I DID IT!!!!! I'm half-way there!

After an interesting week of stress and a ridiculous evening of red wine, a chocolate doughnut AND a cream-cheese frosted cinnamon roll (sounds great, right? It was.), I woke up to a nice surprise yesterday! I hit 15 pounds lost. I was at 14.8 lost and then I fell off the wagon. Why? Because it happens. Just like people quit smoking, then pick up a pack at the gas station and light up again. Today - same weight: 148.4. YES!

I took the kids with me to a new boutique in town and was so excited that in a couple months I can fit in the "one-size-fits-all" nonsense that is sold! (I'm sure I won't be thinking it's nonsense when I can wear it all.)

I also taught myself something new. "The second bite won't taste any better than the first." You know how you see a plate of cookies, piece of cake, chips, whatever you know you aren't supposed to start eating because you won't stop?? The whole point of eating those foods is for the taste and the effect your body gets while eating it. It is like a drug fix. We certainly don't scarf down a day's worth of calories in one dessert sitting because we want to get fat...

So now, I have learned to tell myself (before I take a bite) that I better enjoy that first bite because that will also be the last. If we can train ourselves to think like that, we will know the overeating can virtually become nonexistent.

I am very much enjoying the recipes and meal plans in the Biggest Loser book I bought. I want to share with you this morning's breakfast treat. They were awesome, the kids loved them, and I realized it would be a great idea to make extras on the weekends for grab-and-go breakfasts during the week!

Baked Eggs in Savory Turkey Cups

6 ounces very thinly sliced delio turkey
3/4 cup salsa or grilled vegetables
18 large egg whites or 2 1/4 cups liquid egg white or egg substitute (see note)
2T chopped fresh cilantro
2T grated low-fat Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat each cup of a standard-size nonstick muffin pan with olive oil cooking spray.

Line each muffin cup with 1/2 ounce of the turkey. There will probably be a little excess extending from the top of each cup. Spoon 1T of the salsa or vegetables into each cup.

Measure 3 tablespoons off the egg whites or egg substitute into each muffin cup. (After the first "muffin," your can pour the whites from the liquid measuring cup to the same level as the first muffin cup, rather than measuring 3 tablespoons each time.)

Place the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the eggs are puffed and the center is set. Carefully remove the baked eggs from the pan and place 2 egg cups on each serving plate. Garnish with the cilantro and cheese.

Note: If using fresh eggs, seperate 18 whites into a medium mixing bowl. Add 1/2t of salt and whisk lightly. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 70 calories, 12 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates (1 g sugars), 1 g fat (0 g saturated), 20 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 220 mg sodium

Why does it smell like pee in here?

As if my day wasn't long enough...

Worked from 8am - 6 pm, came home and made dinner, cleaned the kitchen, worked out.... then I was lucky enough to take a shower... alone... with no one else in the bathroom. It was one of those shower until the hot water runs out kind of times...

So I get out of the shower and grab my pink towel from the bathroom to wrap around my head, put my robe on, and walk around the house for a good while to dry off... but it smelled like pee in the house and it was bothering me. I found out Alex had an accident in the bathroom (couldn't get the toilet seat up fast enough) - so I figured Dan may have missed a spot or two when cleaning it up.

I was complaining to Dan about the smell and he said that the shorts he peed on were right outside the bathroom in the laundry basket so I figured that I'd just have a quick hand wash ahead of me and problem solved...not so much.

All of a sudden, this look came over Dan's face and he told me to go take a shower. I'm thinking - wait, I just got out of the shower... and at that moment I realized it! DAN WIPED UP THE PEE WITH MY TOWEL! Yes, the one that was on my head!!!!!!!!!

Oh, the joy of a little boy with bad aim...

A glass of wine and a warm bath...

Notice I said warm bath? That's because the bath is for my 4 year old. The wine isn't hers, though. Tonight I decided to treat myself to a glass of wine and some "off-menu" treats - I won't share with you what I had or you would never believe that I am a good meal planner and consistent exerciser! Hey, what's a little treat now and then?

Today was another uneventful day in the life of Maria. Wake up, make breakfast, go to work, work, work some more, have lunch, work, and work until time to go home. Oh, I just read in the local paper that the bank I frequent at lunchtime to deposit customers' checks was robbed. Go figure - it was right about the time I usually go there. Now that would have sucked. Imagine, depositing a check at the teller booth and some idiot comes in with a mask on his face and a gun in his hand and yells, "Everybody get down!" (Unless they only say that in movies.) I might have peed my pants. Thankfully, I wasn't there to find out what was said.

Well, nothing exciting to say today, sorry about your luck...but thanks for reading anyways!

Ta-ta! (I was really trying to get this close to stick, but I'm not feeling it. Thoughts?)

Maria

As Lightning McQueen would say, "Ohhhh Yeah....."

3 followers overnight. I am pumped. Granted, 2 are my sisters that were pretty much required to by some unspoken law of sisters... But that is a start.

Anyways, interesting morning....my 4 year old, Nevaeh, came in bed with me before 7 am. That wasn't an ideal start to my morning. Since my husband and my 2 year old, Alex, were both sleeping, I decided to take a shower. Guess who wanted to join? Now let me tell you...It's not fun to shower with Nev. She takes all the hot water, continously tells me to move over, and worst of all, when I get in the shower stream - she stomps her foot really loud. I figure it echoes something awful through the bathroom door right into our bedroom. This is why I take my showers at night.

So things wrapped up and we moved on to the next task of the morning - trying to get Alex up who by this time joined Daddy in bed. He wasn't sleeping anymore, but refused to get up. I figured since he was laying still and being quiet, I'd leave him there. Well a while later I was thinking, "Ok, it's time for him to get up now." So I went in there and my noise woke Dan up. As he went to put his arm around Alex for a snuggle, he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "His pants are wet." Dangit! No wonder Alex wouldn't get out of my bed...he wasn't comfortable cuddling with Daddy alone...he peed in my bed! And on my side of the bed at that! So, of course, out of the bed he comes, shorts soaked and cold, then I changed him into dry clothes. (And of course, changed the sheets on our bed.)

Pretty smooth sailing since then - a little tif when Alex stepped on Nev's back and they screamed at each other for a few seconds. I nipped that one in the butt - quick.

Time for some coffee and going to attempt to pack lunch, make dinner and put in containers, do 4 loads of laundry, dishes, get myself ready, and maybe even vacuum out the car. We are leaving at 11 to head toward my cousin's place in San Diego. Taking the kids to Sea World for the day - should be a blast!

Ta-ta for now!

Maria

Anxiously waiting my first "follower"...

It's kinda nerve-racking. One person (other than me) has read this blog tonight. She liked it. In fact, she asked me to keep it up - that threw me for a loop. I guess I can be an entertaining gal...

Okay, now if you read this, click the dang 'become a follower' link so I can make it look like people enjoy this on a daily basis.

Ta-ta!

Yeah, that was(n't) consistent...

Really? 3 blogs and I stopped? I disappointed myself. Entertaining enough things have happened in my life since the last blog...and if not, I could have conjured up some sort of funny story for you.

So I decided one day that it was time to lose weight. I wasn't "fat" - so I told myself. Then I calculated my BMI - guess who was in the red, overweight category? Yep - that was me. My weight was shocking. Okay, I'm gonna brave it...are you ready...sure about that? I'm, 5'6". I tipped the scales at 163.4. Ew. Not bad for a married mother of 2 right? Uhhhh - no! Glad that our wonderful society made me believe I wasn't fat. I was. If you are that height and you weigh that much, you are fat too. Sorry to break it to ya.

Thanks to my wonderful husband, he never told me I was a fattie-boom-battie or I might have had a nervous breakdown. He did grab some of my muffin top a time or two...now that I think of it - I guess I could have taken that as a subconcious note from him that I had packed on the pounds over the years...

Anyways, I've lost 14.8 pounds since I changed by eating and exercise habits after Christmas. I'm sitting at 148.6 as of this morning. Just ounces away from 15 pounds lost! That is exciting!! I'm shooting for the low 130's. We will see how I look at that weight. If I need to hit the 120's that should be easy. I am on a roll now! Every ounce lost is like an adrenaline rush!

Much more for me to talk about, but it's getting late and the kids are tuckered out from today's adventures in Julian, California. I made it all the way up a snow-covered mountain - twice! The second time I carried Alex up the whole way. It was a blast.

Ta-ta for now!

MommyTime Tip: MEAL PLAN! I have 30+ days of 1200-1500 calorie meal plans laid out in Excel. You can save time, money, and lose weight all at the same time. Blogs to follow will have lots of meal planning tips. I am thinking about a career as a Personal Chef so I have been doing a lot of research and getting LOTS of ideas. Don't you worry, I will share!