Day 183 (Wednesday 5/6)

Guess what????????????? I got my rear of out of bed this morning and went to the gym!! (Oh and Kelly, I didn't need the alarm clock I have to chase either!!! lol) It was GREAT!! Thank you sis for getting me there!! I did a 12 minute run while I waited for my sister to get there and then we did 36 minutes on the bikes together!! I felt so great to be back in my old routine!!

I headed over to my office and made breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries and an orange for 3 points. Mmmm!! Oh how I missed you oatmeal!!

I wanted to check with you guys...I've heard that with my new header it cuts the words off on the far right...is this happening with all of you? I am wondering if it is just on smaller screens or what?? I look at my blog at work and home and both screens are 17". If it is happening with everyone I will re-work my header! I don't want you to miss out on anything I write!! Ha ha...like's its that exciting!! Let me know if it cuts off for you and what screen size you have!! Thanks!! :)

Around 10am I had my "morning mush" (that is what one of my co-workers calls it!)...strawberries, yogurt, and grape nuts for 3 points!

I had to run a few errands for lunch so I grabbed some grapes to munch on while running around town for 1 point.

When I got back to the house I made a chocolate PB2 and banana wrap for 3 points!! I looked at Leah's blog before going to lunch and knew this was what I wanted!! And plus I was reading "A Daunting Tale of Scale Warfare" this morning and saw you could get $3 off PB2!!! So I ordered some! I had to call though because the coupon code wasn't working online. The offer ends at midnight tonight so check out their website http://www.bellplantation.com/.

Sorry...back to lunch. I knew the wrap wouldn't quite hold me over all afternoon so I decided to make a smoothie again to take back to the office. Today it consisted of strawberry yogurt, strawberries, a small banana, and a bunch of ice for 3 points. I sipped away at it all afternoon! De-lish!!

For supper tonight we went to our favorite Wednesday nite “hot spot”….Third Base! You get free chips and salsa, 50 cent tacos, and $1.50 margaritas!! I had some chips and salsa and two tacos. I decided not to have a margarita because they are like 5 points each…so instead I had a couple Bud Lights with my food…so total 13 points for everything! It was a fun evening with everyone!

A friend of my sisters (my new friend!) joined us as well! We e-mailed a bit throughout the day and she mentioned she had to run to the store to pick up some Larabars before she came down because they are on sale. Now I have seen these all over the “blog world” and of course had to inquire what she thought and what her favorite flavor was. She said cinnamon bun and one other (can’t remember!). Well she showed up to Third Base and brought one for both my sister and I!! How sweet….Thanks Randi!! Can’t wait to try it!!

This is me and my sister…the one who got me to the gym this AM!! Thanks sis!! :)

After tacos and drinks we headed about 2 blocks away to a locally owned ice cream shop for one of my favorite summer treats!! They have a new flavor each week!! Last week it was mint, this week it was strawberry!! And if you haven’t noticed….I <3 strawberries!! :) So I had a small cone for 5 points

Well everyone I am bushed!! It was a great day, started out great and ended great!! I hope everyone’s was just as great, or even better!! :) See you tomorrow my favorite blogger buddies!!!

WEDNESDAY'S STATS
POINTS =31
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS =8 used/27 remaining
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED = 5

WATER =106 oz
EXERCISE = 12 min run and 36 min bike

Day 182 (Tuesday 5/5)

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!! Using some of those Spanish skills I learned in high school!!! :) I didn’t eat any Mexican food today…maybe I'll have some tomorrow! Thinking….50 cent tacos!! :)

I didn’t have time for breakfast and around 10am I had my regular morning snack for breakfast, consisting of strawberries, yogurt, and grape nuts for 3 points.  

Before I went to lunch I grabbed some petite baby carrots for 0 points. Have I said how much I love these little guys?!?! 

I couldn’t figure out what I wanted for lunch and decided on a smoothie that I could take back to work and sip on throughout the afternoon. My smoothie today consisted of 1/2c skim milk, 1/2 banana, strawberries, ice, and yogurt for 4 points.

I worked a little late tonight so I almost missed WW…but don’t worry I still went! I was so nervous about gaining, but I STS and I am COMPLETELY ok with that! I thought for sure that 10 point sugary piece of pie would throw me over!! I really hope to buckle down and FINALLY lose next week.

I was e-mailing my sister today and we are going to the gym together in the AM. I think it helps that I know I have to meet someone there! I need to get back in a better routine. Running with DH has been good, but I don’t think it’s pushing me enough and I not getting enough minutes of workout time in either. So hopefully getting back to the gym reeves up my weight loss again, I really want to get to goal for ww so I can go for free!!

They were passing out free samples again so I snacked on this on the way home. I’m not too much of a chocolate mint fan, but this was pretty good for just 1 point.

Note to self: need to get my nails filled!!

After WW I headed to my sister’s house to borrow some serving dishes and table cloths for my SIL’s bridal shower I am hosting this weekend. It’s always good to catch up with my sis and her hubby. I am really looking forward to working out with them in the AM!! While there I had a PB fiber one bar for 3 points.

I  stayed at my sister’s longer than planned, but that was ok! I <3 my sis!! :) Got home and DH was just getting home. Our house is a MESS!! Thank goodness DH is a good hubby, he cleaned up the kitchen for me!! It wasn’t pretty after that pie I whipped up last night! :) And what do I do while he is cleaning…eat another piece of pie….dang there goes 10 points! I am happy to report though I shared the rest of it with our neighbor where we got the rhubarb! He was happy to get some pie and I was happy to get the temptation out of my house!!

DH was a naughty boy and brought me home a small chocolate frosty!! I also <3 frostys!!! :) For a small one it’s 4 points. Mmmm!! Well now you know…that is how my hubby earns a living…flipping burgers at Wendys!! He hates it when I say that…technically he is the store operator…or something like that!! We would love to get into ownership someday! I am very thankful for his job and all he does to support me. Sorry for that detour… Oh yeah, back to my yummy frosty…guess what I added to it….a BANANA!!! For just 1 point ‘cause it was a pretty small one!!

Can you believe the BL??? I missed the first hour because I was at my sister’s house, but I caught the 2nd hour. It makes me want to go run after seeing Tara finish the marathon! I know a lot of people don’t like her, but sure hope she wins, she has worked so hard and has the highest percentage of weight loss of the remaining ones. So who do you want to win? Who do America will vote for? Michael or Ron? I am guessing they will vote to send Ron to the finals since that is what America did last time with Hebba and Ed. Can’t wait for the finale next week!!

I’m off to get my gym bag and eats ready for tomorrow.  G’night bloggies!!

TUESDAY’S STATS

POINTS = 26/23

WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS =35 used…had to use 2 of AP’s

WATER = 72 oz

EXERCISE = day off

Day 181 (Monday 5/4)

First off, sorry I didn’t get this posted last night!! We had a busy one!! :) I hope everyone had a great Monday!

I started out my Monday with honey nut cheerios, a small sliced banana, and 1/2 c almond breeze for 4 points. I think this is one of my favorite breakfasts’!

Work has just been SO crazy lately!! But it sure does make the days go fast. Before I knew it, it was noon and I hadn’t had my morning snack. So I quickly mixed up my favorite combo of strawberries, yogurt, and grape nuts for 3 points.

I started out my lunch on the car ride home with a bag of petite baby carrots for 0 points…this is my FAVORITE form of carrots!! They’re just so skinny and crunchy!! :) Then, once home, I made a hot ham & cheese wrap with a side of 1/2c corn for a 3 point lunch

I didn’t go to lunch until about 1:45 so getting back to the office at almost 3 is great!! Really makes the afternoon go fast!! :) I snacked on a fiber one bar before heading home for 2 points.

Once home DH and I had to talk ourselves into going for a run. I had a splitting headache for some reason, but we did it. Not for long though. Pounding the pavement and a pounding head are NOT a good combo. So we cut it short around mile 2, wasn’t quite a 20 minute walk/run. Before we headed out the door I snacked on a bag of smart food popcorn for 2 points.

When we got back home our neighbor was out so we went over and chatted with him…which ended up being a REALLY long chat. We didn’t get back in the house till almost 9!!! Those guys can sure get to talking! But it’s ok, we like our neighbor!! :)

I picked some of his rhubarb and when I got in the house I got the itch to make the strawberry rhubarb pie I had been thinking about!! So that is just what I did! And of course I had to sample it too!! I put the ingredients into recipe builder on ww’s website and it came out to 8 points for an 1/8 of it! Wow!! It didn’t quite turn out right. It called for 2 cups of sugar and that made it WAY too runny. I think I might try it again and cut that in half.

Maybe I’ll try to lighten it up a bit…any suggestions?

Rewind a tad, forgot about all the stuff I ate while the pie was baking!! I had a bowl of honey nut cheerios and a sliced banana for 7 points. And DH and I each had the rest of that chocolate ice cream that was calling our name in the freezer, I had 1 c of it with another sliced banana for 7 points. If you haven’t noticed, I think I am really starting to like adding bananas to EVERYTHING!

Oh and I forgot about the banana (1 point…it was small!) that I ate on the way to the grocery store to pick up a ready made pie crust…yes I used a ready-made one…didn’t want to undertake pie crust at 9pm!!!

It’s Tuesday now and I’m SO nervous about WI 2nite after eating a sugar filled slice of pie and ice cream last night!! Wow-zer…but hey can’t do anything about it now and I can’t let it get to me. I’ll work it off this week!! :)

Later bloggies…gotta get back to work!! ;)

MONDAY’S STATS

POINTS = 37/23

WEEKLY ALLOWANCE = 34 used/1 remaining

WATER = 96 oz

EXERCISE = 20 min run/walk

Day 180 (Sunday 5/3)

First of all…HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite little furry friend…ABBY!!!! She turned 2 today!!! :D

DH and I overslept a tad, but still made it to church and ran a few errands afterwards with the in-laws.  AKA…needed to get our little girl a birthday gift!!!  I wanted to make her a little cupcake…but I figured if I did that I would end up eating some too and I ate enough points yesterday!

She ended up getting a new toy…one hopefully that she won’t rip to shreds!! She may be cute…but boy does she sure shred any sort of toy you give her!

We kept lunch simple & light, Subway! I had a 6 inch wheat turkey & ham with NO cheese and pickles w/part of a bag of baked Lays for 8 points. I <3 Subway!! Once again no picture…haven’t told the in-laws about this blog.

After eating we headed home, started the laundry, and got to cleaning. We also got our food ready for the week…cleaned & sliced 6lbs of strawberries, boiled, cut, & peeled a dozen eggs (for DH’s salads!), peeled & sliced 2 cucumbers, and cleaned out the fridge! It was over a productive afternoon!

After cutting all that fresh produce I had to have some! So I finished off the watermelon and had a few strawberries that didn’t fit in the bowl for 2 points!

I’ve gotten a few awards lately so I need to get them passed on! :)

First of all thanks to Kelly over at “Happy Texan” for this award!! I think Kelly is SUPER!! :D Seriously if you haven’t seen her blog CHECK IT OUT…her posts are ALWAYS great!!! I was truely touched by the comments she made in the post…crazy to think that I can inspire someone…but Kelly I’m glad I did and that you joined the blog world!!

And now the rules of the award:

Tape it up on your blog somewhere.

Pass it along to 5 fellow super bloggers, and comment on their blog to let them know how lucky they are today!

When you present your Super Blogger awards, link back to the super blogger who gave it to you

Like Kelly said how in the world can I pick only 5 blogs? Have you seen my blog roll?! LOL So I think I am just going to leave it open…obviously if you’re on my blog roll I think your blog is SUPER!!! And if you’re not on my blog roll, let me know ‘cause I probably just haven’t read your blog to find out that it is SUPER!!! :D Thanks again Kelly for the award!!!

And the next one is from Becca over at “Simply Fit”. She is a new “blog friend” and enjoy her posts (her son is SUPER cute!!) and always leaves the sweetest comments!! :) Thanks Becca!!

As a recipient of this award, I am to share why I love blogging:

I originally started a family blog back in 2007 and last November started my weight loss blog when I joined WW. I scoured the net for about a WHOLE day straight reading blogs (many that I follow today!) and was completely inspired. I LOVE the blogging community and have “met” so many wonderful people that inspire me on a daily basis. My weight loss journey would not be the same without all of you!! So for that, I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart…you guys are GREAT!!! Oh and I LOVE your comments…keep ‘em coming!!

After relaxing for a while this afternoon I made a smoothie…it’s official, I’m hooked! Today my smoothie consisted of strawberries, key lime pie yogurt, 1/2 c almond breeze, and ice for a total of 3 points. I thought for sure DH would like this one so I put it in two glasses…but nope he made an “eewww face” and gave it back to me…so I had a two fisted smoothie! It was great! :) Someday I’ll make one he likes!!

It was starting to get a little late and I hadn’t worked-out yet and before I knew it DH said “Hey we need to get our run in today!”. I was so excited when he said it. So we decided to do intervals today and took a different route. We had a slight detour…DH’s Great Aunt & Uncle lived on this route and were outside and we stopped and chatted with them for a while. They are such sweet people. DH’s Uncle even gave me a pair of slippers that he made himself!! He makes baby ones too that are SO cute…can’t wait to get a pair of those!! ;) (Don’t get any ideas…I just love everything baby!!!) We ended up having about a 30 minute total run and I did 10 minutes of lunges and abs when we got home. I was wiped by the time I got done!

Supper tonight was quick, easy, and delicious! I had an orange, 1/2c cottage cheese, sliced cucumber, carrots, and lite ranch for 4 points. I didn’t eat the pickles…they had a funny taste.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, overall mine was great…nothing too exciting, but still great! It is quickly coming to a close so I off to spend the rest of it with DH and our b-day pup!! :) A haircut may be in the works for DH!

SUNDAY’S STATS

POINTS = 17/23

WEEKLY ALLOWANCE = 19 used/16 remaining

WATER = 72 oz

EXERCISE = 30 min interval run & 10 minutes abs and lunges

Day 179 (Saturday 5/2)

DH didn’t have to be to work this morning until 11am so we slept in…well if you call sleeping till 8, sleeping in! And I would say that is considering we usually are up before 6am!!

Since it is the start of the month I took my measurements this morning. I didn’t take  them at the beginning of April…well not sure why, I was kind of a slacker at the beginning of the month. But that me is GONE!!! So in two months I lost another 6 1/2 inches in 10 different places! And a total of 35 1/2 inches in the 6 months I’ve been on this journey!! My biggest loss to date is from my butt/hips, 6 1/4 inches! No wonder none of my pants fit anymore! ;)

For breakfast I made banana pancakes (regular for DH!) with chocolate PB2 and sf syrup for 6 points. I think I made the batter thinner this time because it made a lot more pancakes than last time! I just love these!! :)

Can you believe this? These are some of the flowers that DH got me TWO WEEKS AGO!! They still look amazing!! They’ve brightened our kitchen for two weeks!!

DH headed to work and I was ready to hit the road…but no on 4 wheels…just 2! Instead of driving around for my usual Saturday errands, I rode my bike! :) Did you know that May is National Bike Month? I found like online.

Two biggest cycling organizations The League of American Bicyclists and the local Cascade Bicycle Club are major promoters of this national event, which is suppose to "help promote individual health and recreation as well as have positive impacts on the community and environment". Among the goals they are trying to reach are :

- getting more people riding more often, more safely.
-increasing the voice and visibility of the cycling community
-leading the way toward improved facilities and the cycling environment.
-promoting cycling as a transportation alternative.

Well I love to ride my bike. So I rode to bank, returned our rental movie, and went to the bike shop! I wanted to go to the bike shop for many reasons, but the #1 was getting HELMET!! Ever since reading about what happened to Meaghan’s sister and wearing my sister’s while I was in Florida, I was convinced that I needed one! And they fit one to my head right there! It was great. Of course the first thing I wanted to know is if they had a PINK one!! :) And they did!!! Now I wish it was more pink like the youth one that was there…but this is great too! :) In total my actual ride time was about 40 minutes!

Got home from my ride and NO desire to sit inside so I wandered out to the shed to see what I could do about all those pesky wild flowers that decided to grow in our yard. Found some weed killer and sprayed the whole yard down…now we just have to wait and see if it worked! I think it was killing Abby that I was outside and she couldn’t be (the chemicals in the weed killer). She was either watching me the whole time or I could her whining! What a mis-treated dog!!! :P

For some reason I got the MAJOR munchies in the afternoon. Took “0” pictures and ate a lot…here’s the list:

• fiber one bar – 2 points
• smart food popcorn – 2 points
• kettle corn – 1 point
• wasa crsipbread w/salsa – 2 points
• string cheese – 1 point

DH didn’t have to work too late today so when he got home we hit up the grocery store and then hooked up the trailer and headed over to a friend’s house to pick up their pool table they don’t need anymore. Score!! I think DH was pretty excited about his new toy! We didn’t play yesterday, but I am sure there will be some rousing games coming up! :)

Eating wise went completely downhill after we got the pool table. I wasn’t in the mood to cook and our friends, who we got the pool table from, came over so I did Applebee's Carside To-go and ordered my favorite spinach artichoke dip….oh wait…for some reason they also threw in a couple triple chocolate meltdowns too…huh don’t know how those got in there! ;) So DH and I split one and our friends split one. I am going to estimate 10 points for the dip and 6 points for the chocolate cake based on the nutrition facts I found on the daily plate dot com.

And if that wasn’t enough food for the day I broke out the chocolate ice cream that insisted on getting bought at the grocery store today and had a cup of that with a sliced banana for 7 points! Wow-zer!! Sunday needs to be lite-day!!

SATURDAY’S STATS

POINTS= 37/23

WEEKLEY ALLOWANCE = 20 used/15 remaining

WATER = 72 oz

EXERCISE = 40 min bike ride

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Day 178 (Friday 5/1)

Happy Friday & May Day everyone!! The work day is over and I’m free for over 2 days!!! :)

I didn’t fall asleep last night till after midnight so it was hard to get up this AM. But I did…enough to say goodbye to DH and then hit the hay again until Abby woke me up at 7:35!!!! AAHHHH!! I have to be to work at 8am! I made it there by 8:04!!!

When I got there I found like on my door handle…a May basket!! I was so tempted just to eat away at it all day since I didn’t have time to eat breakfast, but luckily I only had a Butterfinger and a pb cup…I’m guessing it around 2 points. After that I gave it to a co-worker because I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist it the rest of the day.

I made breakfast at work. Oatmeal with blueberries and an english muffin with cream cheese for 4 points. I forgot how much I like oatmeal after not having it for so long! 

Around 11am I had my morning snack of strawberries, grape nuts, and yogurt for 3 points.  

Lunch today was a repeat of supper yesterday…a crack wrap for 4 points! I couldn’t figure out what I wanted and figured this was quick and easy! I also had a VitaTop with PB2 for 2 points.

After worked DH and I hit the pavement for a 30 minute run. It is so fun to have a running buddy, I think I like it more than my ipod! We chatted the whole time! Wait maybe I should say talked instead of “chatted”…might be too girly!! ;) Oh and Abby was a better running buddy today…she kept up the whole time!

What do you think of my new header? I really wanted to incorporate some pictures, but I couldn’t find the “right” one(s). So this will have to do for now!

I really had NO idea what I wanted for supper. I was craving another smoothie and DH was wanting me to have a protein shake with him so I combined them! Wow…I think I went overboard on this one…it FILLED my Cuisinart blender (not sure how many cups). My smoothie contained: 1 c almond breeze, 1 1/2 c strawberries, 1 banana, 1 scoop protein powder, and ice for a total of 6 points. Look how much it made!!! That GIANT Hawkeye mug (Yep…GO HAWKS!!!) is the size of my head!!!

Since it’s May now I figured I should do a re-cap of my April goals and post my May goals. So without further ado, for your reading pleasure, here are my April goal recaps and May goals! :)

April Goals

1. Continue no Cool Whip during Lent - ACCOMPLISHED

2. Try 2 new WW friendly recipes – ACCOMPLISHED – banana pancakes, fruit dip, crack wraps, and homemade smoothie!

3. Workout 5 days/week – I don’t think I quite made this goal…the beginning of the month was rough.

4. 158 lbs by 4/30/09 – Didn’t hit this goal either…the scale isn’t being nice to me lately, but I’m NOT letting it get me down!!

May Goals

1. Sign up & run Dam to Dam 5K (May 30^th!)

2. Blog everyday

3. Workout 5 days/week

4. 155 lbs by 5/31/09

Around 10PM DH got a “wild hair” and wanted to rent a movie…so we hopped our bikes and rode to the video store. In total to and from was a 30 minute bike ride. It was kinda fun to ride at night…not the safest, I know. And I haven’t got a helmet yet either, I think we might get one this weekend!

We are now settled in for the night watching our movie! G’nite my favorite blogger buddies!! Hope everyone has a FAN-TAB-U-LOUS weekend!!

FRIDAY’S STATS

POINTS = 21/23

WEEKLY ALLOWANCE = 6 used/29 remaining

WATER = 96 oz

EXERCISE = 30 min run, 30 min bike ride