Breakfast Under the Oaks

Wow!  What a beautiful day it is today!  It's supposed to be another hot one and like yesterday, I'm enjoying a bit of fresh air and the shade of the oak trees in our yard.

Between attempting a little bit of gardening (more on this in a future post, along with an explanation of why I use the word attempt), I decided to grab a quick and somewhat healthy breakfast.

I'm really trying to get into the habit of eating breakfast in the morning.  Too often I'm running around in the morning, getting Gracie and I ready for school and work, with just enough time to get us out the door without being late.  Then realizing too late, that I forgot to eat (or didn't allow time for eating).  This then leads to me grabbing something very unhealthy to eat in the car on my way to work.

With my hours dwindling down to just a day or two a week and summer vacation just a couple of weeks away, I hope it will be easier to get into the habit of sitting down to a decent breakfast each morning before running off to have some summer fun!

I think breakfast under the oaks will be a great way to start our summer mornings!

Where I am today......Under the Big Oak Tree

It's a hot one today!  We don't have central air and Joe hasn't put the window units in yet since it's been really chilly up until now.

Lucky for me, our back yard is very shady thanks to our oak trees (and maple tree).

I filled the dog's pool so she can wet her feet to cool off and I'm relaxing at the picnic table under the trees.  Perfect way to relax on a hot day!


You can find this post linked to the following blog parties:

• Outdoor Wednesday 

ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge Part 3 with a Giveaway!

Lately on Facebook, I've been seeing some posts counting down to Christmas already.  I know a lot of people wish it was Christmas all year 'round and are really looking forward to the holiday season.  Me?  I'm just getting past the start of the school year and am counting down to Halloween, as this might just be the year that Grace decides to go out for Trick or Treat for the first time!  She loves the decorations and the pumpkin patch is her favorite place in the world, she's just not into the scary parts and every year opts out of costumes (even her princess costumes) and trick or treat.

Seeing these crazy, Christmas Countdown posts has made me realize that this year will soon be coming to a close, which I find really hard to believe!  Where has the time gone?  It also has me thinking about the goals that I set for myself earlier this year when I signed up for the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge.

Currently, we're in part 3 of the challenge and while I've really done well on some of my goals, there are still a couple of points that I need to make an effort to address.

Eating Healthy was at the top of my list.  For the most part this year, I did really well in making healthy food choices.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables were served with meals throughout the past several months, though, I will admit that I didn't do such a great job kicking the junk food habit completely.  On a good note, though, I have been grabbing an apple to eat in the car while waiting in the pick up line after school!

This year, I wanted to Become More Active.  I wish I could say that I stuck to this one from the very start but sadly, it took a while for me to get my butt in gear for this one.  But for the past several weeks, I've been getting myself (and the dog) to the walking park for a daily walk.  Occasionally, I manage to fit in two walks a day!  It's not much, but it's definitely a start!

Saving Money is hard for us.  We've been on a single income since we moved into our home 7 years ago and finding extra money to stash away isn't easy.  This year, with Grace starting school, we've had some additional expenses making it even that more difficult to save but at the same time, we're trying to make smart choices with our purchases and really making it a point to avoid late fees by paying our bills on time.

Getting Organized is still a big problem for me.  I thought with Grace being gone from the house for 2 hours, that I'd be able to get a ton of stuff done and organized around this place.  Nope!  Not at all.  If anything, I feel like I'm more unorganized than ever.  Something seems to come up every day, not to mention the ton of paperwork in Grace's back pack every day!  This kid needs her own filing cabinet!  I joke...but hey, that's a great idea!  I'll be focusing on this goal in the upcoming weeks so that I can be organized by the holidays.

It was difficult to admit that I need to Be a Better Wife and Mother.  I'm having a tough time with this goal, too.  I think time management is a big issue.  I get up, get Grace ready for school (this takes several hours and usually there's an argument during this time), drop her off, come home, eat lunch, try to clean up a little, then pick her up, then it's time to make dinner, etc.  I've been trying to fit in some mommy/Grace time with visits to the playground and play dates, etc.  But all of that cuts into the time I need to be doing stuff around the house.  Often, I'm tired and grumpy.  Not my idea of a better wife and mom.  This needs more work.

I vowed to Take Care of Me this year.  This seems to be the goal I focused on the most, as I felt it was important for me to be well (mentally and physically) in order to follow through with any of the other goals on my list.  While I still haven't gotten in touch with a therapist for my depression and OCD, I have taken care of other things that have been neglected.  I learned how to drive this year, I saw an eye doctor and got glasses (I haven't worn my glasses in over 12 years) and I'm currently recovering from some some dental work I had gotten done.  I joined Weight Watchers online and even went to a meeting recently.

Part 3 of the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge has reminded me that I do need to work more on my goals.  Reading the letter I wrote to myself at the beginning of the challenge also reminds me that I need to order myself some Dark Chocolate Almond ZonePerfect bars!  They are my favorite, but I have a difficult time finding that particular flavor in the stores we shop.

With just about 2 1/2 months left in the year, I plan to reall dig in and get involved in working on reaching my goals.  Here's what I plan to work on:

Eat Healthy.  It's soup season, so this should be a no brainer!  Lots of fresh vegetables and lean meats in my soups, along with whole grains in my hearty, keep-warm soups!  Keeping a handful of ZonePerfect bars in the glove box of the car will help me keep on track when I'm on the go!

Stay Active.  I'm keeping up with my daily walks.  The dog won't let me skip them anyhow!  With it getting dark earlier, I'll have to take my walks before picking Grace up from school.  Also, I'm considering checking out a local gym.  I need to see if this is something we can afford.

Save Money.  I started my Christmas shopping earlier this year and have been taking advantage of sale prices and some daily deal sites.  In addition to avoiding late fees, I also plan to focus on saving money on groceries.  With Joe doing the majority of the food shopping in the past, we didn't pay a lot of attention on the cost of groceries, just getting what we needed when we needed it.  Now that I'm driving, I think I should be able to comparison shop and save more money on the food we purchase.  Also, I am continuing to transfer money to our savings account every week.

Get Organized.  I'll be putting an empty box in the back of my truck each week.  Every day after dropping Grace off at school, I will add items to the box that we no longer use.  At the end of the week, when the box is full (hopefully), I will drop it off at a local thrift shop that takes donations. Working on time management will also be something I will be focusing on in the next several weeks.

Being a Better Wife and Mother and Taking Care of Me.  These are tough ones.  I believe I will always be a work in progress when it comes to both of these goals.

How about you?  Did you set goals or make resolutions for yourself at the start of the year?  How are you doing with reaching those goals?  Did you forget about them, like I sometimes do?  What are your plans for finishing out the year with those goals in mind?

To help give you incentive to reach your goals, ZonePerfect will give one lucky Under the Big Oak Tree reader a ZonePerfect Wellbeing Essentials Kit which includes hair ties, a pedometer, lip balm, a tumbler, and some ZonePerfect bars!

It's super easy to enter using the rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*As required by the Federal Trade Commission: The information and gift packs have been provided by Abbott Laboratories to Under the Big Oak TRee at no cost. All that was asked of Under the Big Oak Tree was to review the product, and give our honest opinion. 

What Makes Me Smile #7

I tend to be a Negative Nelly about my life.  I'm great about putting a positive spin on things when friends vent to me about their bad days, but when it comes to my life, I only see the bad things.  In an attempt to change this aspect of my personality, I want to journal some things that make me smile each week.  Hoping that when I look back, I'll see just how many things I have to be grateful for and smile about in my life.

Sorry this is posting late this week.  We've had a busy weekend and I didn't get a chance to sit down to write.

Last week was a sad week.  Hearing that Robin Williams lost his battle with depression made it difficult to smile much.  Suffering from depression myself, hearing of his death really hit close to home.  I spent a lot of the week in denial and each morning a logged into my Facebook account, I was hit again with the news of his death.  This went on for several days.

Maybe it seems silly to be hit so hard by a celebrity's death.  Someone I've never met before.  One of my cousin's said it best:

"Losing Robin Williams is like everyone in the world just lost their crazy uncle at the same time." 

Thankfully, a busy weekend helped in keeping me from dwelling on it much longer and gave me a few things to smile about:

• Great friends.  We are truly blessed with wonderful friends.  Always here to lend a hand with the house, listen to our troubles, celebrate happy times, or just plain spoil Grace.  

• Family.  We had a family event over the weekend.  Life gets busy and everyone's work schedules get in the way, it's nice when we're all able to get together for some good food and conversation.  

• First Birthdays and cousins.  My youngest niece turned one over the weekend (see family event listed above).  She is so adorable...all babies are, I know!  Grace, who normally keeps a big distance from babies, really enjoyed playing with her cousin and we all loved seeing them interact with each other.  

• Twinkle Toes.  Last week, we hit the dollar kiddie movie again.  Six adults and one kid!  That alone made me laugh, but just trying to get all of us together and out the door so early was something out of a comedy movie!  During a slower part of the movie, Grace was a little bored and decided to tap her toes on the floor.  It was funny to see her Twinkle Toes sneakers lighting up the dark theater!  

Hoping you all had a happy week with lots of smiles!  I'd love for you to share by leaving a comment!  

What Makes Me Smile #6

I tend to be a Negative Nelly about my life.  I'm great about putting a positive spin on things when friends vent to me about their bad days, but when it comes to my life, I only see the bad things.  In an attempt to change this aspect of my personality, I want to journal some things that make me smile each week.  Hoping that when I look back, I'll see just how many things I have to be grateful for and smile about in my life.

This past week has been a rough one.  Lots of stress, lots of drama, lots of emotion.  Even still, as I sat down to type this post, I found I had a lot to smile about:

• Back to School Shopping.  When I was a kid, I LOVED back to school shopping.  I loved all the new notebooks, folders, crayons, etc.  It's fun seeing Grace have the same excitement over school supplies that I had as a student.  Of course, this year her school list is minimal since she's just starting Kindergarten, but it was still fun picking out a few things with her!  

• Baby Clothes.  Gosh!  How I miss shopping for baby clothes!  They were so much more fun to buy than the size that Grace is in now.  Grace is five, but takes a bigger girls size, so shopping sometimes becomes a challenge finding age-appropriate things in her size.  Baby shopping is just so sweet!  With my niece's first birthday coming up, I've really enjoyed picking out a few cute items!  

• Calling Doctor Grace.  After getting a shower, I looked around for Grace only to find her in her room tending to her patient.  Poor Remmy is such a good sport!  I really wish I had my camera handy, so you all could see Remmy with her little doggy leg extended so Dr. Grace could take her blood pressure!  I also had to laugh at myself when I felt the need to remind Grace to NEVER stick anything in Remmy's eyes, nose, ears, mouth or butt!  She got a giggle out of mommy saying "butt".  

• Date Night.  Since Grace was born, Joe and I rarely have time to ourselves.  I can count on both hands the number of times we've gone somewhere without Grace (this includes a funeral and getting our taxes done twice) and it's been over a year since we've gone to a movie or had dinner together. We've been wanting to give Movie Tavern a try and since Hercules just came out, I figured it was a perfect time to finally go.  We really enjoyed ourselves and each ordered a drink with our meal.  Definitely somewhere we'd like to go again.  

I'd love to know what makes you smile!  Share with us by leaving a comment!

What Makes Me Smile #5

I tend to be a Negative Nelly about my life.  I'm great about putting a positive spin on things when friends vent to me about their bad days, but when it comes to my life, I only see the bad things.  In an attempt to change this aspect of my personality, I want to journal some things that make me smile each week.  Hoping that when I look back, I'll see just how many things I have to be grateful for and smile about in my life.

Last week, I had a lot to smile about!

• Grace has always been fascinated by nature.  It started with leaves.  When she was outside as a toddler, she always seemed to have a leaf in her hand.  Now, the past two summers, she's been obsessed with picking "flowers" from our lawn.  She knows not to pick the very few flowers in my front garden bed, but knows that the lawn is hers for the picking.  She placed this little yellow blossom on my lap today and seeing her little hand, dirty nails and all, it just hit me that her hands aren't going to be this little for very long.  

• This week has been all about stepping out of our comfort zones.  At least for us girls.  Poor Joe has been out of his comfort zone since Grace was born!  Now he's in a house of all girls (the dog included)!  Remmy seems to be over her fear of car rides and now stands at the front door hoping for to go for a ride each night!  Grace has gotten over her thoughts that she can only go places with both of us because that's how we did things in the past.  Recently, she's been out a couple times with just Joe and seems to love it!  Last week, he ended up taking both Grace and Remmy to the carwash after work one night!  I used those few moments to myself to hand a shower curtain.  

• My comfort zone...driving.  Until Saturday, I haven't driven a car in almost 16 years!  I was late to get my license, I don't even thing Driver's Ed was offered at my high school and if it was, I never heard about it.  When I was 22 or 23 Joe forced me to get my license even if I didn't plan to use it.  A few years later bought me a car and I needed a refresher course.  When we moved into our apartment, we gave up the second vehicle since we only had 1 parking space and public transportation was close.  Even though I had my license, I never wanted to drive Joe's pick up truck.  So, I didn't.  Since we moved, it's been difficult without a car.  But after so long, I lost the confidence I needed to get back to driving again and I'm needing that refresher course again!  I'm determined to feel confident behind the wheel again!  Smiling at myself for trying and great friends that are helping with the lessons!  

• Grace also had a dentist appointment this week.  Her first.  She's always so unwilling to try new things and is very set in her ways, so we were not expecting a successful visit.  She did so well and did everything the dentist told her.  When I gave her a thumbs up while she was in the dentist chair, she winked at me!  I don't know where that came from but it was so cute!  

• This week is a lot about Grace, sorry...she's the major thing to make me smile especially on quiet weeks at home.  Grace loves to play dress up.  Most would think this means her dressing up in costumes and jewels.  Sometimes that is what dress up means in our house.  But more often than not, Grace's definition of dress up is putting new outfits on her stuffed animals.  This week, we noticed that she made Sky (Paw Patrol) and super hero cape out of a tissue.  She just twisted two of the corners together to make it stay.  Sorry for the blurry picture, I took this in her completely dark room while she was asleep!  Also, please ignore the crayon on her walls...that doesn't make me smile!  

I'd love to hear about what makes you smile!  Let me know in the comments!  

What Makes Me Smile #4

I tend to be a Negative Nelly about my life.  I'm great about putting a positive spin on things when friends vent to me about their bad days, but when it comes to my life, I only see the bad things.  In an attempt to change this aspect of my personality, I want to journal some things that make me smile each week.  Hoping that when I look back, I'll see just how many things I have to be grateful for and smile about in my life.  

Here's what made me smile last week:  

• My Princess.  Last week was a good week for Grace.  We signed her up for Princess Camp at a local dance school.  Mainly, this was a practice run for her going to school.  Though, now I'm not sure which one of us needed the trial run to work on separation anxiety.  Me or Grace.  Her past dance classes were only 45 minutes long, so I waited in what she calls the "blue room" for her to finish her class.  Princess Camp was a longer class, so no way I was waiting that entire time.  When we were discussing her camp, she was asking if I was going to wait.  I explained that I wasn't going to wait this time, but we'd be back to pick her up as soon as it was over.  We were really hoping it wasn't going to be an issue.  First night went well...the second night was even better.  By the end of the week, she was pushing me out the door.  She even broke through some "issues" she has with things.  That especially made me smile.  

• Weekends with Friends.  We had a chance to get away this weekend.  It's been too long since we've had an overnight away.  How long?  This was Grace's first night not sleeping in her own bed.  She's FIVE.  That's a long time to not take a trip!  We spent an overnight up the mountains and enjoyed a busy day exploring nature, splashing in the creek and having fun at an amusement park!  That's a lot of fun crammed into one day!  We were tired afterwards, but it was worth it!  

• Weight Loss Support.  For the past couple of months, I've been really wanting to lose some weight. Keeping on track hasn't been easy.  I've had some good weeks and bad weeks, but the support I've been receiving from friends via conversations, emails, and facebook support groups is constant and wonderful!  

• Mommy time.  While Grace had her Princess Camp last week, I got a taste of what it's going to be like when she starts school and I get some time to myself.  Having that hour and half break while she was at camp, really helped me feel more relaxed and I found myself being less grumpy about things.  

• A girl and her dog.  Grace and Remmy have been bonding more and more lately.  While Remmy has always ADORED Grace, our little girl really never cared one way or another about Remmy.  In the past year, Grace has been more playful with Remmy and just this week, I can see there is a huge bond forming between the two!  I just know one day soon, I am going to walk into Grace's room and find her playing dress up with the dog and Remmy will be loving every moment!   

I hope this week brings you all lots of smiles!

What Makes Me Smile #3

Last week was a rough week on my depression and anxiety, yet, I was still able to find some positive moments that brought a smile to my face.  

• Water balloons!  You can't beat the fun you can get out of a Dollar Store pack of water balloons! Lot's of cheap entertainment for the kids even if I am the one that gets stuck filling them all up!  We had a few days of laughs watching Grace and her friends playing with the water-filled balloons!  The dog even got in on the act when Joe filled a couple regular-sized balloons with water!  

• Visiting with old friends.  Grace and I enjoyed a nice visit from old friends last week.  It was great watching the kids play and splash in the pool and hearing them exclaim: "you are my best friend" to each other.  Meeting a sweet new baby was pretty awesome, too!  

• Laughing at myself.  We had a couple days that were a bit cooler last week.  One night after dinner, we decided to walk at a local park.  I'd like to say we were doing it to be outside and enjoy nature, but really we were being nosy and wanted to see how a local construction job was coming along.  On our way back to the car, I spotted this dead tree covered with turkey vultures.  Now, we always see the turkey vultures soaring above this park and even perched upon this very tree, but not quite so many at one time!  I had to chuckle at myself when I let out a scream when they started to get restless and flap their wings while we were looking up at them!  Apparently, they didn't want their picture taken!

• Family.  When my nieces were young, we'd have what we called "Girls' lunch" every time I visited.  I had the chance to host "Girls' Lunch" at my house.  Grace is really getting used to playing with babies and told baby N "you are my best baby cousin!"  I was trying to teach baby N to blow kisses and before she left I think she was getting the idea!  It was nice to see her so cheerful since usually she cries when I'm around!  A happy baby is a lot to smile about!  

• Morning Texts.  I woke up one morning to an incredibly beautiful, totally upbeat and positive text message from a dear old friend.  I don't know if she sensed that this is something I needed or just something she wanted to pass on to me at that moment, but it was well received when I read it before I even rubbed the sleep from my eyes.  

Have a happy week full of smiles!

Linking to:

• List it Tuesday

What Makes Me Smile #2

It was a little more challenging to find things that made me happy this week.  Some stress and depression tried to force it's way in a few times.  But I was determined to find some happy moments.  Here's what made me smile for week 2.

• Trips to the pet store.  It's been a while since our once-super-spoiled-puppy got a special treat from the pet store so one night last week we stopped at a local pet store to let Grace pick out something special for her.  While there, we couldn't help but take a peek in the windows to see what kinds of puppies were available.  I know, I know.  There's a huge controversy over pet store vs. rescue, but seeing those adorable little pups running around and playing just really made me feel all warm and fuzzy!  I wished I could bring them all home with us!  Especially one little sassy pup that would have run circles around our Remmy girl!  We were laughing so much at the sweet little thing that I forgot to snap a picture, but I did manage to take one of this cute dog pile!  

• New Friends.  Grace and I had a nice visit with some new friends this week.  I enjoyed talking to another grown up while Grace ran and played in the yard with her new friends!  

• Kite Flying.  Grace did a great job of getting her kite up in the air all on her own earlier this week!  Once she got it flying, I helped her with letting out some string to get it flying a little higher!  

• My daughter, the mini personal trainer.  Earlier this week, Grace and I set up the Wii and did some exercising together.  It was too warm to play outside (I don't do well in the heat) so the Wii is the perfect indoor activity for us, with the AC running at full blast!  Boy, this kid is tough.  She kept both of us going for a while until I showed her that she was able to do some of the things on her own.  After we were finished exercising, I was so happy to see her grab a box of raisins instead of cookies or chips for her after-workout snack!  

• Trips to the Thrift Shop.  I love when the three of us go to the thrift shop together and I love even more that Grace is usually the one that suggests the outing.  This time, we all found something we wanted to purchase and I was even lucky enough to find a couple of thing that had 1/2 price stickers!  

What makes you smile?  I'd love to hear the things that help you keep daily stress from ruining your day/week!  Please share in the comments!


Linking this post to:

• List It Tuesday

What Makes Me Smile #1

I tend to be a Negative Nelly about my life.  I'm great about putting a positive spin on things when friends vent to me about their bad days, but when it comes to my life, I only see the bad things.  In an attempt to change this aspect of my personality, I want to journal some things that make me smile each week.  Hoping that when I look back, I'll see just how many things I have to be grateful for and smile about in my life.

Last week, I had a lot to smile about!

• Visiting with old friends:  I've said this before and I'll probably say it many times more, I love Facebook!  It has connected me with so many people that I've lost touch with over the years.  Just a few months ago, I "found" a friend on Facebook that I haven't seen or heard from, in over 25 years! Her family moved away a year or two after we became friends.  We tried staying in touch via snail mail for a while, but that didn't last very long.  After a few emails back and forth, she told me she'd be visiting family in PA.  She and her mom stopped by for lunch and a nice visit earlier this week!  I loved seeing them and chatting while enjoying a picnic lunch!  

• Grace's Dance Class:  We signed Grace up for a summer dance program.  Six, 45 minute classes.  I was concerned that she wouldn't participate since we've attended 2 birthday parties this summer that included dancing as a group and both times she shyly stood there, frozen, while the other kids danced around her.  This week, was her third class.  I had the chance to peek into the room and saw that she was indeed participating with the rest of the class!  She has not shown Joe or myself any of her new dance moves!  

• Regal Summer Movie:  Can't beat $1 movie days!  Especially when they are spent with people we love!  In the past, we've attempted taking Grace to the movies before on full price days.  Both times, she was disruptive and we've left the theater soon after the movie started.  So, we've been reluctant to try again (at close to $50 for the three of us after tickets and snacks).  At a buck a ticket, I decided to give it another try.  She loved the experience and sat through the entire movie!  

• Family Fun Time:  We took Grace for her first game of mini golf.  I hadn't played since I was a kid and I'm guess it was just as long for Joe, too!  It was a fun time!  Grace had a blast!  She played not only her game, but "helped" Joe and I both finish our games.  We'll have to work on the rules with her so we can go with other kids that most likely won't want her "help"!  

• My Girly Girl:  Grace decided the other day that she wanted to wear a dress.  Just as we were about to walk out the door, she ran to her dress up box and put on a tiara over top of the hair bow she was already wearing!  She received lots of smiles and compliments while the little princess was out and about for the day!  

• Chatting online with old friends:  Grace was being unusually cooperative and mellow one afternoon, so I had a chance to chat online with a classmate from elementary school days.  Although, some of our topics were sad, it was so nice chatting with her about our lives.  

• Another Family Fun Day:  One of my girlfriends from high school and her kids came over for dinner, dessert and a campfire.  Her girls are older, but Grace just adores them!  I love that she saw them drinking water at dinner and she got up from her chair and went to the fridge to grab not a juice box, but a mini bottle of water for herself!  We enjoyed a delicious dinner (yes, I'm patting myself on the back) and a very decadent dessert!  Followed by S'more by the firepit.  Though, that didn't last long since the mosquitoes were pretty bad!  

Sorry, no photos this time around.  I'll try to make a point to take some happy photos during the weeks ahead.  

Hope you have lots to smile about this week!  

Linking this post to:

• List It Tuesday 

Wordless (or Wordful) Wednesday ~ Bitstrips

I've been obsessed with my iPhone ever since taking advantage to the free upgrade on our plan a few months ago.

If I'm not cooking, cleaning or caring for Grace, you are sure to find me playing with my phone.  Whether it's checking Facebook, reading emails, or playing a variety of games.  Although, I've given in to the Candy Crush Saga temptation, Words with Friends remains my favorite game to play on my phone!

My latest phone activity is Bitstrips.  I had fun creating a cartoon image of myself and only wish I was really as skinny as my cartoon self!

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share this cartoon here since it pretty much captures the food blogger side of myself!

100 Day Weight Loss Challenge Week 1 Friday Check-In

So far this week is going great!  Well, great as far as the challenge is concerned.  Personal stuff is causing me some stress and Grace is having trouble adjusting to the change of seasons and keeping us up all night.  Usually, things like this cause me to shut down and lose focus of my goals.  I am so proud of myself for not giving in to my usual habit of stress eating.  Not to say there won't be any stress eating in the future, but I just want to focus on now.

Calories: 

With the help of My Fitness Pal, I've calculated and set my calorie limit at 1200 per day.  This is less calories than I am used to with past challenges and I've found myself going over each of the first three days (that includes eating the exercise calories that I burned off).  In the past, I would have given up after so many days of not keeping within my limit.  This time, I'm not being so hard on myself.  I know that lowering my caloric intake is going to take some getting used to and as long as I am eating less than I have been in the days/weeks/months leading up to this challenge, than I know that I am on the right track.

On Day 4, I stayed within my calories by 1 calorie!  And only with the help of those exercise calories (58 calories) !


Drinking Water / Cutting Back on Diet Pepsi:  

If you've followed along during past challenges, than you know that I hate water.  It's a chore for me to drink just water and have a hard time resisting the urge to drink Diet Pepsi in place of my water each day.  So far this week, I have reached my daily goal of 64 oz. of water.  On Day 1, I gave up soda entirely.  On Day 2, I had such a horrible headache.  I couldn't open my eyes or move without feeling like my head was going to explode!  When nothing else worked, I had 2 very tiny glasses of soda.  While the headache didn't go away completely, I felt so much better!  And I still managed to get in the rest of my water for the day!

I have no illusions that I'll give up diet soda completely.  I enjoy it too much to say goodbye forever!  But I do want to cut back.  As mentioned above, I'm doing pretty good with that.  I'll have to do a photo comparison to show you the difference in the size glass I was drinking from prior to the challenge and what I'm using now!


Exercise:  

I wasn't planning on adding exercise to this first week.  I've mentioned in the past the obstacles, or shall we say EXCUSES, that prevent me from exercising.  It's really difficult to exercise with an almost 4-year-old under foot,  we don't have exercise equipment, and we lack a DVD player in the only room large enough to do any sort of work out.

Well, on Day 2 I was scrolling through the OnDemand menu through our cable provider and found myself checking out the Sports & Fitness section.  I saw a 10 minute beginners Walking Basics.  Kind of like Walk Away the Pounds.  I decided to shove my coffee table out of the way and do the 10 minute work out!  I'm embarrassed to say that for this couch potato, 10 minutes kicked my butt!  I was so ready to give up after the first few minutes, especially when my daughter started getting in the way.

On Day 3, I decided to do the same 10 minute workout adding 1 lb. weights to each hand!  So, while walking, marching, kicking and moving my arms I was carrying an extra 2-pounds!  Not much, but it's a start!

Day 4, I almost didn't work out at all.  On Tuesday, I hurt my shoulder and must have pulled a muscle.  It didn't actually hurt until two days later.  But no matter how I moved, it hurt.  Last thing I wanted to do was exercise.  But that decision was really making me feel down in the dumps and I really just felt like giving up on the entire thing.  At 10:30 pm, I ended up doing the 10 minute walking workout again.  This time without the weights, partly because of the pain in my shoulder and partly because I couldn't find them!


Food:

This week, I ate a lot of wraps.  I found it was easier for me to figure the calories for my wraps than if I cooked a big meal.  While I love the recipe builder program on My Fitness Pal, sometimes I run out of time get overwhelmed.  That's when I decide to give up.  Eventually, I'll have the time to cook and calculate the calories, but for now I just want to keep it as simple as possible!

I've also been eating a lot of hummus.  Both on my wraps and as a dip with baby carrots!  Mmm!  So good!

Don't get me wrong, while I'm enjoying the healthier options and the smaller portions of my favorite meals, I'm still craving a hamburger.

I'll probably post more about food as soon as I feel a little more in control of this whole weight loss thing!


Attitude:  

My attitude was so positive for the first three days.  I didn't mind weighing and measuring my food to determine calories for each item.

Day 4 was not so positive as I mentioned above.  I did not want to weigh and measure my food and was feeling resentful.  I wanted to eat whatever the heck I pleased and while I resisted, I'm still wanting a big, juicy burger!

Summer Sizzle Slimdown Challenge 2012

Today begins the Summer Sizzle Slimdown Challenge (2012) over at Does this Blog Make My Butt Look Fat?...isn't that a fun blog name?   Makes me smile every time I read it.  :) 

I'm sure you remember my few attempts (and failures) at weightloss challenges in the past, but I'm really hoping to do better this time.  I first heard about this challenge from my buddy Nicole over at Colie's Kitchen.  She did great with last summer's challenge!  I'm so proud of her!  Me, not so much.  I didn't even complete the challenge.  I let a busy schedule, depression/anxiety/OCD and a whole bunch of other excuses get in the way of my success. 

This time, I'm just going to take one day at a time.  If my "issues" get in the way for one day, so be it.  Instead of giving up for one ruined day, I'll just start over as soon as I can, rather than just quit until the next challenge rolls along.  I love knowing that Nicole is just and email away if I need her encouragement and support! 

I found out about the challenge last week and with a bunch of other things going on around here, I haven't given much thought to MY specific goals for this summer, aside from losing the weight, but I'm sure my goals aren't much different than my goals in the past. 

• I want to lose weight so I can be a healthy example for my daughter.  Not to mention keep up with her!  At 3, she is full of energy and super quick on her feet!  Chasing her around the house is tiring enough.  But chasing her around the yard or the park?  I just tire out too quickly!  Carrying a basket of laundry up the basement steps without becoming winded would be great, too! 

• I want to go shopping for new clothes and actually enjoy it!  I haven't bought anything new in a long time.  The clothes I have now are snug and worn, but I refuse to spend another penny on "fat" clothes. 

• I want to fit into my wedding band again.  I don't even remember the last time I wore it.  I think I was able to fit into it for a few weeks when I was pregnant with Grace.  And that was just because I had lost some weight due to morning sickness! 

During the challenge, I'll be eating less, eating healthier, counting calories, drinking more water, and exercising while trying to follow the guidelines of the challenge as well.  Some of them are pretty tough and I'm not sure they are a good fit for my family, but we'll see what happens when we get there! 

I will weigh-in once a week and report my results back here weekly.  I haven't determined what my weigh-in date will be each week, but this week, I will weigh-in tomorrow.  Because I honestly thought that was when the challenge started.  My mind has been in the clouds for the past several days. 

Once I weigh-in, I will better know what my calorie goals will be for each day.  As for exercise, anything more than I am doing now will be a great start!  I'm going to start slow and strive for 15 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week.  I'm extremely out of shape and I'm not sure I can handle much more than that to start! 

Over 40 Bloggers!

I'm so excited!  I joined a new group this weekend called Over 40 Bloggers!  I get to have my blog listed along with a bunch of other great bloggers over the age of 40 (that I hope to "meet" real soon) and I get to put this great button on my sidebar!



 
Isn't it fun?  It reminds me of those "Mom and Dad went to Jamaica and all I got was this shirt" t-shirts!  But instead, it should be: 

I turned 40 and all I got was this shirt! 

 haha! 

But really, I can't wait to visit all of the great bloggers in new group.  It may take me a while to get to each and every one of you since most of my days are spent chasing after my two-year-old! 

Java, thanks so much for including me in the Over 40 Bloggers group! 

If you want to join, visit Java over at Never Growing Old.

Knowing Me, Knowing You ~ May, 2011

I was just over reading a few recent posts over at The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom and saw that she participated in a fun getting-to-know-you type blog hop over at Tales From the Fairy Blogmother.  I love these types of hops.  It's fun to post about something a little different than my normal topics and these types of hops make it super-easy since the host thinks of the questions (topics)!  Perfect for those writer's block sort of days! 

I almost didn't make it in time for this month's Knowing Me, Knowing You! 

Here are the questions for May: 

1.  What was your wedding song? 

• We didn't have a traditional ceremony or reception.  We were married on the beach with just about 30 guests (10 of them being children), so we decided to skip the whole first dance tradition.  Instead, I walked down the aisle to "She" by Elvis Costello and once the ceremony was over, the song playing was "At Last" by Etta James.  We chose "At Last" as a way to poke fun at ourselves since we were together for a ridiculously long period of time before getting married! 

2.  If you could guest star on any TV show which would you pick? 

• Hmmm.  That's a tough one.  I am really shy.  I do not like to draw attention to myself.  At all.  See above where I mention our tiny wedding with only 30 guests?  That was mainly because I didn't want to get married in front of 100+ people even though most of those people are family and friends.  So, all of that said, I'd probably pick Grey's Anatomy as long as I could just lie there and not say a word....like in surgery or something.  Just so I could be close enough to McDreamy (but not have to say anything)! 

3.  What is your favorite children's book? 

• When I was a kid, my favorite book was Charlotte's Web.  I remember sitting in a circle in class while the teacher read it to us.  Now, my favorite children's book is Goodnight, Gorilla.  Joe's niece bought it for Grace when she was a month old.  It was one of the first books that we introduced to her and although she refuses to allow us to read to her, she loves looking at the pictures (she studies each page) and giggles at that book every time! 

4.  Did you watch the Royal Wedding? 

• No, I didn't!  I wanted to watch it.  I really wanted to.  But I was so busy in the days that led up to the wedding, that I just didn't have the energy to get up earlier to watch it.  We don't have TIVO or DVR yet, so recording it wasn't an option.  Maybe Prince Harry will get married soon and I'll make sure to watch it then!  I wonder how Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will top those crazy hats! 

5.  What's your favorite thing to have off the barbecue? 

• A salmon filet rubbed with some barbecue seasoning and then grilled....Mmmmm!  I can't wait to make a Costco run to pick up a big pack of salmon filets.  We usually get 4 or more meals from one pack of salmon! 

So, there you have it!  A little bit about myself!  I'd love to learn more about you!  Join me over at Tales From the Fairy Blogmother for Knowing Me, Knowing You.  Or, if you prefer, leave your answers here in the comments!  Hopefully, I'll get my answers for June posted sooner! 

Meet Me On Monday ~ May 16th

The house is quiet, aside from the thunderstorm that's rumbling outside, so I decided to participate in Meet Me On Monday, hosted by Java at Never Grow Old.  It's a fun way to learn more about our bloggy friends and meet new friends at the same time!

Here are the questions that Java asks us this week: 

1. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
2. What is your favorite color Rose?
3. Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home?
4. What is your favorite season?
5. Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging?

Now, here are my answers: 

1.  Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter? 

I prefer crunchy peanut butter, but I usually stick to creamy.  More specifically, I like to buy Peter Pan's Whipped Peanut Butter.  More air, less calories!  LOL! 


2.  What is your favorite color Rose? 

After working in the floral industry for 15+ years, I've seen so many beautiful varieties of flowers and roses.  Since my wedding bouquet was made up of lavendar roses and lisianthus, there's a special spot in my heart for lavendar roses.  Yellow roses have always been one of my favorites as well! 


3.  Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home? 

I had to laugh when I read that question.  My shoes are usually off before the truck is parked in the driveway!  Since breaking my leg and ankle 8 years ago, I've had trouble finding comfortable shoes.  So, I usually take my shoes off while I'm in the car on the way home from running errands! 


4.  What is your favorite season? 

Since my late teens, Autumn was always my favorite season.  I love the crisp, cool weather.  Wearing sweaters, pumpkin picking and jumping into piles of leaves.  Now, it's a toss up between Autumn and Summer.  While, I hate the heat of the summer, I enjoy the fun days outside playing with Grace during the summer months! 


5.  Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging? 

Yikes!  That's a tough one.  I am having a lot of trouble with time management lately.  Working on a few projects around the house has caused me to fall behind on blogging.  Ultimately, I'd like to devote a minimun of 2 hours a day to blogging (writing, reading, commenting, promoting, networking).  I'd love to hear your tips on how you manage to fit blogging into your daily routine. 


 
 
 

Meet Me On Monday

While trying to come up with a little blurb for my About Me section of my sidebar, I discovered that I have a difficult time talking about MYSELF!  Sure, I blog about daily stuff that goes on around here, but that's not the same as talking about ME. 

Over at Never Growing Old, Java hosts Meet Me On Monday.  It's a great blog hop where she invites us to share a little bit about ourselves each week by answering a few questions.  It sounds like fun, so I thought I'd join in this week!  You can join in too, just click the Meet Me On Monday logo to take you to this week's questions. 




Here's what Java asks us this week: 

1.  What is your favorite kind of pie? 

• Pie is usually the last thing I would choose for dessert.  I usually prefer cakes or cookies.  A few years ago, I tried Pecan Pie and it was love at first bite!  MMmmm! 

2.  Have you ever run out of gas in the car you were driving?

• Right now, I'm not driving (long story), but when I was driving, running out of gas was something that terrified me.  I never let the truck get below a 1/4 tank and I got gas on my way to work 2 times a week, just to make sure it was always close to being full. 

3.  How many languages do you speak? 

• Just one.  Having friends with parents that spoke other languages, I've picked up a word or two here and there, but not enough to even speak a full sentence.  Unless you consider Old Man No Pants a sentence (in polish)! 

4.  Do you take daily vitamins? 

• No, but I should.  I really, really should. 

5.  What is your worst eating habit? 

• Worst eating habit?  Hmmm.  I have a few!  I am a junk food junkie that eats too much, too fast!   (I really need to start counting my points on Weight Watchers again!). 

So, there you have it!  All you ever wanted to know about ME!  LOL! 

Have a great Monday!