Making the most of it….

I guess that waking up at 3 am would be a fitting time to type out a post.  I have been wanting to post for many weeks now but something very pressing (like a nap) seems to get in the way of that.  Just as I thought I was settling into our new house, getting back into my routine & feeling normal again, every thing changed again when school let out.  The summer started lovely and then one week into it Aidan got swimmer’s ear. Being woken up at 1 am to my extremely easy going 6 yr. old screaming is quite alarming and I was traumatized for days.

…..While it’s been a lovely lazy summer, I have reached the point where I am counting the days till school starts.  One month my dears, ONE MONTH!  I am determined to make the most of it and not go completely insane.

Anyway…..what’s one to do when they wake up at 3 am?

1) Make tea

2) Buy some new tunes for that 6 am run you planned but now aren’t so sure about….

#Beautiful – Mariah

Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore

Closer – Shawn McDonald

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark – Fall Out Boy

Royals – Lorde

Sweetly Broken – Jeremy Riddle

Trouble – Travis Tritt

Undertoe – Sara Bareilles

3) write a short and sweet blog post in an attempt to remember how to do it……

It’s best just to not fight it and get productive…..

….and the saga continues

Friday night we got an email saying “HOA Guy” was interested in making an offer.  We haven’t heard anything else from him.  “Late Low ballers” countered OUR counter with 2,000 less than our counter AND they want our fridge.  We had 4 showings Saturday and have one tonight at 5:30.  I am over it ya’ll.  That’s all I got to say about that.

P90 is going much better this week.  Jeremy and I did Kenpo X (I kept calling it Kempo…until I saw the DVD ) on Saturday morning.  I loved it!  It was so much fun!!!  I can’t wait to do it again.  I don’t think Jer feels the same…Yesterday was my second chest and back workout and I did much better this time.  My chest is still tight, my gluteus maximus is still pretty sore but over all I am feeling much better.  This morning I decided to do Plyo first thing before I ate breakfast.  Saturday I did Kenpo first thing and felt so much lighter and had more energy.  So I thought I would try PLYO on an empty tummy.  “They” say that cardio on an empty tummy burns more fat too so….that’s a plus.  It was MUCH easier today.  I didn’t peter out in the end.  I was able to complete most of the exercises, got super sweaty and burned about 100 more calories this week! 

My friend posted this on her Facebook today and I can’t stop laughing at it!

I am so in-love with this program.  Even though I am borrowing it right now, I am planning on buying one for myself.  I think it will be a great tool to use when I am training and counseling.  When your 11 year old says, “Mommy!  Look at your arms!”  “Let me see your abs…..MAN!”, you know the program is legit.

We were so busy this weekend & I wasn’t able to get all my food in but tried my best to stick to the plan.

Friday night I made some ground chicken with homemade taco seasoning.  I served it over 2 cups of spinach and 1 1/2 corn tortilla.

Saturday after Kenpo I made my protein shake, showered and then had to leave because of a showing, so I grabbed a protein bar.  This was DELICIOUS!!!!!  Love it.

Clif Builders Bar

I read that these are a good substitute for the P90X performance bars so I grabbed a couple to try.  Impressed!

Saturday afternoon I took L for a B&N/Ice Cream date.  We hung out looking at books & drinking coffee (don’t freak out…decaf/fat-free/white mocha for him) like hipsters for a few hours before heading to Braum’s for the best ice cream in the world.

He got Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I got Pineapple Almond fro-yo.  Probably the best thing ever……

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Aidan is my little workout buddy.  He hangs in there like a boss most of the time! Yesterday he was lifting this 15lb weight up over his head, making me super nervous!  He also did 40 “push-ups”.  More like 1-2-3-4-567891011123940!  Watch out Arnold!  I have a secret dream that he will be my actual workout/running buddy when he is grown up!

Today after PLYO I made my protein shake.

Later I had a snack of 1.5 oz. avocado, 1 cup cucumbers/carrots, 2 light cheese sticks and my daily vitamins.

about 30 min later……

A Luna protein bar.  YUMS

I am sort of off on my eating schedule today since I didn’t eat breakfast but I am sure I will make up for it later!!!

I have to get going so I can get the house “show ready” *eyeroll*.  I should be thankful for lots of traffic, but look, I am not.  I just want the Lowballers to accept that we aren’t going accept anything less than what we countered with!

On the bright side….I had a game changing conversation with Aidan’s preschool teacher on Sunday.  It was definitely a God thing that we ran into each other and had some time to talk.  What we talked about is possibly why we haven’t accepted an offer yet.

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Speaking of church….As I sat in the service a young lady and her little baby girl (~3 months?) sat a few aisles over and in front of me.  I kept looking at that sweet baby and thinking how beautiful it was to see a young woman holding her little baby.  My womb ached a little.  Then I went to volunteer in the nursery.  I held a crying baby for two hours and changed a poopie diaper….ache no more my friends, this kitchen is closed!!!!

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THE phone call

Last night as I was sitting down to write about Day 3 of P90, we got a phone call.  THE phone call…..a legit offer from the “Late Lowballers”.  One day last week I had an appointment for a 1:15 showing that didn’t show up until 2:20.  I had already returned home and was about to eat a very late lunch when they finally showed up.  They were the ones who sent our realtor two VERY lowball offers. So hence the term of endearment. But they have finally offered something we are going to work with!  Hopefully they take it because it is the bare minimum we can take and have enough to put toward our new home without having to dip into our nest egg!

It’s so surreal to think that what we have been waiting for all this time has finally come.  It’s very anti-climactic.  I think because I had it all played out in my head a different way.  I completely dismissed these people and was thinking that any day now we will have a surprise offer from one of the many that have said our home is their favorite but are still looking.  I have/had this theory that we would get a call from our realtor saying “Ok guys….got 5 offers on my desk!”  Everyone realizing that yes our house is the prettiest!!!  A girl can dream & it’s a fantasy that has gotten me through 111 long.arduous.days…..

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DAY 3

Jeremy and I rarely take anything like Advil or Aleve unless it is absolutely necessary.  Yesterday was one of those days.  Jeremy could barely walk because his hip flexors were so sore.  I could barely move anything.  It is a whole new level of muscle soreness.  I decided that in order to make it through this first week, it would be a smart move to take something for the soreness.  We both took one Advil in the morning and then took two last night before bed.  We are both still sore this morning, but not anywhere close to what we were yesterday.  I am so happy that today is yoga day.

Teaching Aidan how to foam roll!  He kept calling it a “Foam Ruler”  Silly Billy!

Day 3 was Shoulders, Arms and that blasted Ab Ripper X.  I am happy to report that I was able to do more of it this time.  Not a lot more, I sat out one whole exercise because it was physically impossible to do what he was asking me to do.  I did try though,  that counts right?  One of the things I like about this program is that I can’t get through it all.  It’s challenging.  I am looking forward to seeing my progress and at the end saying “I remember when I couldn’t do ONE of those, now I can do the entire routine!”  I liked the Shoulders and Arms workout.  Dare I say it was easy?  Ok, “easy” would be a relative term.  I would say it was the least difficult of the DVDs thus far.

There are a few things I am noticing physically.  First, my arms and legs are a little swollen and it’s making me feel fat.  Not a good thing for my head.  I just have to remember that it’s just swelling and it will go away.  Second, I have gained a pound….yes it’s just one pound but as a former fat girl….it messes with me.  Third, I am hungry.  The first two days I was not.  I struggled to get all my food in.  But yesterday I had NO problem!  I even had an extra “treat” of some almond butter before bed because my stomach was growling.  It was an extra treat but I don’t drink the recovery drink so I was still within my calorie allowance.  And lastly, I am already noticing muscle definition in my biceps and my stomach.  Hey, THERE is the silver lining!!!

Here are my eats and treats from yesterday….

Breakfast

4 slices turkey bacon and I made steel-cut oats instead of rolled oats.  This bowl was 1/4 cup oats, 1 1/2 cups water, Ideal, vanilla and cinnamon. Cooked on low for 30 min.

Post Workout Smoothie: same as yesterday…. except I used fat free milk because I ran out of almond milk.

Lunch

2 cups spinach and arugula mix with tuna salad.  1 can tuna, 1 tbsp. light mayo, mustard, salt & pepper.

Then my afternoon snacks…

Cucumbers, carrots, 2 light cheese sticks, and a Zone Bar.

Dinner

Dinner was really yummy.  ~ 2 oz avocado mashed up with some Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning, 1/4 cup brown rice and 2 Vegan Boca Burgers.

TREAT

My fruit bar treat and then later a tablespoon of almond butter before bed.

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Here’s to praying I don’t hurt something else doing 1.5 hrs of yoga on steroids!!!!

I need this A.S.A.P

blogilates.com

P90X Day One

Over the weekend Jeremy and I got prepped for P90X.  If we expect to get the kind of results we see on T.V., we have to follow the plan….all of it.  I have said before and many others have too, your body is 80% diet, 10% exercise, and 10% just bein’ happy with what ya momma gave ya!

On Saturday morning we went through the nutrition guide and figured out a menu that would work for each of us and then we compiled a grocery list.  I was able to find a lot of resources on line with approved foods lists.  I found one on Mixed Fitness that made sense to me and printed it out.  I highlighted foods we would eat and we compiled our menus from there.  Jeremy had a bit harder time because 4-5 days a week he is limited to the times he can eat.  But he figured it out and is adjusting it daily.

Our main goal is to do our best…..and yes, forget the rest!  Hardy Har Har.

The plan calls for a P90X recovery drink and a protein bar.  Jeremy is using a recovery drink that he already uses and I am having a protein shake after my workouts as well as BCAA tabs I had left over from when I attempted Jamie Eason’s LiveFit.  Instead of the P90X protein bars (way $$$$) we are eating Zone Perfect bars.  They aren’t ideal, but it is one compromise we are making because the good protein bars are very expensive and the cheap ones have tons of sugar alcohols which cause major gastrointestinal distress and also have a lot of nasty ingredients.

Monday morning I took all of my measurements, my official beginning weight and my before pictures, then I had some breakfast.  It was later than I should have eaten it and that ended up throwing my eating schedule off the rest of the day.

For breakfast I had 4 slices turkey bacon, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats with 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp. Ideal brown sugar blend and cinnamon.

After my first P90X workout…..YIKES!…..more on that in a minute….I blended up 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 1 cup almond milk and some ice then took my BCAA tabs.  A little while later I had my Zone Perfect Bar.

Because I was late eating breakfast, my post workout meal was around noon so I wasn’t hungry again until after 3pm.  I ended up eating what I had planned for lunch then.

1 can tuna in water with 1 tbsp. light mayo and a squeeze of mustard, 2 cups of spinach with 1 tbsp. pomegranate vinaigrette.

A few hours later for a snack I had 1/2 cup cucumbers, 1/2 cup carrots and two light cheese sticks.

This was supposed to be my morning snack.

Then around what should have been dinner, I had what was supposed to be my afternoon snack.  It made so much!!!  I slowly ate all of it over the course of an hour!

1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 cup almond milk, ice, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup mixed berries.

I didn’t get to my last serving of protein, my fat, or the last of my carbs.  I did have 1 tbsp. of almond butter before bed as my “treat” 

Workout

The first workout was hard in a way I have never felt hard before…..TWSS….It was chest and back day and even though it was basically pull-ups and push-ups….. wow….it was challenging.  I busted out 34 knee push-ups the first round and by the end I was able to barely do three.  That was with me really struggling to get my butt up.  My arms were so fatigued that I couldn’t even fix my hair back into a ponytail.  By the end of the day I could hardly brush my teeth and this morning….I couldn’t even reach up to give my sweet Jeremy and hug.

The first day calls for the Ab RipperX.  OMG…..It is very much a Pilates workout.  I had a very hard time with this.  I was able to get through the first two exercises, but after that I was doing maybe 10 of the next ones before I had to stop.  My arms and legs were wrecked!  I have never done some of the exercises and even though they hurt like you know where, I could tell that THIS is what is going to get my tummy back where it belongs.

When Jeremy got home I took all of his measurements and before pictures.  That was really fun for me!  I felt like I was his trainer!

I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the day and crashed pretty much immediately!

P90X, I may be in-love with you.

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The Bully serves the Bullied

On one hand, given my past, it is making me very uncomfortable to have my appetite absolutely out of control the past few days. On the other hand, I know I need to put back on a few of the pounds I have lost over the last several weeks.  The rational side of me knows that my body is like “Ummmm hello?  Can we please eat now?”  But the former fat girl in me is completely freaking out.

Yesterday I felt like my appetite was returning back to normal.  Interested in food again but not constantly hungry.  That was until about 3:30.  At first I had a little snack

Then a little bigger snack.

This time I measured everything out so I wouldn’t over snack again and ruin dinner.

After this snack failed to satisfy me, I gave up.  On the bright side, the tortilla chips and hummus are gone and I wasn’t hungry anymore! 

This morning I feel like my appetite is a little more normal.  I struggled to finish my oats,

but I knew I needed to finish them so I wouldn’t be hungry an hour later.  I also wanted to be sure to get a good breakfast in because I am going to get out and enjoy this beautiful sunshine and “warmth” (only 40 degrees!) on a run.  I am planning on trying to increase my distance a little.  My legs and tush are super sore from Shred-It yesterday, so I am going to say it was a good workout, just light on the cardio.

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I have to share something that has been a such a huge help in our home recently.  As a mother of boys I have no shortage of carnage around here and apparently this is not uncommon.  I have found a site that has been such a source of comfort and encouragement for me. It has made me see that I am not alone in this work of raising boys.

The MOB Society

As a woman, I struggle to understand boys.  I don’t get the loud noises, the rough play, the fascination with Legos and video games.  The aversion to good personal hygiene.  The expression of affection by passing gas on each other, hitting & wrestling.  I can nurture them like a beast but when it comes to really understanding them…..not so much.  I feel so blessed to have two amazing boys who are really really wonderful.  They are smart, healthy and don’t have any behavior issues what-so-ever.

I refuse to accept the notion that “boys will be boys”.  No, I am raising my boys to be gentlemen, respectful men of God, ones who open doors and pay for dinner, ones who bring flowers for no reason, ones who are chivalrous, have manners, ones who will respect women and love them for the amazing creatures they are, ones who respect others, are kind and gentle in their ways, ones who put other’s needs before their own.

One of the issues we have is that the older brother likes to bully the younger brother.  It has been going on for what seems like forever & I have zero tolerance for it.  I can not stand rude & condescending comments.  Even though Aidan is just 5, I do not want him growing up feeling “less than”.  As parents we use our words to build up our children.  They get so much negativity thrown at them from the world.  We have the responsibility to do damage control and make sure they know how important they are regardless of what the world says.  So, I don’t need additional help from within! We have tried talking, reasoning, punishing, guilt,  none of it has worked.  It all came to a boiling point this last weekend.

Two weeks ago Aidan got a donut he didn’t like and threw it away.  Luke saved his so that he could have it for breakfast the next morning.  While Luke was eating his donut, he was adamant about being sure Aidan knew how much he was enjoying it.

“Hey Aidan, look, I’m eating my donut.”

Aidan really didn’t care.

“Mmmmmm this donut sure is good! Aidan…..MY donut is good!”

That pushed the “Crazy Mommy Button”.  After a looooooong lecture I had a brilliant idea!

“Luke, because of that rude behavior, you now get to SHARE your delicious donut with your little brother.”

Needless to say someone was not happy. <—–understatement.

I explained that a nice person would have had this thought pattern.

“I feel sad that Aidan got a crummy donut yesterday, I think I will share mine.”

The Bully Serves the Bullied

Last week I saw on the MOB Facebook page that bullying among brothers is not uncommon.  The way a lot of mothers handle it is by implementing a rule called “The Bully Serves the Bullied.”

Knowing how well the donut situation worked, I decided to try it in other areas.

Last Sunday Luke made fun of Aidan over a mistake he made on a video game that caused him to set his house on fire.

“You SET your house on FIRE!!! HAHAHAHAHA”

The next thing I knew Aidan was on top of Luke punching him, screaming and in tears!

I am laughing hysterically about it now but it was quite alarming to see my sweet and gentle Aidan completely flipping out!  Jeremy was having to hold him back from beating the mess out of Luke.  Aidan didn’t get in trouble because as I told Luke,

“It serves you right.  What do you expect from him?  You push him and push him and push him…..it was inevitable that one day he would push back.”

Now don’t get me wrong, we did talk to Aidan about hitting and controlling our anger but seriously…..the kid puts up with a lot….A LOT  from his older brother.

So…..since the “incident” Luke has had to tickle Aidan’s back twice, read him a book and pick out his clothes.  It has been difficult to get Luke to take it seriously and I have even had to take his iTouch away but I am seeing how it is going to make a difference.  He is learning and being humbled a little more each time he has been rude or disrespectful.   I am loving this new form of “discipline”.  Everyone wins!   Maybe one day he will quit picking on his baby brother all together.   One can only hope.

Just Put On Your Shoes & Go

I was a bottomless pit this morning!  I started out eating a couple handfuls of almonds while making the boys’ lunches.  I didn’t have time to make and eat my oatmeal before I had to get them to school so I thought I would eat those to tie me over.

When I got back I didn’t even take my shoes or coat off before making a bee-line for the kitchen to prep my oats.

My usual oats with almond butter, Ideal brown sugar blend, chia seeds & cinnamon.  Even all that wasn’t enough.  I had more almonds and then about an hour later I had one of my homemade Larabars.  Finally, I was full and didn’t get hungry again until after 1 pm. I had planned on making a green smoothie for lunch but……

I had just gotten out of the shower and was about to dry my hair when I got a call for a showing at 2pm.  I almost declined it but knew I had plenty of time so I finished drying my hair, picked up the house quickly and drove down the street. Come to find out,  it was a second showing from one we had back in November.  I knew the agent’s  name was familiar.  Glad I didn’t decline!  Thankfully they were right on time and I was able to go back home at 2:15.

This evening we found ourselves in the car again waiting out two back to back showings.  I am not sure when this happened but I feel like I have finally let it go.  Really let it go.  This whole routine we do, getting the house ready, driving down the street, waiting it out, feels very, well, routine.  We’ve been doing it for so long that it’s just a part of our life now.  Almost like our home is some sort of local attraction.  I suppose it’s my mind’s way of coping.

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This morning after my feast had settled I decided it was time for my run.  I checked the weather and saw this……

Oh dear…..that’s cold.

I stalled and stalled.  I tried to weasel out of it by telling myself I’d go when Jeremy got home.  I folded some laundry.  I kept thinking I would do a video but running is so much better for my headspace.

The annoying little voice in my head kept saying,

“Just put on your shoes and go.”

Over and Over.

So I did.  I also put on a head warmer, gloves and a jacket.  You know what?  It wasn’t all that bad!

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And I felt so much better after.

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I didn’t get to eat until after the boys got home and by then I was ravenous again so I snacked and snacked while I was making this for dinner…..

Easy Parmesan Chicken

I over snacked on chips, salsa & hummus again…..so I wasn’t hungry by the time it was ready The boys loved it though!  Maybe I will have it tomorrow for lunch!

Tomorrow my goal is not only to eat better, but to eat something GREEN!

RunKeeper

There are two things in my life that made my day that much better.

The RunKeeper App on my iPhone keeping track of my run today,via

and this waiting for me when I got back.

He says he was just out front smoking a cigar but secretly I know he was timing me and watching for me to pass by at the end of our street on my route back.  Ya know being married to a cop really sucks sometimes.  Long hours, the worry and other things that only other cop wives understand.  He HATES when I go jog in the park or the even the neighborhood.  He is always saying he would LOVE for me to have one of these as my running partner and his “30”

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Someday.

He…hates when I am out after dark…..hates me being alone so much.  I don’t understand a lot of it….the why’s of all of it and honestly I don’t want to…..but I trust him, he is my protector….and I love that.

So…..would you like some wine with your CHEESE?!?!?!  Haha! ….back to the RunKeeper.  Ok…..I am in-love.

It completely speaks for itself.  I love that every 5 min the voice would come on and tell me EVERYTHING!  My time, distance, pace.  I don’t know how I ever ran without it! I can’t wait to take it to the park!  On another screen it showed my exact route.  It is so accurate that it showed when I left the side walk and was running in the road.  Loves, loves, loves!

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For breakfast this morning I had another bowl of oatmeal.  Pretty much the same as yesterday.

• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp. Mara Natha almond butter
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. Ideal brown sugar blend
• several shakes of cinnamon

After breakfast and cleaning the “daily disaster” we went grocery shopping.  I knew I wanted to get my run in as soon as we got back but I was also about to chew my arm off! So I picked this up and ate it on the way home.  It was the perfect pre-run snack today!

Odwalla Blueberry Swirl Bar

VERY YUMMY!

A while after my run (I am not usually hungry afterwards) I had two servings of almonds, a serving of cheese and an apple.

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I am excited about this weekend!  Everyone is home, Jeremy is off on Sunday & I am volunteering in the nursery!  I REALLY need my baby fix!

The boys are out picking up their “Friday Night Pizza” and I am off to find something delicious and healthy for myself!

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emphasis on the bra part!

Darkest before the dawn

I had planned on doing another Dr. Oz 3 day detox cleanse after Christmas because it made me feel so great when I was done and I wanted to get the new year started right.  Well, then we got visited by the stomach bug and even though I didn’t get it, I was terrified I would and lost my appetite for a little over a week.  Not eating anything but crackers, bananas, and oatmeal for a week messed up my body.  When I got my appetite back all I wanted to eat, all that sounded good, were carbs and more carbs since that’s what I had been eating for a week.  Honestly, I allowed myself to eat whatever I was craving because, I had gotten down to 110lbs.  <—— not cute.  I haven’t been able to/wanted to work out since the boys have been home so that, coupled with the craptastic diet I have been eating has REALLY been affecting me.  I have been feeling a little edgy lately but I felt like I would start feeling better soon since things have been getting back to normal.  The boys will go back to school on Tuesday, we were supposed to be getting some good news yesterday <—– more on that later…everything was beginning to look bright again.

Then…..

Today in the middle of church I had a panic attack.  I had to get up and leave.  If you have ever had a panic attack you know the feeling of fight or flight.  I felt like I was in some sort of danger and needed to run for my life!   It’s really to most ODD sensation.  I hate it.  I was supposed to volunteer in Aidan’s class this morning but I had to get out of there.  It wasn’t until I got home that I started to calm down and realize what had just happened.  It hadn’t happened in so long, I forgot what it was.

That was a wake up call for me.  I have to get back on track with my normal healthy eating and exercise.  It is essentially vital for me.  If I want to finish this race, this time of trial and patience, I have to, have to, have to be on my A- Game.  The devil is prowling, just waiting for a weak moment to attack me.  This morning was one of them.  It had been a stressful morning as usual on top of everything else…….So…..I am doing the Dr. Oz 3 day cleanse again Mon/Tue/Wed to help get me back on track.

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Today’s panic attack was no doubt also a product of the two anxiety ridden days before.

Friday we got word that a buyer was “VERY INTERESTED” in our house and had asked for a seller’s disclosure.  The statement from the buyer’s agent was “The earliest we can expect a write up would be Saturday.”  SAY WHAT?!?!  Praise God….Halleluiah!  On Saturday we had two showings.  One was a new person who came 15 min early. Thankfully was had JUST left and were driving down the street to see them drive up to the house, get out of the car, walk up to the door, walk back to the car and leave.  ?????   Who knows…Well anyway, the second showing right after that was with the buyers who were “very interested”.  Ok, first of all, I was disappointed that instead of an offer from them, we had a second showing.  We never heard anything from them that day and we STILL have yet to hear anything.  Just the constant expectation that at any moment now,  we could have all of our prayers answered is incredibly nerve wracking…..<—understatement.

Meanwhile…..our “could be dream home” is sitting out there, free game, and I just feel like at any moment now I will get a notification…..PENDING.  I seriously need a valium right now.  But you know what?  Deep….WAY WAAAAAAY down deep, I know everything will work out perfectly and that takes the edge off, a little…..

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Even though today was no bueno, SATURDAY was quite lovely….minus being on the edge of insanity waiting for the good news we were teased with.

I went to Target (happy place) to let the boys pick out some toys with their Christmas gift cards.  I found a GREAT deal on some Starbucks coffee! It was the Christmas blend for 70% off!  Holla!

I started the day off on the right note with some oatmeal, my vitamins and a big cup of water.

Before we left I had a quick lunch because I was running out of time before our first showing.

The banana was good but the bar…..not so much.  “Gross” pretty much would describe it.  I didn’t take a look at the list of chemicals on the back when I bought it…..so that was unpleasant to see AFTER I had choked it down…..”Man that was not good at all…” Turns over the wrapper…..sees list of 50 impossible to pronounce words….files it under “What was I thinking?”

When I got home that afternoon I was ravenous & I ate some almonds, some turkey, a cheese stick, some Fritos with hummus, after that I lost track…..by the end of the night I had a stomach ache from all the leftover Christmas candy I ate out of sheer stress and anxiety…..Not proud of that one bit….but….it is what it is.  Hence the detox starting tomorrow….

We are ending the day with Aidan running a 102 fever…..I am ready for this to be over, on the real!!….

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Returning to normal

Things seem to be returning to normal…. FINALLY!  After Luke getting a touch of the stomach bug and Jeremy coming down with some sort of nasty sinus thing….we are feeling better around here.  I am not going to lie and say I am just thankful we are all better, it could have been worse.  No, it freaking sucked.  We are not sickly people, we are never ever sick and we don’t do sick well.  That being said, I AM glad we are all better.  The sun even shined today and I wasn’t frozen to the core all day.  I am not a fan of the cold weather.  Not at all.  I would much rather it be 110.  Call me crazy…..when I was obese, I enjoyed the cold.  I would open windows when it was 45 degrees out, the colder the better.  Those days are long gone.   The sunshine was much needed today.

So I have gotten my appetite back somewhat, but when I do eat it’s some random thing at some random time.  The other morning I did make a bowl of oatmeal and didn’t get hungry again until later that afternoon.  I have been CRAVING fat & salt.  I can’t get enough peanut butter, almonds and peanuts.  I was craving chips and queso for days.  So, I hope to eat a little more regularly now and keep my goal of no more sugar.  I hate that I have started the New Year on such a crummy note.  But on the bright side, it can only get better!  I am looking forward to returning to my regular workouts next week when the boys finally go back to school!

Ah….oats, my trust old friends.

Being stuck at home for almost a week and a half, a crummy Christmas, no news on the house, everyone sick, not eating right or working out, and the dreary weather was starting to take it’s toll on me emotionally and mentally.  With a suggestion from my sweet Jeremy,  I took a Mommy’s Day Out on Wednesday. It was glorious!!!!!  First stop was the outlet mall.  I found a great deal on some new running shoes from Nike and an outfit from J Crew! Then I hit up my faves…..Marshall’s and Target.  There I found several other things that made me happy.  Shopping = Therapy.  I ended it with a mani/pedi which unfortunately I did not enjoy because she used some sort of lotion that got cold and I was sitting there literally shaking.  I am not sure she was too concerned because she kept laughing.  Brat.

Yesterday I did some serious grocery shopping since I hadn’t been since I went shopping for Christmas dinner!  Well, minus the trips for crackers and Gatorade.

TODAY…..Luke and I broke out of the sick house again and went on a date.  I had intended on taking both boys to a movie yesterday but Aidan reminded me he doesn’t like the movies because “It’s toooooo loud in there”.  Silly boy.  It’s true though, he isn’t a fan of the movies.  I think the theater we go to turns the sound up extra loud.  Why?

First we went to a matinee showing of Rise of the Guardians.

Rise of the Guardians

It was SO GOOD!  I loved it!

Then we fed my craving for chips and queso.

On The Border

We shared a bowl of queso and the lunch portion of the chicken fajitas.  It was perfect!

There was a Cold Stone Creamery right across the street AND I had a coupon!  I thought that was the perfect ending to our date.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!

I got the “like it” size of sweet cream with snickers mixed in.

L got the “like it”size of chocolate cake batter with Butterfinger mixed in.

His was way better than mine.

We weren’t ready to go home just yet, so I drove him by a few houses that we are looking at, to see what he thought.  Then later while we were having a showing on our house, ALL of us went to look at the houses……We spoke with our realtor today and we just might be getting some good news tomorrow.  I am trying to not get too excited because this has happened before but this time seems to be different…so pray a little prayer for us!  I may or may not have had another complete and total come apart small emotional breakdown Wednesday night…..  I am SO ready to move on with my life!

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READ THIS!  SO good…..trust me it will happen to you.  You should be prepared.

How to be nice to food pushers – Fit Bottomed Girls

Updated

Hey!  Just a quick note to say I updated my “Sites I Love” page with some new ones!  I hope they will be helpful!