see my reports anyway- hint, hint.) Now where was I? Oh yah, Nikki is a Mom Superstar. Really she is. 5 kids, bless her heart. She home schooled them for quite a while so of course she was the first person I called. WHAT DO I DO?? She recommended this 100 Easy Lessons book. It's great! She's also the first person I call when I need a great recipe. I tell you. Mom Superstar.

I worked out when BigDaddy got home. I was all frazzled, needed a break, thought I needed to go shopping, but later realized I didn't yada yada yada. I still needed some me time, so I locked myself in the office, er I mean my work out/personal space room and felt worlds better. I started the second workout on Power Yoga Plus and about 5 min. into it realized it was kickin my booty. Oh yah, this was the workout I didn't do even when I was totally working out. Couldn't find my other tapes that I really like (more Denise Austin: Pilates Mat Workout and Blast Away 10 lbs. The second one is REALLY cheesy btw, even for Denise) so I tried another DVD I found cheap at WallyWorld, of course, my girl Denise again. It's actually really cool. Hit the Spot- Pilates You can pick and choose from like 7 different 10 min. workouts. I did the Core one and it was great. In a kick-your-booty kind of way. BigDaddy also made steak (4 oz portion) and potatoes for dinner. Add some vino and I'm one happy mama. I'm sore today and dragging big time. (But I lost another pound since I weighed in yesterday. Sooo worth it!)

We haven't been great about my meal plan, but we've been making smarter decisions. Today was long for me and I was beat. It was so one of those "let's just get a pizza" kind of night. But I made a pinky promise with my fellow WWer (shout out to LisAnt!) to stay on program. no. matter. what. So we compromised. Pasta (a big treat now) with low-fat clam sauce and big salad. Making dinner on the fly is much easier when we have healthy things to use for meals. A big plus is also having a husband on program with you. That's YOU BigDaddy!

I also decided to help BigDaddy with some social media stuff for his work, so I've been a little MIA on Facebook and journal/food posting. Trying to get up to speed on Twitter. I'm in love. Super fun, but I'm such a rookie and need to get the lay of the land, reading a bunch of interesting articles and finding people to follow. Also my crush on Shaq is growing with every one of his tweets. I heart him so. If you haven't checked it out, you should. Unless you actually want to get some work done. It's worse than FB. really. but just in case, follow me @sassyaztec.

So what's with the pic of Kitty from That 70s Show? I took one of those dumb quizzes someone "invited" to do on FB (FYI you can skip that step). I was curious. Guess what? I'm pretty cool...for a mom. ;)

You are doing pretty good! You know that being a strong mom is important and that you aren't perfect! You can laugh and cry with your kids! You demand respect and set a certain standard for your kids to follow! You are the MOM of the Year!

Thursdays Food:

Food	Units
banana, coffee w/milk. sandwich thin with lc chz	5
down a pound at weigh in!!! woo hooo!
lean steak, potatoes, shrooms and peppers. pinot. salad	9
ww choc. cake	1
oops! forgot lunch. santa fe rice & beans	6
Total:	21

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Friday's Food:

Food	Units
egg, bacon bits, spinach, lc chz, sammie. coffee w/milk	5.5
busy day! lunch veggie tacos, yogurt, granola, blueberries	9.5
really wanted to order pizza, did pasta at home instead with salad.	??
Total:	15+

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Agent 00Sassy strikes a warrior pose.

I finally did it! Took that first step in working out. The sitter came today and I stopped cleaning and declared it MamaTime. Announced I was working out and locked myself in the office. BigDaddy had rigged up our little TV with our portable DVD player and I cleared space and MY Space was ready to go. I realized this was an issue for me when I was thinking about what was stopping me from working out. The biggie was habit. I was just not used to working out anymore. But I also didn't have a space that I could easily use to actually work out in. I have one in theory, actually two, the office and basement. But they always seem to be a mess. I know, shocker. So I vowed to clear up the office a bit more as it seems to be our dumping ground. The basement can be a secondary space when I'm moving around a little more (i.e. Zumba) and need more space. Also in the summer it will be nice and cool.

So I did my favorite low impact workout Power Yoga Plus w/ Denise Austin. I love her. She's a bit annoying but I heart her cheesy sayings. They make me laugh. So as I was "feeling the effects" of yoga I started to feel pretty good about what I was doing. My body feels sooo much better and I'm proud of myself. It's not a huge step, but a step nonetheless. Go me!

A guess my Whopper Fiasco pushed me over the edge. I was NEEDING a burger, not just any burger, a Whopper. I crave these every so often. I think it's when my body is in dire need of iron. I ate them non-stop when I was p.g. with both kids. BigDaddy even offered to fly for me AND take the kids. He's a saint sometimes. After the glow from his halo wore off a bit and I could see again, I figured out my points from DWLZ.com and knew I could get a Whopper Jr. w/ cheese but no mayo for 8 pts. Add a small onion rings to my order for 3.5 more points (2 less than a sm. fries btw) and I am set.

Oh no. BigDaddy forgot to get the crowns. Oh no, Oh no. They got the order wrong. BigDaddy went back to fetch the crowns (I think I can still here the cries "but where are the crooooooowns??? and little hands frantically search the bag that would somehow magically make them appear). But I then realized the gave me a regular Whopper. No mayo, but FULL size. now we're talking 14 points. Of course I cut it in half. come on now. But did that stop me from eating the whole damn thing??? no. AAAAAAGH! It was too much food and I felt crappy afterwards- mentally and physically. I copied my food journal, but forgot to paste it, but I was at like 35 points. BTW- a double whopper with cheese and mayo is ridiculous. You can find out for yourself if you want the down and dirty. we'll leave it at that.

I still felt like crap this morning. had another crazy, not-so-productive day like yesterday. I started to make phone calls, BigBoy needs to get a cavity lasered (who knew they did that?) and FatCat had a vet visit that scared us a little. but looks like she'll be okay. now she's skinny though.... need a new nickname for her.

One thing I forgot to mention from yesterday was a wonderful little surprise in the mail. I can't tell you how it just made my sucky day so much brighter. BigDaddy's friend owns a great company called EcoUsable.com (plug, plug!) and they sent his some samples to see if they could use them for the team. But a sassy little number was included for me! (now that I think about it, I hope it was me... whatever. It WAS for me!) I love it. I own it now (neener neener if it wasn't for me, I licked it already so it's mine.) But seriously, how freaking cute is this?? I can't wait to use it and pretend I'm a Sassy Green Bond Girl.

Which got me thinking. One incentive of really blogging, like those fabulous moms that have wonderful sites with healthy food recipes or rugged ranch livin stories, would be free schwag! (they get sent stuff to try out and report to us lemmings) I am a schwag whore. I totally admit it. I was in PR & promotions for Pete's sake! We live for Free Stuff. (*Total sidenote: I once ran a contest to win "The Box O'Crap from my desk". People totally entered! And picked up their prizes! The stuff people will do for free stuff is really mind boggling. But that's fodder for another post...). But then I would probably have to write about something more interesting than being a slacker and eating pancake leftovers. That's kind of like work and I'm kind of allergic to that right now.

Wow. I'm all over the place today. Are you dizzy? Maybe I shouldn't have had the third cup o' coffee after noon today.

Oh yah, my food for today:

Food	Units
MG cheerios, strawberries, milk. coffee w/milk	4
nana bread	2
lean cuisine entree, clementine	8
mama needs some vino	2
baked "fried" chicken, mashed cauliflower, beans&mexicorn	6
loaded ice cream	2
Total:	24

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Brain-fried

Seriously? It's 2:15?

I'm still in my jammies. I scarfed down breakfast (banana bread from yesterday), then scarfed down a quick sandwich (leftover turkey meatloaf with cheese), drank 2 cups of coffee and was ready to grab another.... and then saw the time. 2:15. huh? I'm totally brain-fried, flustered, scattered-brained. I did manage to get the Babe down for a nap during our current nap strike. But other than that, I don't have much to show for my morning. (this is why I love this article that I recently posted on FB)

I've been taking care of business. I'm still not done. What is this major business, such a monumental task I've accomplished today with such tenacity that I have failed to sit and eat a simple meal without inhaling chunks, bathe or change clothes? Bill Paying. Okay, with some pet phone calls thrown into the mix.

How lame is that? My day started around 7:30. Made some coffee, snuggled a bit with the kids, quick call to one of BigDaddy's co-workers, and then BigDaddy went to work. Then I started my calls:

Vet for the now, not FatCat. she's lost a ton of weight and is losing hair. not good for a 15 year old cat. find the name of the vet someone gave me, then called them to make the appt. Call to BigDaddy to check if that would work. no. call back to change time. fished out med records for the pets. realize they didn't include our last visit. find old vet phone number. call old vet to fax medical records to new vet.

*Breakfast for the kids, more food for the kids, more food for the kids.

Coffee for Mama.

Get the paper bills out, bring up all websites for online bills. Check bank account. yuck.

We are paying how much for Comcast?!! Call to comcast to find out WTH was going on. our bill doubled. Oh you mean the CSR I spoke with gave me the wrong info when I signed up? That happens?? My deal was only 6 months, not the 12 she quoted me. so now I have to pay 120 instead of 60? oh, okay.

No Babe, you cannot talk on the phone to comcast. more "I TALK!" screams and protests.

Shove nana bread down my throat. slurp coffee.

car/renters insurance- our house just got outfitted with turn of the century electrical yesterday hooray! update our agent. leads to major talks of the policy and house issues. uugh. Need to call back with payment.

Pay gas. UGH! Pay electric. BIG UGH!

Verizon bill. huh? past due?? online to print out old copies of bills. printer doesn't work. AAAAAHHHHH! fix printer. why is this past due and why doesn't that amount show up on ANY old bill? Oh, what's this? offer from DirectTV/Verizon on one of my bills. phone, Internet AND TV for 80. we pay 75 right now PLUS cable (bundles are even cheaper than prices listed in link) hmmm..... Call to Verizon. hold. hold. hold. Okay, looks like a great deal!! not 80, but 105 for what we want. (GREAT CSR btw.)

Call BigDaddy to let him know Verizon will be calling back at 1. be home.

Kids want more food. oh it's lunch time!

2nd call to Comcast, any fees to cancel? no. will call back next week to cancel. so long suckers! Check out DirecTV website, review options, prices, etc.

Scarf lunch, put the Babe down for a nap. BigDaddy home. Discuss options. Receive call back from Verizon. They now own us. Wireless, home phone, Internet and TV. We upgrade the package and are pretending we are rich, living large and all that. got the top package... for what we are basically paying before the Comcast 1-2 punch. Happy Mama, happy BigDaddy as we got the dumb HD/DVR/all movie/all sports channels. (okay, so the college sports stuff IS helpful for his job, yada yada yada...) We only get ABC, Fox and PBS for local channels (long story) but I can still watch Bros and Sises and The Tudors. so I'm happy.

BigDaddy back at work, the Babe asleep, for now. Take a breath. crap! it's 2:15??? And I'm not done. aaaaack! I'm fried. Maybe I'll just blog and do the bills in a bit. after some more coffee.

Just the facts- Monday Food Journal

Monday Food

Food	Units
mg cheerios, strawberries, milk. coffee w/milk	3.5
cheese stick, ww cake	2
ham/turkey pep, lc cheese, spinach sammie, banana	5
roni's rockin banana bundt cake-bread thingy http://tinyurl.com/7ycom6	4
turkey meatloaf (total find in the freezer! yeah!) broccoli, more nana bread yum!	7
Total:	21.5

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Devil in the red sauce.

Hmmm.... I've been MIA over the weekend here. shocker. I wish I could say it's because I had soooo much fun over Valentine's Weekend, "I simply just didn't have time to post, you know how that goes". HA. I was flying solo again as BigDaddy was gone and it was up to me to supply the Vday festivities. We really don't celebrate Valentine's Day much anyway, but when you throw kids in the mix, it's a little different.

We had our home school co-op pitch-in on Friday and I made Roni's Banana Bundt Cake. BIG hit with the adults and kiddos. The crunchy/hippie/greenies liked that there wasn't any sugar and the kids liked that it was sweet and had chocolate. Yeah, go me! So Friday I was totally on track, brought my own micro-entree and had a little bundt cake to boot.

Saturday rolls around and I made the kids a special breakfast. I love to do special (and easy) meals for them that a) are cheap b) invoke a special feeling- I'm so over store bought garbage and c)... did I have a "c"? Anyway. My bfast involved ready made pancakes a la Walmart cut out with heart-shaped cookie cutters. super easy. whipped cream (FF), strawberries (still healthy here) and sprinkles for color-which I don't like anyway, I know. I'm a weirdo. I don't like chocolate much either, so there.

Well, you see...I had a lot of scrapes. Perfectly good, and tasty, edges from the heart cutouts. I nibbled a bit here, a bit there, some more here, dipped it in my strawberry All Fruit heated "red sauce." oh wait. there you go. that was the moment. did you see it? My moment of Pure Bliss. Gimme a cuppa Joe and I am a happy, husband-less, girl on Vday a.m.

I am also aware of this next fact. It's absolutely the WORST breakfast ever for me to eat. ever. Whenever I have coffee and pancakes/waffles, I am always doing a nosedive a few hours later. Some kind of glucose thing? whatever. My coffee/pancake combo is bad news however you slice it. But I love it. I just need to have eggs & bacon along with it. But who had time for that when I had a mountain of white, tan and red messy heaven that needed to be delivered to the living room pronto?!

I spent the rest of the day trying to offset this reaction with cheese, meat, other proteins. But the damage was done. I was off course and headed for disaster. So what's a girl to do? The only logical option available. Pretend like nothing's wrong. Points and WW don't exist. If I don't think about it, I won't feel guilty. Well, you know what? Actually I didn't feel too guilty. I tried to make smart choices throughout the day, but knew I was in the "zone" and not the good one. I didn't count anything, enjoyed the day with my kids, made heart shaped pizzas (pita bread cut into shape, turkey pepperoni). Really. In the olden days (pre-WW), this would have probably been a "normal/good day", but now I was "off course".

I lost a pound.

This is why I heart WW so much. Work the program and it works for you. I was better today, and even focused on being on my low end points-wise. I'm back in the zone. The good one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled (WW) program...

My Mommy the Nanny

Our sitter was here yesterday; she comes every week for 2 hours. A little break for mommy and the kids ADORE her. I was watching them from afar, and loved seeing how relaxed she was with them. BigBoy playing with their wagon and a tree swing, the Babe sitting on the J's belly.

They love their time with her because she really doesn't ever tell them no. She plays whatever they want, pulls them in a wagon, runs around in a game of tag, and gets out Candy Land. Whatever they want. And does so happily.

I really wish I could be my kids' Nanny. How great would that be? We'd play, cuddle, take walks. Whatever they want But I can't. I have a house to deal with, meals to cook, potty training to finish, grocery shopping lists to create. And you know kids always save their "best behavior" for their parents. So I play mediator, more than tag. I clean real dishes instead of pretending to have a tea party in the play kitchen. I pick up toy after toy (after toy) instead of playing with them. I check email, write in my blog, attempt home school, pay bills, try to sneak in a phone call or two... while I go about my day. I love this article I recently saw on Facebook: What do you DO all day?

Could I be more like the Nanny and not the Mommy? I think it can be done. I think I could be more of a "Nanny" than the "Nag." But it would be a challenge for sure. Mainly, because if I were a Nanny, I would get breaks from them. And sick days. And vacations. And the biggie: GET PAID. Maybe that's why it's much more fun to be the sitter/Nanny instead of the mommy. But I can definitely try to have more Beyonce Dance Parties.

On the food side of things:
I'm going back to my old version of WW. This new program doesn't work for me, for my mindset. I eat more than I should. I try to hit 22 everyday, then don't worry much if I go over, using my 35 weekly points. I like my old version- a range of 20-24, with "bonus points" for the points I didn't use. I makes me mix it up more, some low point days, some higher. So my new points target is my old range: 20-24

Food journal for Wednesday:

Food	Units
egg & bacon bit sandwich, spinach, lc cheese- coffee w/milk	5
2 nana muffins	4
leftover salmon stir fry and "fried" rice, dt. coke	4
turkey pep. sammie, lc cheese- ww lemon cake	4
string cheese x2, ww yogurt	3
Total:	20

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Banked: 4 pts.

Casa de Crazies

Today has been one of those classic SAHM days. Crazy Chaos.

Our home school group is having a little Valentine's Day party, so we needed to make 24 cards. In our house, we make our cards, for the most part. So that meant getting out the plain note cards, stickers, glue sticks, scissors, stamps, ink pads, markers, crayons, etc. I'm really not a "crafty" type of mom, but I am willing to let go once in a while. I'm glad I just let them go for it. The Babe was using scissors pretty well for once, BigBoy came up with a very creative border idea (with craft scissors) and they had a great time. The kitchen table and floor are a total disaster, but we got all the cards done and did a great project together.

Things were starting to slow down and I jumped on the laptop for a sec to find something for BigDaddy. A youtube video that is a spoof of Beyonce's Single Ladies with Obama. I found the spoof after some digging and the kids watched to watch "Obama".



I cannot tell you how much this video cracks me up. I know, I know, I am easily entertained. Did I ever tell you about my love affair with Will Ferrell? I digress. So then I tell the kids, they are being silly and doing a joke about another song. I then show them the actual Beyonce video . I just love this girl and she is smokin' hot in this video. As I realize this video and song just makes me feel like jumping up and dancing, I notice the Babe is totally grooving, shaking her booty, and wants to see the video again. So does BigBoy! They LOVE it. I remember we have Music On Demand so I find the video and we watch it in HD. Now we're talkin'. The Babe decides she IS Beyonce (or at least one of the backup dancers). She's got the arm pump, booty shake and is singing "Oh, oh oh OH!". We watch the video like, um ... 5 more times and have a Beyonce dance party.

The kitchen has paper scrapes all over the floor, art supplies are running amok and a tutu is tossed in the corner. Beyonce is still blaring on the HDTV with the kiddos dancing like it's their job. Lunch and naps are on hold for a bit. This is why I stay home in my Casa de Crazies. Life is good.

The Kitchen is My Frenemy

I really should have stayed out of the kitchen yesterday. I was doing my meal planning and while trying to find links to all my recipes I came upon a shocking discovery. I found out my fabulous 1 pt. banana muffins were in fact... 2 points. The AGONY! I was so fired up about these muffins. Such a bummer.

Okay, onto Dinner. I had planned to do a salmon stir fry and fried rice. It was awesome, however.... we had some minor mishaps. First of all, the salmon steaks that I had been marinating in Newman's Own Light Sesame Ginger dressing all day was actually, are you ready for this? Lox. Yep, smoked salmon, left over from New Years I think. It wasn't marked and looked the same as the other steaks, all frozen up. I didn't discovered it until I was trying to cut the fish into chunks, in the pan (it was all messy and saucy). I noticed it was reeeeally thin. Then it dawned on me. The LOX! We had to run downstairs and get another chunk out of the freezer, defrost and figure out plan B. I just ended up cutting it into chunks, added some thinly sliced napa cabbage, and some leftover mushrooms. I was out of everything else since it went into the trash with the lox. I added some of the same dressing on it and just sauteed it. It was actually pretty good and along with the "fried" rice, we had a GREAT dinner. (fried recipe is in last meal plan).

Tuesday's Food Journal

Food	Units
blueberry oatmeal coffee w/milk	3.5
fish sandwich w/ chz, slaw, 2 banana muffins	6
banana muffin (just found out is now 2 pts. not 1 ahhh!)	2
salmon stir fry, spag. squash, "fried" rice	7
Total:	18.5

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

I also had some Edy's Loaded Ice cream, dollop of coolwhip for 2 more points.

Meal Plan... for three weeks?!

I printed out a month page from my regular old calendar and started plugging away meals. For some reason I got all ambitious (lost in my thoughts during the silence that occurs during the Babe's nap and BigBoy's computer time??) and realized I planned almost THREE WEEKS of meals, give or take. I'm going to post, but realize, this will most likely change. I like looking at meal plans, so thought I would just include everything anyway.

I also made some of my favorite 1 pt. banana muffins. But uh, ooops. forgot the baking soda so they are a bit on the heavy side. still yummy, and the kids and BigDaddy don't care, so oh well. BigBoy was messing around and I had to yank his cooking license for a bit. This was at the exact moment I was supposed to add the soda. Ahh, baking with your kids.

UPDATE: My world has been crushed. my beloved 1 pt. banana muffins are actually- GASP, 2 points. damn. False advertising!

Meal Plan
Monday- White Chicken Chili, wheat sourdough bread. FF/SF cheesecake pudding with cheery topping
Tuesday- Stir Fry Salmon (making this up, will report back), spaghetti squash, fried rice
Wednesday- Chicken Cesar Salads, Baked Potatoes, MYO Pizzas for the kids?
Thursday- (Weigh-in day) Turkey Bolognese Pasta * Make Banana Bundt Cake for playgroup
Friday- Mac & Cheese for kids, Smart Ones entree for momma (w/added chicken)
Saturday-Vday Breakfast (using extra points) Menu TBD, Meatball subs
Sunday- Batch cooking, chicken. cherry angel food cake?
Monday- Beef Stew
Tuesday- Baked Tilapia, Creamed Spinach
Wednesday- Smothered Pork Chops might try this version
Thursday- Baked Eggs, fruit salad
Friday-Spinach Sausage Soup (Olive Garden recipe that I am going to WW revise)
Saturday- Turkey Meatloaf (defrost and bake, from batch cook)
Sunday-Batch cook?

Next week's thoughts
Monday-Sweet N Sour Crockpot Chicken, fried rice, kimchi?
Tuesday-Salmon
Wednesday-Turkey Sloppy Joes- cook with mom night? * Boil Chicken
Thursday-Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish rice? (WID)
Friday-chicken broth based soup
Saturday/ Sunday??
Monday- Crockpot Turkey chili
Monday's Food Journal:

Food	Units
egg muffin sandwich, spinach, lc cheese. coffee w/milk	5
smart ones entree, ham sammie, ww yogurt, dt. ibc	7
laughing cow cheese, crackers	2
white chicken chili, bread, cherry jello cheesecake pudding dessert	7
Total:	21

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

What's stopping you?

Yesterday was quite the wake up call for me for a few things.

First of all, Tostitos are banned from our house until further notice! Perhaps, for life. BigDaddy brought me home a special treat. Tostitos Chips. Granted, I (we), love tortilla chips, but I stocked our pantry with Guiltless Gourmet Chips. I was making fish tacos and pico de gallo . So I guess he thought it would be nice to have the chips to go with it. One thing we do it celebrate with food. special things, events, treats, etc = food. * Must get out of this habit. Anyway, I had the pico done and of course the kids wanted chips. THE BAG WAS OPEN. The beginning of the end for me. Now I'm in the kitchen with pico and an open bag of chips. one here, one there. So I look at the serving size. 7. okay, 7. I can do 7. I ate my 7 chips to make sure I could count the points when I was done. 3 points per serving. are you kidding me?!? basically 1/2 point each?!? Well I was done. I was 1/2 pt away from my daily total and I hadn't even had dinner. Thankfully, we are having some fantastic weather and I had called a neighbor to walk that night. But I already went way overboard and used probably all of my weekly points the night before when we went out to dinner after the park. At that point there wasn't much I could do, but I still needed to eat dinner. I ate the fish, no taco, no beans and ate a ton of slaw. Not great, not fun, but done. After my walk, about 2 miles and 45 min., I figured out I got 2 AP. (basically I can deduct 2 points from my total or -2) This STILL doesn't equal those damn 7 chips. so not worth it.

The other A-ha moment was this morning. The walk so kicked my booty. I really need to focus on incorporating working out now. I woke up about 4:30, since I crashed around 8:45 with BigBoy since I was so beat for my super, strenuous workout. Of course this is when my mind starts to race with thoughts of all the things I need to do and all I want to do. I have LOTS of great ideas.

So what's stopping me? really? Part of it is motivation. Part is knowing I can't finish what I start- someone always needs something at some point, so I have to stop midway. (this just kiiiiills the perfectionist in me so much I just don't even start.) Part of it is knowing it's only important to me, so I bump it down on my priority list. Like my walk. It was difficult to just get out the door. Everyone else was doing what they wanted, and yet I was scrambling trying to get dinner on the table to get everyone fed and get out the door to do what I wanted to do. Me. And I was so worked up, it took me 1/2 the walk to finally get over it and enjoy what I was doing. It shouldn't be that hard, but the reality is, it is. Right now anyway. I need to just power through, make it "normal" and it won't be so hard. Well, maybe it will be just as hard, but I'll be used to it by then! And skinnier.


Sunday's Food Journal

Food	Units
multi grain cheerios, w/milk & blueberries, coffee w/milk	4.5
lil' salad w/ carrots & feta	2
queso & pretzels	2
ole cheese veggie soup	3
more cheesy soup since dd2 ate most of it! and ww choc cake-
3 chips ahoy rf, more soup. it's yummy!	4
tostitos and pico de gallo. 7 chips = 3 pts?!?	4
baked fish, slaw	4
walked 2 mi.!!! go me!	-2
Total:	23.5

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

PSA- get your credit report

This was also on my to do list for '09. I just ran across another blog where it listed actual links and the Babe was asleep. I did this in about 15 min. As suggested in this post I only requested my report from one agency, and will try to remember to request it from another quarterly. So what are you waiting for??

Go to Annual Credit Report. Totally easy, straightforward, and legit. If you request it online, you can get right into it and print if off at home. Be warned though, it was 18 pages.

btw- clean, good standing report. woo hoo! but I did find a few weird things, an address I had never lived at (disputing it) and a messed up number in my ssn # that I need to physically call about.

There's my good deed for the day. Now maybe all this good karma with translate to my demon 2 year old today and she will wake up from her nap being a perfect angel. One can dream right?

Food review and mental notes

This past week has been much better for my "lifestyle change". :) I got back on track, eating better, and journaling my food again. And guess what? I'm down a pound again in the past few days. wow. What a concept. Don't eat all that crap and your body will be happy- even reward you!

Overall, I try to buy "all-natural" products, not necessarily "organic" but I try not to use stuff with stuff. That being said, it's tough to do that when you are watching calories and fat for WW points. I usually get the all natural for the kids at least, with the diet version (with all the crap) for me and BigDaddy. But it's surprising how many "diet" products are really the same- calorie/point-wise when you compare the products. I wanted to try some instant oatmeal that was listed as weight control. I haven't been eating as much oatmeal lately and thought this would be an easy way to incorporate it. I think I was making it too much and the kids got burnt out and I would be left with a pot of oatmeal. So that's actually my method of choice and I hadn't had instant oatmeal in the house forever. Somehow I had some instant Kashi Maple and Brown Sugar (all natural) and the kids wanted oatmeal because they saw me eating it. Mind you, this was AFTER their breakfast. So I was able to really compare. The Diet brand was almost exactly the same in nutritional value and size (diet portion was only slightly larger and 1 more gram of fiber.) The natural stuff was mushy though. so taste-wise, diet won. bummer. but it reminded me that I really need to check labels and not get suckered into the whole "DIET" "Weight Watchers" "Non/Low Fat" labels.

I also figured out I need to eat more protein. I'm such a carb freak, I tend to snack on carby things and eat cereal for breakfast, etc. When I eat an egg and have meat for lunch, I don't feel nearly has hungry. So more eggs in the morning, more oatmeal to mix it up-- mental notes. Don't eat 1/2 mini loaf of sourdough bread. (6 pts. btw).

I bought a ton of baking stuff, so I'll be trying out some recipes and will post the yummy ones here for reference.

We're supposed to have a 60 degree day, so I'm getting the house junk done and gettin' out of the house. We consider this a big ol heat wave in the dead of winter. Did you see my last post?? single digits.... like on Thursday. seriously.

Food	Units
egg sammie with spinach, coffee w/milk	5
ham sandwich thin, lc cheese, spinach, kashi crackers, diet green ice tea, fiber bar, clementine.	7
swiss miss diet hot cocoa- it rocks!!	.5
god forsaken bread, glorious bread.	6
lc cheese, crackers	2
split pea soup, leftover fish	5
diet ibc rootbeer float, lf ice cream	3
Total:	28.5

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Birthday Wishes and Gadgets Galore

I try to limit the Idiot Box, I really do. Problem is, we all like it too much. Actually, I really don't care all the much as I rarely get to have anything on it that I'm remotely interested in. Truth is- it's easy. And it's freaking cold here. And we don't have any playgroups. And I home-school. And we don't have family here. Or friends really. (Do you feel sorry for me yet??)

So we turn to the TV to rot our brains quite a bit more than I would like, and a lot more now that we've been hitting single digits outside. It goes on first thing in the morning (usually around 6:30/7- when mommy and daddy are still waking up). Granted we watch the "educational-with-no-commercials channels" (Noggin/Disney/PBSkids).

Anyway, little by little Nickelodeon is sneaking in a bit and Discovery Kids is on for some fun bigger kid shows (Growing Up Creepy, Tutenstein) which also has commercials that we fast forward. (I DVR them) Don't get me wrong, I think most of it is still crap... and don't get me started on BigDaddy introducing Sponge Bob. Thankfully we are out of that phase. So, a few commercials are sneaking into the mix. Not just regular ol' commercials, like Chuck E. Cheese (which does not exist in our area!!- insert me doing a backflip HERE) but "As Seen on TV!" commercials. And my son has them memorized. The dialogue, the catch phrases. His birthday wish list is looking a lot like a shopping list from a drug store.

Bendaroos -"because the colors bend, and then the fun begins!"
Aqua Globes
BendyPens
and the best.... The Snuggie. "because it's comfortable and soft. I can get up and still stay warm"
(where's the Chi-Chi-Chi Chia Pet, right?!)

He also wants me to get the Big City Slider Station and some kapow cleaning thingy that coats your clothes in some type of super force field that knocks out stains before they can get on your shirt. WOW! I'm just waiting for Roll N Grow to be on the air again. Last year BigBoy was very concerned about me straining my back by gardening the Old Fashioned Way. Btw-many complaints, so don't get sucked in!!

I guess I can just order straight from my couch. Makes being a lazy mom even easier! (Insert me doing a backflip HERE!)

oh and I'm doing MUCH better with my WW:

Food	Units
back on track! egg sammie, skinny potatoes, coffee	6.5
leftover turkey meatloaf	4
2 rf chips ahoy, ww choc. cake- sweet fix!	3
tilapia, black beans and rice. fiber bar	9
Total:	22.5

Table provided by Roni's Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

The Relaxed Homeschooler

It's days like today that make me all happy and cheery. In addition to getting a bit of extra sleep (thanks BigDaddy!) the kids took over the morning... in a good way. I had planned on going downstairs to our Basement School and doing our calendar, playtime, songs and starting our Valentine's Day theme. But I can be flexible too, if we need to go in a different direction, so be it! I start to get ready for the day, feeling like we are a bit behind due to my late start. But lo and behold! The kids did their own thing, together, and without beating each other up! Hallelujah!

I'm all about play-based learning and prepping materials. That said, the kids' rooms have a ton of toys, books, puzzles, etc that are super easy to get to. I shut down the TV after breakfast and they went into the Babe's room while I took a shower. They did a ton of pretend play, took turns being a caged cat and zoo keeper, decided to sell ice cream cones to me, counted and built with blocks and then BigBoy decided to read some books to her. I couldn't believe it. They've done this before, but not for such a long stretch. MamaTeacher had a nice day off today and the kids learned from each other. Perfection! After lunch the Babe had some unfinished baking to do for us, then naptime. BigBoy did his EZ100 Reading Lesson (I feel validated in my teaching responsibilites now!) and is enjoying some computer time on PBSkidsgo.org Rock on!

Brownies and wine and dip - OH MY!

My Hall Pass Weekend. Get out of (Diet) Jail Free Card. Whatever you want to call it. I did it. And I did it really well.

I think I gained all the weight I lost. But I'm ready to get back on track. I'm still Miss Stuffy Sniff-A-Lot and feeling crappy, but I can't just give up.

It started on Friday. I was feeling exhausted but needed to man-up since I was participating with BigBoy in our home school puppet show. I needed to be a gregarious turtle. I felt anything BUT gregarious. Gross, maybe. But he was soooo excited about his part and BigDaddy was going to be there, along with a real audience. The kids had been working on it all month. I couldn't let him down. But then the million dollar question... "What's for dinner?" I had been in such a rush all day, becoming one with my turtleness and all, that I hadn't started anything and had "soup" on my plan. THAT wasn't happening. Maybe make your own pizzas? That meant being even more creative. Negative. Well, we do have 35 extra points a week..... okay, how about we just get our most favorite pizza in the whole world- just not the XL like we usually do. Done.

After a stellar performance we headed home and crashed. Saturday we did a ton of cleaning and then BigDaddy brought home some Tostitos Lime Chips and Pinot Grigio- why don't you just set me up in a corner with an IV so I have a more direct route? I'm such a cheap date now that a glass or two will get me all liquored up. So one thing junky choice lead to another snack... and so on and so for. Suddenly I have an entire pan full of fresh baked brownies. (In my drunken logic, I wanted to get them out of the way of my diet.) Then Super Bowl, you get the idea. I actually made some chicken soup since we are all sick now and the Babe will almost always eat veggie soup. So I did have some healthiness going on this weekend. Oh and does the spinach in the dip count?? Anyway, I'll include some recipes in case anyone is interested....

My mom's chicken soup (Sopa de Pollo)
Whole young chicken
one onion
a few potatoes
a head to 1/2 head of cabbage
carrots
zucchini
any other veggies you want really

The bird prep: rinse, take out any innards (or whatever they are called) stick in a big pot with an onion (quartered) and cover with seasoning salt and garlic salt. Cover with water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for a few hours- until the chicken starts to fall apart.

Take out the chicken and de-bone. My mom just chops it up and leaves it all in, I prefer boneless, especially with the kiddos eating it.

Plop it back in the pot. Add your veggies and cook until the potatoes are soft about an hour or so. really, that's it.

Sunday consisted of snacks, dips and more junk...
Paula Dean's Spinach and Artichoke Dip- I did a low-fat version and it still tasted great.
Pico de Gallo and Guac

Meal Plan
Monday- Italian Beef Boardwalk Sandwiches
Tuesday- Turkey Meatloaf mashed cauliflower
Wednesday- Fish Tacos & Bean Burritos, pico de gallo and slaw (combine roni's fish batter recipe with mock lowfat rubios sauce recipe)
Thursday- Mac & Cheese w/ sliced apples (BigBoy's Pick) Steak for the grownups?
Friday- Crock pot Ham & Split Pea Soup salad, crusty bread
Saturday- Left overs

Sunday- Batch cooked baked chicken
Monday- White Bean Chicken Chili (scroll down to friday)
Tuesday- Salmon
Wednesday- Eggs (frittata?)

** I am only doing a week and 1/2 since I am fading already. Need to find some fun sides and maybe a dessert or two.

I actually stuck to my last meal pretty well. It was great having everything all in-house and ready to go. I lost 5 lbs- and then probably found them again. But moving forward...