2 Legit 2 Quit!

Look what my rockin' friend Elaine gave me! My FIRST bloggy award! Yeah, apparently she thinks that I ROCK because of all the working out I have been doing and well, I have to say that right now I am so stinking impressed with my commitment that I am inclined to agree with her!

Why did I name my post 2 Legit 2 Quit? Thanks for asking! Well, because right now that is the song that is stuck in my head! Why was I listening to this song? Well, it was track 4 today in my step aerobics class. The step aerobics that I am taking are choreographed by song to be right with the beat of the song (for an HOUR). We do different songs and different arrangements based on the teacher but all of the classes are designed to burn an average of 585 calories (in ONE HOUR)! I have to take these classes because I would NEVER push myself this hard on my own. I also am really enjoying the friends I am making that attend all of these classes with me! Oh and so you know, if step aerobics kills me it will happen during the song "Tequila"! Try keeping up with that beat! Yikes! Every time the instructor changes the song I just pray that is not the next song! :-)

Now I get to pass this award along to the people that I think rock (I think you ALL rock, but I have to choose just a couple!) I am passing this on to some of my favorite fellow 'losers' that are really rockin' in their efforts!

First, is my friend Amanda over at One Day at a Time. I have to say that if it wasn't for all of her progress pictures and her amazing results after just a year on Weight Watchers I would not be as motivated as I am now! Thanks Amanda! I am truly impressed by you week after week!

Second, is my new friend Becky over at Diet Coke and Zingers. When I saw the name of her blog I just knew we would be great friends...and then she started working on giving up Diet Coke *gasp*...at least now I know I am not the only one with a addiction love of diet sodas! Maybe we will get 'sober' together!

Third, is another new friend Jen over at My "Losing" Motivation that is also on Weight Watchers and she has left some very nice and encouraging comments this week.

I am so glad that I have found so many blogs of women that are using Weight Watchers to lose weight and are doing so successfully! Thanks for all of the encouragement! Together we can all meet our goals! You Rock!

Enjoy!

Okay, well, I don't think that I have ever shared a recipe on my blog so here is a first!
I originally found this recipe on My "Losing" Motivation and she found it on another blog that I have recently started reading called Honey, I shrank myself!. I made a change to the amount of strawberries because I didn't have that many and well, I don't really think you need that many. Anyway, this is great! I hope you will try it and let me know what you think.

Crustless Strawberry Pie

2 cups sliced strawberries
1 small box fat free sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding
1 small box sugar free strawberry jello
2 cups water
Layer sliced berries in bottom and up sides of 9 inch pie plate or round pan.
Mix pudding mix and water and bring to a full boil.
Remove from heat and add dry jello mix, stirring well.
Let cool down about 5 minutes.
Pour over berries in pan.
Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to chill.
Serve with fat free cool whip free add points if needed.

Special Notes

• Make sure pudding mixture is thickened enough or berries will rise to the top. The strawberries are the "crust".
• I served this with 1 tbsp of FF redi whip!
• I am going to try this with other fruits and jello flavors. To make a dreamsicle pie add Mandarin oranges instead of strawberries and orange SF/FF Jello. To make a peach pie add peaches instead of strawberries and peach SF/FF Jello. I have not figured out the points on either of these yet.
• If you are doing the CORE program, you could add FF milk instead of water to the pudding. you can add this on FLEX too, but you have to add the calories/points. It was really good with just the water though and I did not have to add those points!

nutrition information:
2 cups sliced strawberries (100 calories)
1 box ff/sf pudding (80 calories)
1 box sf strawberry jello (40 calories)
total recipe is 220 calories, no fat and 6 fiber (from strawberries)!

Entire pie is only 4 points and is very yummy!!!! Great summer time treat!

P.S. I went to step aerobics yesterday and spinning class today! I am soooooooooooo glad I joined the gym. Plus my kids seem to look forward to the childcare! Win - Win! I have already earned 17 APs this week!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 7

Yeah! I lost 1.8 today! That means I have 15.4 to go to meet my 20 lbs by July 4th goal! I really think I can do it or at least get VERY close! I just need to have another great week this week. By the way, I am at my LOWEST weight EVER with WW! I weigh less now than I did when I got pregnant with James...that is pretty exciting since I made this goal before his 1st Birthday!

Check out my post about our weekend. We were VERY busy and had a great time as a family! I am proud of several things about this past week. First of all I earned 46 Activity Points this week at the gym! Yeah for me!!! When we ate at Joe T's (my favorite restaurant), I noticed some major changes we have made. First, they didn't have to refill our chips cause we still had over half the basket. Second, David, Kirstyn, James and I all shared fajitas for ONE and had leftovers! This is amazing to me. This was our late lunch....David and I were still so full at dinner time that we just had some fruit. The old us would have polished off the chip basket, each had our own meal, and we probably would have eaten dinner that night! Yeah for changes in appetite!

I have to say thank you for all of the encouragement. I am getting it from everywhere! Yall are leaving it in the comments, emailing me, and talking to me in person! Thank you! Just this week alone I got an email from two different ladies that I have been friends with since we were in diapers! They both know how I have struggled with weight my entire life and have both been reading my blog and sent me an email with lots of kind words and encouragement! Thanks Chayla and Camille!

Okay, now for what I am going to do this week in order to lose big again! I am going to cut back on the Diet Sodas, again! Yes, I know I am addicted! I am going to continue to journal everyday! I am going to earn at least 28 AP this week. What are you doing this week to make sure you lose?

Look at how cute Kirstyn and James looked this morning in their Scooby Doo t-shirts that they got at Six Flags!

These two cuties are a big part of my motivation! I am teaching them good eating and exercise habits that should keep them from ever needing to set foot in a Weight Watcher meeting! I don't cook two meals at our house. The kids are eating healthy and balanced meals every day! If you ask Kirstyn why we don't order french fries, she will tell you 'because they aren't healthy and I want to get big and strong!' It feels good to know that I am at least getting this right!

Crazy Busy FUN Weekend!

So, what did you do for your long Memorial Day weekend?

We were very busy and we managed to get in some MUCH NEEDED family time! David actually took the weekend off (with the exception of checking email, returning a couple of calls and stopping by the office to check on things...this is very minimal compared to usual!) and spent lots of quality time with all of us!

Saturday was James' actual FIRST Birthday! We gave him his final present, the big one. He got a very fun basketball goal! He LOVES it and well, so does Kirstyn and David! See...



Then, we went to Joe T. Garcia's for a late lunch in the garden. James and Kirstyn love to eat there because if they are good during the meal they get to play in the fountain!




And what would a Texas birthday be without a Sopapilla covered in cinnamon and sugar! Yum!



Then on Sunday we went to church, came home to eat lunch and change, and then headed off to Six Flags for a fun (and HOT) afternoon!


And what would a visit to Six Flags be without getting to hug some of our favorite characters! (Finding Scooby is always #1 on Kirstyn's priority list!)




This trip to Six Flags also included a MAJOR milestone for Miss Kirstyn. She rode her first BIG roller coaster and then went on to ride her first roller coaster that goes UPSIDE DOWN! Yes, you heard me right. Kirstyn (my 4 year old!) rode two very large roller coasters! We started her on Judge Roy Scream. David rode with her the first time and then when she got off, she wanted to get right back on and ride with me! I am so thankful that the lines were very short! Then, she announced to us that she wanted to ride a bigger one! So, off we went to show her the Shock Wave assuming that she would back out once she saw that it went upside down twice! But, NO, she couldn't wait to get on it. She and her daddy rode this one twice also before we were able to leave the park! I am just thankful that she still enjoys the 'kiddy' rides too so we are able to ride some as a family and include little James.



Are you tired yet? We were. We spent today being pretty lazy. First, this morning we loaded up and went to the gym to work out. I got in an hour and a half of cardio classes and David worked out on his own while the kids had a great time in childcare! Then we came home for early naps! David and I spent a good part of the day cleaning out our closet! I had a good time saying good-bye to all of my size 18 and size 16 pants! I also got rid of all of my shirts that were 3x and 2x! Yeah for needing smaller sizes! I have the back end of my car loaded and ready to make a stop by a donation center tomorrow morning! Then, tonight we went over to the mall for Kirstyn and David to get in a little ice skating time while James and I went on a walk and made a few returns. Then, we had dinner together and came home! Yeah for an easy day!


I hope you had a fabulous holiday too and I can't wait to hear all about it!

Working Out Like a Crazy Lady!

I was just sitting here thinking that the me that started Weight Watchers in March of 2005 would think that the new me is insane. I am soooooo glad that I joined Gold's Gym. I am really glad that I went to a boot camp at my church for 6 months until I was too pregnant to continue. When I started at boot camp I couldn't even do one push up and I couldn't jog 1/4 of a mile! I made a LOT of progress at boot camp and it is amazing to me to see how much this "muscle memory" I had heard about really does exist! See, before I started the boot camp program I had not ever exercised, not really anyway. See, I am two jean sizes smaller now than I was when I graduated from High School! Yeah for me!!!

I am also a woman on a mission. I really want to weigh less than 200 lbs! I really want to meet my 20 more pounds by July 4th goal that I set for myself 6 weeks ago. By the way, when I reach the goal of 20 more by the 4th, I will also have reached and passed on by my second 10% with WW! I can't wait to see all these goals happen so that I can set my next goals! I have started exercising on a regular basis at Gold's and I have been attending several of their group classes. I have been going to step aerobics (which kicks my butt and earns me 10 Activity Points for the full hour of intense exercise!). Well, yesterday, my step leader was Nancy and she talked me into giving her spinning class a chance this morning. She promised she would show me how to work the bike, etc. Well, I showed up this morning at 8:30 ready to go. She showed me how to strap in my feet and tighten the tension. Then told everyone in the class to welcome her new friend Natalie (yeah, I'm making friends, and then I thought, crap, guess if this kicks my butt I will be stuck here for the whole class now that I have been "noticed") Well at 8:33 when I was already breathing hard and looking at the clock I knew I was really in for a LONG hour! I did not spend as much time standing as the others and I turned my tension down a few times but I did not quit! That made me very proud of myself. Then, from the spinning class I went next door to Jamie's Body Pump class. (All of these classes are choreographed to music.) See I had been watching Jamie in step aerobics (she takes the class with us normal people) and was already impressed with her amazing athletic ability and with the fact that NOTHING on her body jiggles and you can see muscle definition in her legs and arms when she is relaxing! (Pretty sure that is what my glorified body in heaven will look like!!!). Anyway, she was VERY nice to me and showed me what weights I should start with and helped me and checked on me (via her loud speaker microphone) several times. Thus, I had to keep going even though my body really wanted me to RUN away! So, I got in a good hour of aerobic activity on the bike and then I did a good solid hour of choreographed weight training. I plan to go back to step class tomorrow. See by going to these classes I am doing a few things... I am pushing myself much harder than I would on my own and I am forming some accountability because some of these ladies ask me as I am leaving to go home and die if I will be back tomorrow. Again my mouth works faster than my brain and I say "SURE, See you tomorrow"!

I really hope that all of this work shows up on the official WW scale soon! If nothing else, I am already sleeping sounder and feeling better about myself again! Yeah for exercise!!! (Again, my old me would be in shock to hear the 'new' me say something like that!)

I am going to find some "old me" pictures to post to show you and remind me just how far I have come! Thanks Amanda for reminding me to be proud of the 40+ pounds that I have already lost (twice I might add...once before getting pregnant with James and then again since having him! My starting weight on my ticker was what I weighed just before I got pregnant with Kirstyn in Jan 2003...I actually think I was even heavier than that at times but we didn't even own a scale back then!) Oh and if you are still reading then you are amazing! Thanks for listening!!!

Thursday Thirteen - 11th Edition

On Sesame Street this morning the letter of the day was P so I thought I would use that to update yall on the happenings at our house...

1. Poor boys - both James and David have a stomach virus
2. Poop
3. Puke
4. Pain - my muscles are screaming. I have been sneaking out of the house during nap time to go to work out.
5. Piles of laundry continue to grow even though I have been washing all. day. long!
6. Pediatrician told me yesterday that this virus has been lasting up to two weeks in some people
7. PLEASE NO! I can't take two weeks of this!
8. PRAY, pray my boys get better fast, pray Kirstyn does not get this virus, pray that i do not get this! Stomach viruses terrify me because of my Crohn's Disease, I don't want anything to irritate my stomach. I have been off of my meds for over a year and I really don't want to have to start them again!
9. Purchases I've had to make:
10. Pampers - we are using these by the case
11. Pink Pepto - David's new favorite thing
12. Paste - as in butt paste for my poor little James
13. Pedialyte - the generic of course cause they are way to proud of the brand name

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Tell All Tuesday - Week 6

Okay, well now I am apparently stuck and getting bitter! Actually, I want to cry. This stinks. I was up 1.2 today! Yes, I know I worked out hard this week. Yes, I know I probably had too much sodium last night at dinner. Yes, I know all these things are reasons why I am loosing inches and not pounds. Ugh, now I need to loose 17.2 in the next 6 weeks to meet my goal of 20 lbs by July 4th! When I set the goal of 20 lbs in 12 weeks it felt rather attainable, now it is starting to seem unreasonable, but I am not the kind of person that wants to adjust my goal because of my own failures! I am not going to give up, but I really NEED the scale to start being nice to me! I am going to set myself a goal to earn 28 activity points this week from exercise and I am going to meet all of my good health guidelines this week: 5 fruits/veggies, 8 waters, 2 healthy oils, and 2 milks per day. Okay, well James just fell asleep so I am off to get on the elliptical. I can't go to the gym today because he was running a fever last night. Hopefully he will be better all day today so that I can go tomorrow.



Update: I earned 5 activity points today. I worked out on the elliptical machine for 56 minutes and went 10 miles! I can remember that not too long ago, I couldn't last more than 10 minutes without dying! So that was 4 APs and then I earned one more by doing pushups and situps alternating back and forth for 15 minutes.

In other news, I took James to the pediatrician this afternoon and it seems he has the horrible stomach virus that is going around. He has been throwing up and has diarrhea. Yeah for me. Guess this means that I will have to work out at home on my own or venture to the gym when David is at home. Really stinks since I was just getting started on a routine!

Sesame Street Music and Art Party...

I can't believe it was time for my baby boy's 1st Birthday Party, but it was (here is a 'for my blog' modified invite for you to see)! James doesn't take the time to stop being his busy little self for anything except when Sesame Street happens to come on the television...then he stops what he is doing and is mesmerized by Elmo and the gang!

I decided that a Sesame Street Music and Art Party would be perfect for his interests. I asked my mom to handle the music part of the party (she is an elementary music teacher)...

Then I incorporated the art part by letting the kids paint their food! Check out these cool plates!

Then it was time to move onto cake! Check out the cakes that I decorated. The big cake was actually baked at Costco and iced plain and then I decorated it. James' cake was made from a chocolate cake mix and a can of pumpkin and a little water. Since Kirstyn is allergic to egg, the allergist recommended that we avoid exposing James until after he has been allergy tested and is a little older! Sounds easy enough since I already avoid eggs in our family meals.

And, now it is official. My kids are a little odd. Kirstyn ate her first birthday cake with a fork and here is James chowing down with a spoon. He started by digging both hands in and licking them, then he started talking to Big Bird and carefully poked out BB's eye, and then he started reaching and screaming in the direction of the pile of forks and spoons on the table. I handed him a spoon and away he went on a mission to get a big 'ole sugar high! Yummy, he even gave mommy a bite....

Then it was time to open presents! Of course, all of the kids had a good time opening James' presents and checking them out! That always seems to be one of the best parts of the party, especially for all of our playgroup friends. They were all checking out what they would play with the next time they get to come over to the house! James seems to love all of his gifts.

One of the favorites so far are the bath tub drums from Dee Dee and Pappy! Check out the music fun in the tub!

All in all it was a great party and everyone seemed to have a good time! Next Saturday for James' actual birthday we are planning to go to Six Flags as a family! I hope the weather cooperates!