Tuesday, December 21, 2010

So excited!!!

I know I said I wasn't going to be posting until after the new year but I had to share some awesome news. I love a fabric designer by the name of Heidi Grace. Heidi's designs are all named after her family and are cute hearts, bugs, flowers, and other hand drawn looking designs. I use her fabric in about 50% of my purses. I usually use a solid on the outside but the inside fabric that makes you happy when you open your purse is all her's. Here is a link to view some of her fabrics in my work
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=256762&id=643791358 and here is one of her hand drawn little do dads. Cute right?

Anyways last night I got an email from Heidi Grace to tell me how much she loves my purses. I was so excited and honestly in disbelief that she emailed me. I know you may not see the bog deal but this woman hand draws designs that are printed on fabric. In my eye's she is the Picasso of the fabric world.
To make it even more thrilling Heidi grace want's to feature some of my purses on her blogs. That's rights she has two. One of her blogs is her personal design blog and the other is for a company that she works with called colorbok. Colorbok is an art supply company that makes scrapbooking and other fun stuff. I can't even tell you how excited I am. I'm not sure about how much traffic she gets but since I started sewing everyone tells me that all you need to do to start selling a bunch is get one famous person to carry or talk about your purses. Well since I'm not buddy buddy with Angelina Jolie this is the next best thing.
What this means is Ali has a reason to start sewing again. I have done a few custom things in the last few months but honestly I got really discouraged when I took my stuff to craft shows and didn't do well at all. I know it was the show I was selling at and not my stuff but it was still really discouraging. So who knows Maybe just maybe this will help make sewing a better paying option for me to stay home with my boys instead of childcare.
Well that's enough of that but I had to share my exciting news.
Ali

Saturday, December 18, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Well the holidays are fully upon us. Life has been busy with parties, baking, movie nights, and life in general. I have been good on the diet front. I balance my cheats with my good days and so far I am maintaining at 193-194. I am not going to hate the holidays but instead of going wild I am choosing my battles. Anyways the boys are out of school for 2 weeks. I am planning on catching up on some sewing and crafting, maybe paint a room or something, and enjoy my 2 weeks off of work. Look for me again in 2011. I may post before but no promises. Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2011.
What does Ali want for Christmas??? For Starbucks to have more choices in sugar free coffee flavors. Maybe for 2011 they will. If not, oh well. What else??? Nothing but a great relaxing 2 weeks off. Ya, I am trying to rub it in a little:)
Until next year,
Ali

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Week (I really have no idea, but I think 11) weigh in

Well I woke up this morning still feeling under the weather but by about 3pm I was feeling so much better. I have been putting off going back to the nutritionist because of my cheat week  or 10 days but who's counting? I made a point to go today even though I was still moving a little slow. Did I mention that I didn't cheat at all while sick. Yay me. Ok, mostly because I couldn't even keep water down but that's ok.
Anyways I went to the nutritionist today finally. I was totally freaked out to weigh in since I hadn't since a week before Thanksgiving. I was so thrilled when I got on the scale and they told me I had lost 3 pounds. I was shocked. I attribute the loss to the flu but I will take it anyway I can get it.
So nothing new other than that today. Just taking it slow and getting feeling better.
Have a great weekend,
Ali

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

oh man!

Well I was great yesterday. I ate perfectly all day. I however woke up at 2:30am with the flu. I have spend the whole day today on the couch and out of comission. I had to sign on to cheack my emails so figured I would give you an update. I changed my doc. appt. to tomorrow since I didn't want to pass on the germs.
Hopefully better tomorrow.
Ali

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

game on....again!

As you know I told you that I cheated a little after Thanksgiving. Well I wasn't totally honest. I cheated a bunch. I cheated from Friday after Thanksgiving until last night. I was bitter and wanted to not have to diet. I went right back to old habits and ate totally off track including Pepsi (which is from the devil I will add) I can't go easy and cheat a little I go nuts. I ate my ass off. Ok, not off or I would have lost weight but you get the point.
Here is what I have noticed while cheating. I am tired and feel out of energy most of the time. It is hard to get up in the morning and I don't feel like doing anything. Is this a way to live? No! I want to fit into the clothes in my closet and feel good so today I am back on. Am I happy about it? No! I love food and eating but this is how I got fat. I skipped my doctor/nutritionist appt. for the last 2 weeks but I am going back tomorrow.
I woke up this morning and had a little talk with my hubby. He asked if I was going to wait until after the holidays to get back on track. My response was No. If I wait until after the holidays I will gain all 32 pounds back that I worked so hard to lose. I lost a bunch of weight before and was 19 pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight before garrett. I kick myself all the time that I let myself go and go back up to 225 pounds. I am catching myself before I am back over 200 this time and getting my butt back in gear.
I have eaten on track all day today so far and I am bitter and don't want to do it but I know I have to. I need to get back to being excited to get up and get on the scale each day to see how great I am doing. I am not going to get up and pray that my pants still fit anymore. Today is that new day and I am back. Excited? No but back.
thanks everyone for letting me vent.
Ali

Thursday, December 2, 2010

a wee but frustrated

This getting back on track this is so much harder then I thought it would be:( I wake up everyday and drink my coffee and do so good until lunch, the rest of the day is a struggle with myself to not eat everything in the house. I don't know what happened. I have had cheat meals before and not had a problem getting right back on track. This week has been a cheat festival. I am trying to be good but man oh man is it tough. I strated today with my coffee and we will see how the day goes. I am hoping and trying to be better but the good thing is there is always tomorrow to start again.
I read a blog about a man who lost over 200 pounds and he had a quote that I really liked.
"Honestly I think my family is tired of hearing "someday." I know I am!"
Have a good rest of the day and I will check in again soon.
Ali

Monday, November 29, 2010

The after Thanksgiving check in

Hey everyone,
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I did. I was so good on Thanksgiving. I ate a little but of "bad" stuff and didn't even have pie. I actually lost .4 the next day. Friday we ate pizza and ice cream, Sat. I ate a burger and some chips, and Sunday I ate that darn leftover pumpkin pie:( Anyways I wasn't willing to weigh in today to see how my oops's affected me. I will give it a few days back on track and then weigh in. I wasn't upset because I did so good the rest of last week and will continue being good again today. What would a holiday be if all I ate was salad?
We had such a great weekend with family and friends. We had 40 people at our house for Thanksgiving complete with 4 turkeys and all the sides you can imagine. It is always fun to pass out the side and see how each persons stuff is different then the way you might have done it.
Sat. we went and watched some family and friends play football in the park. The kids iceblocked and we had a bbq to finish it all off. My sister in law is a certified hoopnitic instuctor. Basically this means that she is awesome at hula hooping and can do tricks and the whole shebang. She came to the park with about 40 hoops and gave us all a lesson. It wasn't pretty but it was fun and the boys loved it. We ended up buying 2 hoops so that we can continue hooping at home.
Our house is decorated, the tree is up, the outside lights are done, and we are ready for Christmas. We have our normal traditions of going to see the lights in a highly light neighborhood, we bake cookies, shop, gift exchange, watch a million movies, and more. This year we are going to add going to the mission inn in Riverside California to our list. They light the whole place up and there are singers and everything. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? I still want to add more.
Well I hope you all had a great hoilday and I can't wait for the next month of festivites.
Ali

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I haven't left you.

Once again life has been busy and I still can't seem to kick this cold. I now have a sinus infection:(
I have the week off of work and with company coming for Thanksgiving so I have lots of work to do. I decided that I would paint the white trim and stuff in our bathroom last Friday to freshen things up for the holiday. One thing lead to another and I have been a painting and fixing fool. New toilet seats, painted laundry doors, trims, the whole TV room, new door knobs, you get the picture. I CAN'T STOP!!!! This isn't a good thing because I still have a list a mile long and not enough hours in the day to get it all done. The good thing is it looks so pretty and clean. ok enough about my crazy ADD fixing marathon.
I have a new found love......No, not a hubby replacement. I have discovered clementines or cuties. They are basically seedless tangerines. Our good friend Matt described them like Pringles chips "no one can eat just one." He was right! I have been eating like 5 a day. They are the most addictive little things ever. So if you can afford a new "bad" habit give them a try:)

Well I am off to continue my cleaning and organizing. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy you family more than your food ;)
Ali

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Week 8 weigh in

With being sick last week I wasn't able to get to the doc./nutritionist. I went yesterday for my 8 week weigh in. I can't believe it has been 8 weeks. Where does the time go? Anyways I lost 4 pounds in the two weeks despite being sick and not feeling like dieting. I lived on tea with honey and lemon for about 5 days so I was afraid of what the million tablespoons of honey did to my weight loss. The doc said I am doing great and that at my 12 week appointment he wants a testimonial with pics to show future clients. How cool is that? I don't know about the pic part because I still don't fully see the weigh that I have lost being gone but hopefully in 4 more weeks I will.
I am starting to wonder what I will do in 4 more weeks. I could keep going and weighing in weekly but it isn't cheap. I like the one on one time I get with the nutritionist and doc each week to make sure I am on track and doing well. I hope I can do it on my own but I honestly do better because I know I have to stand on the scale, my myself in front of someone.  My other concern is that I am supposed to be done just before the holidays. Last time I lost a significant amount of weigh I made Christmas cookies and in one month gained 30 pounds back. I am scared for my willpower during holidays and celebrations. I am starting to think that instead of signing up for another 12 weeks I might see if I can go every 2 weeks until I feel like I have control. I want to be successful and if in order to do that I have to check in weekly I might just fork out the money and do it.
Ok, well enough about my fears and concerns. Have a great Wed.
Ali

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

down for the count










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Hey everyone,
I am back from a little sick leave from blogging. I started getting a little sick feeling last Tues. and was able to hold it off until Thur. By Thur. night I was done for. I pushed myself a little to hard over the weekend and was out of commission yesterday. I felt so terrible I even called in sick to work and took it easy on the couch all day. I feel like today is the first day I can function almost fully. I hate being sick.
I didn't weigh in at the doc. last week because I wasn't feeling well so I go back today for the first time on 2 weeks. I ate on target for the most part but there were a few days that the thought of cooking was exhausting and cereal ended up as the meal of choice. I didn't go crazy but I wasn't very good either. I am back on today and in full force. I still managed to lose about 4 pounds over the 2 weeks but I think the last week was just maintaining.
Today is a day of getting the house back in order, laundry done, and a market trip in at some point. Funny how if Mom takes a day or two off so does everything else in the house. The only thing I am not going to do is mop. The whole downstairs of our house is hardwood and to mop it takes a caffeine induced energy boost. It may just be an excuse to not do one of my least favorite jobs but it works for me today.
I am heading to the nutritionist today to weigh in and all that jazz. I will blog tomorrow to let you all know the results and stuff.
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I must admit that I almost got totally off track while I was sick. I am taking today to remind myself why I am losing weigh and how much better I feel now. It is funny how a few bad days can lead to a slippery slope of bad eating. I still use food for comfort and I need to find a new comfort. Any ideas?
Have a great Tuesday,
Ali

Friday, November 12, 2010

A Thankgiving bento for the boys.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I decided that the boys might enjoy a fun themed bento for lunch.

The kids had the day off so I had a little extra time to spend on it as well as the no traveling factor on my side. I actually was so excited to make this that I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it. I know I am losing it. I feel like since graduating from art school I don't get to use my creativity all as much as I would like to. The great thing with bento's is they can be as simple as a waste free lunch packed into a tupperware all the way to an art piece in a tupperware. I am really enjoying this and I think the boys are as well.
There are a few bento blogs that I follow and love to read for ideas and inspiration. I was reading one of my new favorites http://www.goodbyngirls.blogspot.com/ and they have a fun November themed lunch bento contest. I decided that feeling a little under the weather, the kids home from school, and a clean house all lead me to have a little extra time to throw a Thanksgiving themed meal together. Oh and did I mention that the cucumber and some of the carrot is from our very own garden? Our first carrot and cucumber of the season. Very exciting! and the kids got to see the whole process from seed, sprout, growing and eating the veggies.
What is for lunch?


- A "turkey" sandwich (haha, I couldn't resist that one) He is made of whole wheat bread, turkey, a slice of cheese (all were cut with the rim of a cup) His feathers are carrots and cucumber stuck in between the 2 slices of bread. His face is simply some of the crust of the bread glued down with a little mayo. His face is 2 circle of string cheese cut out with a straw and I drew his pupils with food market although olive would work too. His beak is the edge of the slices cheese from in the sandwich, and his hanging thing (I have no idea what that is actually called) is carrot. His feet are also cut from the edge of the cheese I used in the sandwich.

- A veggie and cheese kabob and ranch dressing. All I did for this was skewer some string cheese, cucumber and carrot on a appetizer pick and add a side of ranch.
- 2 leaf cookies that we had in the cabinet.
- a handful of organic graham cracker squares from Trader Joe's
- our own trail mix recipe that has organic raisins, raw cashews, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips all from the bins at Henry's.
-and last but not least a cornucopia of fruit and yogurt. I simply raided the kids leftover Halloween candy for large tootsie rolls. I threw them into the microwave for 5 seconds. Once they were soft  I  twisted them to make a cornucopia. I filled the toosie roll with Greek style yogurt that was sweetened with a touch of honey. I cut up grapes and strawberries and layered them into the yogurt. Surprisingly this was the first thing the kids went for in the box.

So there you have it. A fun and healthy Thanksgiving themed bento that the boys loved!















Have a great weekend. Oh ya, by the way diet is still going awesome and I am starting to feel a little better from this darn cold and sore throat.
Ali

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Another milestone


I reached 30 pounds lost this morning. I wasn't expecting a large loss at all and when I got on the scale boom! there is was. I can't believe I have already lost 30 pounds. It seems like such a big number until I think that I still have 45 to go to get to the minimum amount I want to lose. I am not getting discouraged. I am thrilled with 4 pounds a week. I am going to check with my nutritionist because it seems like 4 a week is high but so far they don't seem concerned. Alright short and sweet today.
Ali

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bento links

Some of you have been interested in how I have been packing the boys lunches recently.
 I am trying to win a new set of boxes to pack their lunch at this blog http://duklings.wordpress.com/2010/11/06/easy-lunchboxes-giveaway/#comment-5385
The second link I am sharing is just ways to make your kids feel better when they are sick. We have had a cough and yucky week around our house this week.
http://reviews.bentolunch.net/2010/10/similisan-share-your-story-when-your.html
If you are interested in packing bento style these boxes are perfect ideas and sites to visit.
Thanks,
Ali

How on earth did I forget to mention......


 I
I am officially an Auntie again. My sister Pam and her husband Dirk had a baby on Halloween.


Welcome to the world Mr. Caleb Mattius
8 lbs. 13 oz. and 20.5 inches long
I personally think with a birthday like Halloween they should have named him Dracula, Jack, Frank, or something cool like that but I will let it slide.
Anyways here are a few cute little pics of the guys.

Other than that we started Christmas shopping last night. I know we are a little early but last year we ended up not getting or having to pay more for items the kids really wanted. We made a night out of it and went shopping and after had dinner (sushi of course)
It was a nice little date night. It is interesting shopping for our kids this year. This is one of the first years that Garrett is wanting teenage things. We went to Toys R Us and I don't think one of the things on his list was there. Pj on the other hand could be completely done at one store. So a little done and a bunch more to go.

I was supposed to weigh in tonight but Pj was invite to a bowling birthday party by his bowling league buddy so I had to change the weigh in to Thursday. Have I mentioned that all 3 boys are in a bowling league on Friday nights? Well they are if I hadn't.
So until Thurs.
Ali

Monday, November 8, 2010

Been way to long.

I was informed over the weekend that I hadn't posted since Tuesday. Sorry guys. We had a very busy week of short school day, parent teacher conferences for all 3 boys, tons of homework for hours each night, and both of the kids I babysit were sick and needed a little extra TLC. Talk about a little bit of stress.
I have been eating perfectly all weekend. We didn't even have our cheat dinner of sushi over the weekend. I weighed in this morning at 195.something. I'm not sure what I was the list time I reported in but I know it was around 199 so down again!!!
We had a family birthday on Friday night so I was really careful all day because I didn't know what to expect once we got to the party. I was so excited when they had chicken and Caesar salad. I stayed right in plan. Going out is always a little hard especially to events where you don't know what foods are going to be available. I kind of depend on the fact that there will be meat and some kind of veggie at occasions. I so far haven't been to one thing that there wasn't. I am sure one day I will be in the situation and when it come along I will still eat but very small portions and as soon as I feel satisfied I will stop. I think a huge part of my weight gain was over indulgence in everything I ate. I am amazed by the amount of food I eat now and feel full on.
Well I guess I better got off the computer and get some stuff done. Have a wonderful Monday and I will post again soon,
Ali

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I made a goal!!!

I weighed in this morning at 199.8. Do you know what this means???
I am officially in the 1's!!!!!
No more 2's for this girl. 

That is all, 
Ali 

Monday, November 1, 2010

6 week weigh in

I didn't realize that it had been so long since I had posted. Time flies when you're having fun.


Since last post we had our annual Halloween party. Shawn and I did a Vegas theme as Elvis and a showgirl. The kids were Pooh bear, a vampire, and a werewolf. We had so much fun.
I don't know what is going on with the pic. I keep turning them the right way and as soon as I do they switch back.
So I went to my 6 week weigh in this morning. I wasn't sure how I did. I did awesome all weekend. I didn't eat one piece of candy, not one! I had a few margarita's at our party but I didn't eat anything I wasn't supposed to. I lost 4 pounds for the week bringing me to 25 pounds in 6 weeks. I was so excited. I also lost 1.3% body fat in one week. I was shocked to say the least.
Ok well off to take the boys to soccer and skateboarding.
Catch ya later,
Ali

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Week 5 weigh in

I had my official 5 week weigh in last night. I lost 2 pounds for the week brining me to 21 pounds down. I love going to see my nutritionist because she keeps me accountable and motivated. The tip for this week is to take a moment before every meal to pray for someone or give someone a compliment. This week is about others not always ourselves.
I have to admit I was so nervous to weigh in yesterday. I did a bunch o housework (like I had planned) and drank a TON of water. I had coffee at 4 pm on my way to weigh in. I figured with all that fluid I was bound to weigh 18 pounds more. I stressed about it the whole drive. I was so relieved when I had lost.
Shawn went to jury duty today. He seems to get them in the mail every 6 months. He sometimes get excused but today he had to go in. He is hoping to be excused because work has been a little crazy lately. The phones at their location went out for 2 days. All of the calls got forwarded to Shawn's cell phone. I think he was stressed but he handles it so well.
So last night we decided to go on a walk before dinner. We typically do 30 min. Well we decided to take a new path. We got totally lost and ended up walking for 55 min. I was so tired. It was getting dark and I pushed myself because I don't feel comfy walking in the dark. We made it home and the nice part was it made us push ourselves a little extra.
Until tomorrow,
Ali

Tuesday, October 26, 2010




Before I forget this is the kids lunch for today
-green monster mac (I should have uncovered it for the pic, sorry. I just added food dye to mac and cheese)
- mummified hotdogs (hotdog wrapped in pis crust and baked)
-vampire juice (ketchup)
- a chocolate candy
- a pumpkin cookie
-100% juice fruit snacks
-and cheese and crackers
I was out of fruit so this is what I had on hand. 
Today is my 5 week weigh in. I am excited to see how I weigh in but I always get nervous because of the weight of clothes and all the food I eat from the day. I weigh in at 4:30 which is the heaviest time of the day. Oh well, what's a girl to do? I just make sure not to drink a bunch of water before I go. 
Today I think I better start planning and cleaning for our big Halloween party that is coming up on Saturday. It is fairly easy because it is potluck style so not much cooking. I am going to try to plan a few games and things for all the kids. The good thing about working from home is that the downstairs is pretty much always clean and organized. The upstairs of my house is another story. My kids seem to love to live in chaos. When you go up our stairs the first room you come to is the master bedroom. The nice part about this is that I rarely walk passed my kids rooms or bathroom. The bad thing is when I finally do I am never pleased with them. I am going to try to take the babies upstairs and get some cleaning done today. We will see what fun cabinets and toys they find. Why is it that kids and hubbies never seem to see the same things that need to be cleaned that we do? 
Well better get to work. Have a great day!
Ali 

Monday, October 25, 2010

Happy rainy Monday everyone!

Good Morning readers,
How are we all doing this morning? I am great. I had a wonderful weekend with family and friends all while eating healthy and without temptation.
Saturday we had Porter's soccer game and after went to my sister's house for a visit. My whole side of the family was there. I am married to a man who is one of 6 kids. When HIS side gets together it is a minimum of about 25 people, a MINIMUM!!! His family is like the one from my big fat Greek wedding. They are loud, love to eat, and their are a ton of them. I love my in laws to death and look forward to every moment we get to spend together. I am just wanting you to understand how different our families are. When we get together with MY side of the family there are 14 if everyone shows. My older sister Pam is having a baby boy and is due in 6 days. I hadn't seen her since August so we had a no reason get together before baby Caleb arrives. It was fun and it is always fun with my family. We are all a little goofy and we love to laugh. We ordered pizza (which I ate the cheese off of one slice) ate a ton of salad and dessert I made a whole made caramel apple pie. It is no where near diet friendly but I did have a very small sliver to taste all my work that went into it. Mmm, it was yummy.
Sunday our good friend Matt came over for dinner. We hadn't seen Matt in a long time so it was nice to hang out, talk, watch Green Bay beat Minnesota, and eat taco's. I modify my taco's only one way. I eat it on a bed of lettuce instead of in a shell. I look forward to taco's every time we make them. I load in avocado, ground turkey, and all the fixins. It was relaxing and fun. I did of course finish off the evening with another sliver of apple pie:)
I was really good both of the days because I planned ahead. I ate really light through the day but still made sure I ate. Even if it is a hand full of nuts, a string cheese, or an apple you have to eat every few hours to keep you metabolism up and running. So many people stop eating when they diet and it slows their metabolism down ( I can hear the brake squeals now) so make sure that you are eating something every so often.
I forgot to take a pic of the kids lunches today but they had Jello in a black bat dish, chicken nuggets with blood dipping sauce (ketchup) grapes on skeleton toothpicks, a vampire candy, and a cereal bar that I decorates like a jack o lantern with the food markers. The kids took their first lunches to school on Friday and loved them.  Garrett's friends all thought it was awesome. Cody had a few people tease him but he didn't even care. Also a new bento blog that I love if you want to check it out. http://bentobloggy.blogspot.com
Alright off to take care of the babysitting kids.
Have a great Monday and enjoy the weather, I hear it will be hot again soon,
Oh ya I forgot to update my weigh for the day. I lost another pound over the weekend. I am at a total lost of 21 pounds now. I am starting to feel it in my clothes finally. I feel like even my t-shirts aren't as snug but hang nicely. Funny how when you lose weight your shirts look longer. ok I am off.
Ali

Friday, October 22, 2010

Still going strong and a fun lunch for the kids

     I have officially made it over a month and I am still going strong. I hit 20 pounds lost this morning. I get a rush every morning when I wake up and get to go stand on the scale.
     So this morning I took Porter into the dentist for round 2 of dental work. After the last time they decided to give him a much stronger medication to help him relax and get their job done. Let's just say that the dentist was shocked once again that the meds did almost nothing to Pj. He was still wide awake and screaming. We are now home and resting. The meds gave him a buzz but not much else. We still have to finish the work but the dentist wants us to put Porter under to make it easier for everyone. I am nervous about putting him under but I know it is the best option now.
     A friend of mine shared a fun link for kids school lunches http://www.anotherlunch.com/ it is fun way of packing lunches. I decided to try it last night for the boys. They all got a cool Halloween lunch to take to school today. It was a PB and J sandwich that I cut with a cookie cutter, a witches broom out of a pretzel and fruit roll, grape witches made out of grapes with a tooth pick hat and food marker for a face, a chocolate eyeball candy, and a severed finger made out of string cheese and food marker. The green thing is a silicone reusable cupcake thing with a cereal bar and graham cracker cookies.The boys were so excited to take them to school (even Garrett) I can't wait until they get home to hear how it went. I am going to try to do a fun lunch a few times a week. Here is a pic of the final products. I included a Halloween napkin to finish it all off. Sorry the pic isn't that good, I took it with my cell phone.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all on Monday,
Ali

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

My one month weigh in

So today was my official one month date and weigh in. I lost 3.8 for the week which brings me to
19 pounds this month!!!!
I am thrilled with losing 19 pounds in a month. The nutritionist was shocked and so excited to tell me that I have the highest amount lost as well as the most body fat lost in one month of any client ever, including men. Ya baby!
So I feel great, I am losing weight, I have energy, love bike riding, and am so proud that I have made it through one month. I think back to even one month ago and I feel so much better already. I can't wait to keep losing and exercising.
Until tomorrow,
Ali

Monday, October 18, 2010

Weekends are always the hardest

Good Monday Morning everyone,
Well I am not very happy with my Monday morning weigh in but I can proudly say it is all my fault. II stayed on plan all day but Fri. and Sat. night we went out to dinner. I am up .8 from Friday morning. It isn't bad at all but it is still a gain. Fri. Shawn and I had a date night. We went to sushi of course and I did a no-no and had some beer. The bad thing with beer is that when I drink it I don't always make the same decisions I normally would. I ate pretty well but had about 300 empty alcohol calories. Oh well it was totally worth it. I woke up Sat morning and had lost a little weight. I think losing made me a little cocky.
Sat. morning the family went for a 7.5 mile bike ride in the cool morning air. It was awesome and so much easier than last time we went. When we got home we headed to Porter's soccer game. When we got home from soccer I did my market trip for the week. In all of my shopping I got enough meals for the week but I forgot about a meal for that night. Cody went to a friends football game and Pj really wanted sushi (he loves it) We broke down (ok, it didn't take much convincing) and we took Garrett and Pj to the same sushi place we went the night before. I started with mistake one and got yet another beer. Needless to say I ate way to much and finished off the meal with green tea ice cream. I really shouldn't drink, I make stupid choices. Anyways it was fun and the boys enjoyed a night out with us. I did stay on plan all day yesterday
I woke up this morning and I have gained a pound. I know it is my fault and I honestly don't mind to much. I know it will come right off. If I didn't have fun every once in awhile I would go nuts. Plus the nutritionist said sushi is a great going out choice. I don't think fried shrimp sushi is what she was talking about and not two nights in a row but oh well. Back on plan today and hopefully I lose a little before my weigh in tomorrow. I would hate to have a gain after a whole good week because of 2 cheat meals.

Pj's class is on a field trip today to the pumpkin patch. I so wish I had been able to chaperon but work comes first. So today I hang out with my babysitting kids and can't wait to hear how it went. Garrett also has a huge project due today that we worked really hard on so I can't wait to hear how that goes too.
Alright off to make snacks for my niece and nephew. (Have I mentioned that I babysit two kids for a current living?)
Have a great Monday.
Ali

Thursday, October 14, 2010

it worked

  So I was telling you yesterday that the scale hasn't moved in 3 days. I drank a ton of water yesterday, I ate all 6 times that I was supposed to, and guess what.... the scale went down .4 It is a small victory. It is funny how when we are on a diet we think that eating less is always better. Not true! I need to eat more so that my metabolism doesn't slow down. Even if it just means grabbing a string cheese, apple, or something small. I need to eat every few hours not only to keep my metabolism moving but also to keep myself from over eating at a meal. So today my goal is to do the same thing as yesterday, 6 mini meals and a ton of water.
I have a new recipe for you that my family loves.
Shrimp scampi in 10 min. 
-1 pound of raw shrimp tails removed(this feeds our family of 5) we like the large ones, they taste better than the small ones.
-2 Tablespoons butter
-2 teaspoons parsley flakes if you have them
-1 Tablespoon jarred garlic.
-a splash, about 3 teaspoons of cooking sherry
-1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese if you have it
melt the butter in a pan, add garlic and cook on medium for about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp. sprinkle the parsley flakes on top and add the sherry. cook for about 6 min just until the shrimp turn pink (don't continue to cook once they are pink or they get tough) and then top with the Parmesan. That's it. It is super easy, done in about 10 min, and really yummy. We do it once a week with broccoli with cheese topping. 

Enjoy,
Ali

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What a great day!

   Do you ever have those days where you wake up and just feel great. Life is good, everyone is healthy, the house is clean, and you have an amazing family? I love those kind of mornings. The only oops was that I forgot to turn the sprinklers off last night so they ran for 10 hours. Oh well at least the grass will be greener in a few days.
   So what do you do when the scale doesn't move? I weigh in each day on my home scale (I know you aren't supposed to but it's a motivator) the scale has been the same for 3 days. Don't get me wrong,  I am not complaining at all with a 16 pounds loss in 3 weeks. I was just wondering what people do when the scale doesn't move. I was really good the first 2 weeks about eating my 6 mini meals each day. I have been busy and not as hungry so I have been doing my 3 main meals and nothing really in between. I am thinking that maybe this is the problem. Today I am going to eat more times and less at each meal. I also was doing so good about drinking 12 glasses of water a day. I have slowly gone to maybe 6 a day lately. Today I am also going to make sure I drink more water.
    So with my new plan in action we will see how the scale does over the next few days. I also have to admit that I have a problem. I keep buying those stupid dried mango's from Henry's that I love. There is no added sugar or anything so they aren't bad for me. I keep them on the counter in the kitchen where I walk about 30 times a day. I must grab like 10 a day. Can you imagine eating 10 whole mango's a day? Ya now you see my problem. So I am going to put the things in the cabinet where I don't impulsively grab them and eat without thinking.
Have a good day and we will chat again tomorrow,
Ali

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Pj and the dentist

We took Pj to his very first dentist appt. back in July and he needed a little work done. Yesterday we went back to have one filling done. The dentist tried laughing gas and it did nothing, Pj was totally alert and there was no way they were getting in his mouth. They gave him some medication to make him sleepy. Well that med didn't help much either. It took 2 hours to get one filling done and he screamed and fought the whole time. My job was to hold his arms and legs. It was exhausting. The medication they gave him kicked in at 5pm when they were done. He was out of it and slept from 5pm last night until 7 am this morning. Good thing is his tooth is fixed but man was that an experience. The other boys both knocked out with the laughing gas. So Pj is staying home with me today and relaxing from the ordeal.
Have a good Tues.
Ali

Monday, October 11, 2010

Week 3 Doctor weigh in

I usually weigh in and go tot he Doc/nutritionist on Tues. but Pj has a dentist appt. so I got the chance to go this morning. I was worried a little to weigh in on a Monday. We went to a huge Filipino bday party over the weekend for one of Shawn's friends from softball. I admit I had a few bites of some no-no food but I was really good with only having a few bites. I also was a little worried because I messed up my toenail on my big toe and it really hurts. I haven't been walking or biking in a few days. I did a lot of sitting over the weekend. I still did so well. I lost 3.2 for the week. The office is thrilled with my loss and said I am doing way better than average. I will take it! I to date have also lost 4% of my body fat to date. I am no longer considered morbidly obese which is a nice feeling.
Well keeping it short and sweet today. Have a good Monday,
Ali

Sunday, October 10, 2010

No reason Sunday post

Had to post a little something this morning because I added up my weight loss and I was kind of surprised.
I have lost a total of 16.2 pounds so far.
A big yay to me.
That is almost 2 bags of sugar or
this gross but eye opening.
 

Have a happy Sunday. Go move and eat something healthy.
Ali

Friday, October 8, 2010

TGIF but uh oh, that means it's the weekend eating challange

I weighed in this morning at 209.4 which is 15 pounds in less than 3 weeks. Yay me!
I feel so in control this time of my eating. I haven't had very many cravings or bad days. I breath through bad food thoughts and get on with it. I am really enjoying cooking new foods and meals for my family and I know they are enjoying the no fast food as well. I think in the entire time I have been dieting we did In and Out once and that is it. Wow I hadn't realized that. Oh wait and a Wendy's salad 2 times. forgot about those.
NASCAR car haulers parade down the Las Vegas Strip Thursday, February 25, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Racers will compete in the 2010 Shelby American, the third race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, February 28.
(looked like this but in Fontana not in Vegas)
This weekend there is a huge Nascar race a few miles from our house. Last night they had a parade of all of the huge trucks that haul the race cars drive down the main streets by our house.We jumped on our bikes and headed out to the parade. I wish I had taken my camera because it was really cool. There were about 40 of the huge trucks all honking and lighting their lights for the fans. There was a bike path that lead us right to the festivities. The only bummer was for Pj who thought that Lightning McQueen would be there. I love little ones thoughts. So we got in our almost 3 mile bike ride and a fun family adventure in one.
We got home and tried a new recipe. Shawn thought it was ok, I thought it was good, and Cody ate a bunch and raved about it. It is a tilapia recipe with a Parmesan mix on it that you cook in the broiler. It was super easy and done in 9 min. Best part I had everything for it in my cabinets and  refrigerator. So here is the recipe let me know what you think if you make it.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
    • 1/8 cup butter, softened
    • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder ( or to taste)
    • 1/8 teaspoon dried or fresh basil 
    • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1/16 teaspoon onion powder if you have it
    • 1/16 teaspoon celery salt
    • 1/2 to taste salt 
    • 2 tilapia fillets

Directions

  1. Set oven to broiler heat.
  2. Grease a broiler pan
  3. In a small bowl mix together Parmesan cheese, butter, mayo, lemon juice and garlic.
  4. Add in all the remaining seasonings and salt if using; mix well and set aside.
  5. Arrange the fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan 
  6. Broil a few inches from the heat for 3 minutes.
  7. Turn the fish over and broil 3 minutes more.
  8. Remove from oven and cover them with the Parmesan mixture on the top side only.
  9. Return to oven and broil for 3 minutes more or until the topping is browned and the fish flakes easily (do not overcook the fish!).
    Super easy and yummy for a fast dinner. We served with broccoli with cheese sauce, and mac and cheese for the kids. 
    Have a great weekend everyone, Ali 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

new recipe

With the cool weather yesterday I really wanted a stew or soup for dinner. I happened to be watching a few min. of Paula Dean in the morning and she made a super tasty looking beef stew that looked warm, and filling. I got all the ingredients and took the 2 1/2 hours to make it yesterday. The kids and I decorated for Halloween yesterday while the soup was cooking. It was the perfect fall day.
Shawn came home and we ate the stew with the fireplace going, so nice. The stew on the other hand wasn't the best stew ever. It was decent. We all ate it but not one of us was thrilled with it (except the dogs, they loved it). Needless to say I won't be passing the recipe on for that one. I did however make an interesting dish a few nights ago with bacon, apples, chicken, and a cream sauce. It was a little overcooked (my fault) so the chicken was kind of dry but it was good so I will pass that one along. The link is here.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/maindishes/r/applebaconchick.htm
Wish I had a pic because it looked really creamy and yummy.
Today might be a little rough. Pj was up with nightmares off and on from about 9pm-1:30 am. I am drained today, but of course Pj is going strong. The great part with having kids is life doesn't stop when you are tired. I am the type of girl who need my 7-8 hours of sleep or my head hurts and I don't function well. I don't think it will throw me off to much I just might need an extra afternoon coffee. For now I am wearing sweats and having a kick back work day at home.In the past I would use things like this to run to food for comfort. Today I am going to get through it by breathing, and eating my 6 mini meals so that I won't be hungry  and binge. I may also go to the market and get some sugar free fudge pops in case.

Have a great Thur.
Ali

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Week two down

I went to the nutritionist yesterday and my weigh in was down two pounds. I was wearing jeans and shoes so I would have been lower if I had frozen and worn shorts. The nutritionist was very happy with my food log, progress, and overall attitude with weight loss. So yay me!
As soon as I got home Shawn the kids, and I jumped on our bikes and off we went. I rode until my legs were jello and than we headed back and had to do the same distance back. We ended up riding 6 miles. I was in shock when we figured out it was 6 miles. It did take an hour but the weather was perfect and the kids as well as Shawn and I are getting exercise as a family. I need to teach my kids how to be healthy adults and I feel like better late than never.
Have a great rainy Wed.
Ali

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

If I.....

f I were a month I’d be December.(everyone loves Christmas)
If I were a day I’d be Tuesday.(I was born on a Tues)
If I were a time of day I’d be 5:30 p.m.(when the hubby comes home)
If I were a font I’d be curlz (fun and goofy)
If I were a sea animal I’d be a sea turtle.
If I were a direction I’d be North.
If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a big ole down couch complete with blanket.
If I were a liquid I’d be a margarita.
If I were a gemstone I’d be Opal.(reminds me of my favorite Grandma)
If I were a tree I’d be a birch.
If I were a tool I’d be a phillips head screwdriver.
If I were a flower I’d be a daffodil.
If I were an element of weather I’d be a sun beam.
If I were a musical instrument I’d be a voice.
If I were a color I’d be yellow. 
If I were an emotion I’d be happy.
If I were a fruit I’d be a cherry.
If I were a sound I’d be laughter.
If I were an element I’d be iron because I am always anemic.
If I were a car I’d be a yellow VW bus
If I were a food I’d be a bowl of ice cream
If I were a place I’d be Monrovia
If I were a material I’d be corduroy.
If I were a taste I’d be sweet
If I were a scent I’d be the smell after a light rain
If I were a body part I’d be an ear
If I were a song I’d be sung by Jack Johnson.
If I were a bird I’d be a black Phoebee
If I were a gift I’d be handmade
If I were a city I’d be Monrovia again
If I were a door I’d be a barn door
If I were a pair of shoes I’d be flip flops

Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday, Monday, so good to me.

Ya I grew up on the Mamma's and Pappa's. Love them
So my weekend got so much better after my Friday melt down. Sat morning Pj had his second soccer game of the season and after we went to some good friends housewarming. I ate small in the morning because I wasn't sure how the housewarming food would be. I figured that I could fill up on water if worse came to worse. I was so happily surprised when they had delicious chicken and beef kabobs. They were wonderful and made me feel like I wasn't missing out on anything. So good.
As a treat for being so good for the last 2 weeks the Hubby and I went on a date to our favorite local sushi place on Sat. night. I was really good, no beer, diet soda and a ton of water. I ate sashimi which my nutritionist said is actually a really great choice for going out. I did take a few bites of the roll which was a no-no but I figure a little rice isn't going to kill me once every 2 weeks. After dinner I had a wonderful pot of fresh steeped green tea to complete a great Sat. with the family.
Sunday was another party with my in laws for our October bday celebrations. This is the same group of women who are doing the weight loss challenge. We had a fantastic lunch of chicken cooked in mushroom soup, a huge salad, and the yummiest fruit salad that was all in season and super sweet. It was super easy to make it through the day because all the girls are doing some form of dieting so no "cheat" foods were even there. My mother in law made a dessert that was a mock pumpkin pie with no crust. It was good but lacking sugar and maybe some extra spices. I was so happy she at least tried to make us all a dessert even though it wasn't quite what we thought it would be. We got home and still hadn't eaten dinner so I had some leftover fruit salad and made it through the day flawlessly.
I weighed in this morning down another .4 even with the sushi and my eating a ton on Friday to make it through my first rough patch. I was proud that I did it. This is usually the point where I start being over dieting but I am feeling great and confident that I can make it through another week.
Have a great Monday,
Ali

Saturday, October 2, 2010

my first really hard day

Well it happened, my first day of terrible cravings and constant hunger. I was so tempted to eat anything I could get my hands on but I was good and stuck to plan. I drank a ton of diet soda, ate my own weight in dried no sugar mangoes, and even went back for a small plate of seconds at dinner. I was proud that I did well but it wasn't easy at all. So the scale went up for the first time today by .6 but I know I ate over my calories a little and I will take it since I made it through the day without a frappachino or burger.
My plan is to get my water in again today. I am thinking that not getting all my water in lead to my hunger. I also may have to finish the mango's off that I have and avoid buying them again, they are far to easy to grab one and eat them all day without thinking of how many I actually ate.
Well had to post about yesterday before Monday came so that I would remember. Have a great weekend.
Ali

Thursday, September 30, 2010

a humid morning.

Good humid morning everyone,
The newest adventure in my weight loss challenge was to get my butt moving. I told you yesterday that we bought bikes to do family rides. We went on our first ride last night. We had soccer practice last night for Pj and as soon as we got home Shawn had everything waiting and was ready to go. I threw on my shoes and off we went. We decided to head to the nearby Wendy's to pick up dinner and we packed an empty backpack to bring it back home. We left the house and we did a bunch of downhill coasting which was nice. The breeze felt nice and the kids were having fun. About 7 min. into our ride I had to start peddling a little to get up a small hill. Good Lord my legs were burning and the sweating started.  We got to another flat area where I was able to catch my breath and we made it to Wendy's. We ordered our food and headed home.
The ride home I just wanted to go straight and avoid having to go back uphill again. We saw firetrucks up ahead so we took that darn loop. I made it without to much huffing and puffing back up that hill. We got to where we would normally cross to go home but there was a pretty bad accident so we had to detour which meant more hills. We made it home and my heart was beating fast, I was sweating, and I felt good. I made it on my first bike ride without falling or killing myself. Yay!!!
So Wendy's had a whole new menu of salads that look pretty yummy. I ordered the chicken, pecan , and apple salad. When I got home I looked at the pecan packaging after throwing it on the salad. Man, it was loaded with sugar. I picked every single one back off. I looked at the dressing before I went crazy with it and it too was loaded with sugar. I cut a lemon in half and used that with some balsamic instead. So I ended up with lettuce, some chicken breast, and apple.  It was good but next time I will inspect the labels more before I buy something going out.
I also got another message saying the comment section is still not working. I redid the setting again and hope we are back in action. I think it is best to comment anonymously and add your name in the comment. 
Well off to my day job but today is my Friday.
Ali