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