Wednesday!

Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Only 2 more work days until the weekend-YIPPEE! Yesterday when I got home, I found a box waiting for me-LOVE it when that happens! I have a wishlist on Amazon-it has a bunch of stuff that I would like to have-pretty random stuff. Well, my husband was ordering a book so he asked if there was anything I wanted. I picked a couple of books I've been wanting to read:

"Skinny Bitch" was a gift box with both of the above books in a box. Bitch in a box-can't get much better than that, right?! I've heard rave reviews about this book and it definitely lived up to the hype. I read it in about 2 hours last night! I was seriously laughing out loud while I read it. It was a bit "crude", but totally hilarious! And it has some real valid points. The authors are vegan, so they expose a lot of unknown atrocities in regards to food manufacturing & slaughterhouses. This book is graphic-there was part of one chapter that I just couldn't read. The torture is just inhumane and it will definitely make you think the next time you eat, as they put it, a carcass. What I really enjoyed about the book is that it brings you back to the basics. It's all about making the right choices. You can still have your cake, just make it with "good for you" ingredients. And like I said yesterday, it's true that it may be more expensive to buy stevia instead of white sugar, but I wouldn't have batted a lash at paying $4.00 for a bag of cookies so really it all evens out. We only have one body-so I am going to take care of mine. Now I'm not saying that I'm going all vegan today, but I am going to take baby steps to create a healthier me! The first step I took this morning was to stop using Splenda. Since we started the South Beach diet, we have used Splenda to sweeten our coffee and we have consumed some sugar-free products such as pudding cups and ice cream bars. Those are gone. Splenda, along with all other fake sweeteners are BAD BAD BAD. There are so many alternatives, most of which I've never heard of. Agave nectar & syrup, Stevia, and multiple other NATURAL sweeteners-these are actually good for you! Anyway, off my soapbox for now, but I am so glad I read this book and would highly recommend it. There is also a website...

http://www.skinnybitch.net/

One more step I took this morning was to order the "Vegetarian starter kit" from http://www.goveg.com/. This kit was recommended in the book. It's worth a read in my opinion.

"Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" is a vegan cookbook. It has TONS of really great recipes including what I know will be my favorite-Bitchin' Brownies!! YUM! I plan on making them by the weekend, so I'll post a review of them.

The other book I got was "Intuitive Eating". I've heard lots of good reviews about this book as well. I will start reading it tonight and will post a review.

Today is Maya & Suri's 18 month check-up. I can't believe they are 18 months old already. They will have immunizations-poor babies. I always dread that. But, the good news it that they will each get a new book! We have this fabulous program in Maine. Read all about it here...

http://www.raisingreaders.net/

I guess that is about it for today!

Happy Monday!

Today is Monday and I was really dreading the weigh-in. I haven't been so structured and organized in regards to meals this past week and we decided to have a "cheat meal" Saturday (chinese food-boy, was it ever good!). But, imagine how happy I was to get on the scale and discover I had lost 2.2 pounds!! This brings my total weight loss to 10.6 pounds! I'm really getting now that it is a gradual process and to not beat myself up over the whole thing. It's all about making the best choices and finding variations to your favorite foods. I have discovered Ezekiel bread products-they are all-natural organic sprouted grains with no flour. I found the bread at the natural food store. It's a little more expensive than "normal" bread-I think it was around $4.00 for a loaf. But, I figure that it's good for us and we obviously don't eat that much of it at one time. I wouldn't have hesitated to pay $4.00 for a bag of chips, so at least I'm getting some good nutrition out of this!



On Saturday, we went to Gardiner for a "Whatever Festival". Basically, there were a bunch of booths set up, food everywhere, activities for the kids, etc. The library had a book sale. Having the girls with us, I wasn't able to really dig through the books but we did find a Wiggles CD for them for $1.00. Then, we did our grocery shopping and went home.



Yesterday, we ventured outside to the patio to rake and set up the furniture. The girls had a blast playing outside. I bought them a couple bubble wands at the Dollar Tree-they loved them! After cleaning, setting up the furniture, and weeding out the entry way, we decided to go to Lowe's to pick up a few things. Maya kept hugging Suri-so cute!



I wanted to get some annuals and mulch for the newly-weeded entry way! We got some impatiens and some chocolate brown mulch. I planted them last night. Here is a picture although it's dark...I can't wait until they bloom!



Well, I guess that's it for now...

Happy Hump Day!

Hard to believe it's already Wednesday! We left for our little 3 day getaway Sunday and got home last night-had a great time and can't wait for another one! It was absolutely beautiful in Bar Harbor. So much to report-where do I begin?? This was the view from our balcony...

Ok, I didn't post Friday because Suri was sick Thursday night. She vomited about 6 times between dinnertime Thursday and early Friday morning. I stayed home with her and she was much better Friday and by Saturday you wouldn't know anything had been wrong-little spitfire! I figured Maya would get it next so was thinking we wouldn't be able to go away, but fortunately for all involved she got lucky! On Saturday, we pretty much got ready-packed, cleaned, all the fun stuff (not). Darcy arrived a little before 11:00 on Sunday and we gave her an "orientation" on the house and everything else she needed to know, installed the carseats in her vehicle, wrote up emergency letters just in case, etc. I also packed us a picnic for the road-smart thinking, eh? We were off right around noon after putting the girls down for a nap. Do I look excited??




We snacked on homemade salsa and turkey-cheese lettuce "wraps" on the way. We got to the hotel around 3:00 (after stopping to buy swimsuits because we forgot ours at home). We checked in and started the "action"-you may ask, "what action"? We're just wild & crazy!


Yes, that is our picnic tablecloth my husband is using as a blanket!

We met up with a bunch of friends at Geddy's in downtown Bar Harbor for dinner & drinks at 6:30.



I had a margarita-a huge one! It was so good! Notice the monkey hanging on the edge...cute, huh?



I also had a crab roll-shouldn't have had the roll, but I figured at least I didn't have french fries. Speaking of french fries, I have a word of caution to anyone who is on their 4th week of South Beach-DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT eat fried food and expect to feel "normal" after. Poor, poor hubby of mine decided to "live it up" and have fried fish & fries-not a good idea. He was sick as a dog the next morning. He had hoped to hang out in Bar Harbor for the day Monday while I was at my meeting. He ended up staying in bed all day. I told him to rest up as much as possible and to try to get it out of his system for the party that night. He still wasn't feeling great, so didn't get the pleasure of drinking at all that evening, but I drank enough for the both of us. Cocktail hour started at 6:00-Margarita time!


The theme for the event was "Mardi Gras".

I ended up having 3 of them throughout the night-they were small though (think 4 ounce cups). Then, we had dinner & awards (I got a 10 year award). Then, came the dancing. I danced the night away while poor Andy sat at the table drinking Cokes to help his ailing stomach.

Tuesday morning, I didn't feel so well (partially self-induced and partially on my monthly "friend"). Let's just say I wasn't prepared for that one so didn't bring any supplies. My poor husband had to make a mad dash to Wally World to pick up supplies for me (now that is true love. Thank you honey-I love you!). We drove around Acadia and headed back home to pick up the girls at daycare. We had called Darcy several times to check on them, by the way. Darcy was great-she left a very detailed list of everything they did, ate, you name it. She is very thorough, that girl! When we got to daycare, Maya was very happy to see us. Suri-not so much. They said Maya had been "emotional"-she is Mama's girl and very, very sensitive. She clung to me! Suri was happy to see us, but really didn't get too worked up. She is the independent one for sure!

So, on the diet front, I would say I did really well-minus the margaritas. I was definitely ready to get back to my routine though. I am bloated as can be today (thanks again "friend"). I wasn't able to weigh in Monday since we weren't at home. But, I will weigh next Monday. I don't want to get discouraged by any remaining margarita pounds, so will wait! It is after lunch now. I had my salad for lunch, so I'm right back in the groove. The great think about this weekend is that even though I told myself I was going to eat what I wanted, I didn't have any cravings for anything "bad" -other than the margaritas. Food just isn't as appealing to me as it was before. I guess that is a good thing!

Oh, and by far, the biggest & best thing I have to report...

On Friday afternoon, our wonderful friends, Dantu & Gowri called us (they live in NY). After almost 5 years of trying to conceive which included 3 IVF cycles, they are finally PREGNANT! We are soooo excited for them! And the best news of all is that her hcg level is DOUBLE what mine was around the same time, so we're thinking AT LEAST twins. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they have twin boys and they grow up and marry our twin girls??!!
CONGRATULATIONS D & G!! Tomorrow is ultrasound day to find out how many little ones are in there.


Here are a few pics of Acadia...








When I came back to work today, I got a call from the front desk saying there was a basket for me! I won one of the vendor drawings! Thanks to Iron Mountain for this great Mardi Gras basket! What a great surprise!


Till tomorrow...

Wednesday!

Yippee...the week is halfway over! Only 4 days until our mini getaway! We went to Kohl's last night-I wanted a new dress for the party Monday night. Well, after trying on a few, decided I'll stick to what I have already. Nothing felt good, looked good-I'm kind of in between sizes right now. I was barely squeezing into 14's before South Beach, but now they are floating on me, but 12 is a bit tight-strange. I did find a cute dress but it's not really a "night party" kind of dress if you know what I mean. It was more of a daytime dress-very cute though.

Nothing much going on today. Tonight, James & Gloria are coming over so James can help Andy remove the snowblower attachment and put the lawnmower attachment on. It was either that or buy a goat and set it free on the grass. Gloria is psyched about looking at our yard sale stuff-being the "shoe" girl that we both are she is hoping to find some shoes. But, I haven't gone through my closet yet so no shoes. I don't think I could really part with any anyways! We do have some brand new bedding she wants to check out though.

Well, I guess that's about it for now...

Well, here goes!

Ok...I've had enough and figured it was time to do something about it! I have a closet full of clothes that don't fit and I'm sick of it! I want to be thin and fashionable again (and healthy, of course). So, after much thought, I've decided to give the South Beach Diet (um, I mean lifestyle) a try. Since most of my diet consists of sugar & carbs, phase I is exactly what I need to detoxify myself of the poison! So, here are my stats (ugh-can't believe I am typing this).

Starting Weight: 176.9

Goal Weight: 135

Pounds to Lose: 41.9

I can do it!


This is today's menu:

Breakfast:

2 Egg Muffins (Line muffin tin with foil liners. In a bowl, combine 8 eggs, 1/4 cup chopped prosciutto, 3 chopped green onions, 1/2 chopped green bell pepper, 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Mix well and fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake on 350 for 20 minutes.)

Coffee sweetened with splenda

V8 Juice

Snack:
1 String Cheese

Lunch:

Salad (chopped romaine, chopped cucumber, chopped green bell pepper, grilled chicken breast, shredded cheese, 2 T ranch dressing)
Dessert: Sugar Free Pudding Cup

Snack:
Celery stuffed with 1 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese

Dinner:

Grilled Flounder
Roasted Asparagus
Tossed Salad

Snack:
Sugar Free Fudgsicle


I couldn't stomach the V8-yuck. The egg muffins were delicious though! This is a lot of food. I guess that is how it works-you're so full you don't even want carbs and sugar. I hope this feeling lasts! By afternoon, I felt a bit bloated from all the roughage, although I am having my period so that could be part of the reason as well.