Six Gold Stars

I hung up a chart to give myself gold stars if the day is a BFL success. I have six gold stars so far! For a minute I just want to pat myself on the back...

1. We had a birthday on Thursday and I just couldn't let the little guy go without a cake of some sort on his actual Birthday so I made cupcakes and put little black bats on them for play group and had enough left over to have a mini-cake. I didn't even lick a finger! Not one single taste! Plus, we had our now traditional dinner at Pier 49 and I really just enjoyed the smell.
2. Last night during a late and intense game of Settlers Cities and Knights Pizza was ordered and tortilla chips were eaten by most...me not included!
3. I have, sadly, already had opportunity to talk myself out of workouts, but no way!
4. I have decided that maybe I will have a free day every other week. Or maybe just a free treat during date night movie...that one is still undecided.

Here are some picture of the cake we took it to Pier 49 so we could leave what we didn't eat in the trash...that's a new thing for me. I don't usually throw stuff like that away. Little Brother loved the cake. I don't think the birthday boy even took a bite. He was too busy playing with his new Batman toy!:

Day Two

Hey Ladies...It had to be done. I really am sorry that you have to look at it. Don't forget to keep bugging me about how it's going. Date: 6.25.2007 Ht: 5’9” Wt: 195 lbs Body Fat %: 31.7 BMI: 29.0: Yesterday went really smoothly. I need to get to bed earlier so I have the energy to really push myself at the gym. I ate well and wasn't hungry at all. I also created a new tuna salad that I love and was trying to figure out a name for it...tuna fresca or baja tuna salad. It is with cilantro, green onion, lime juice, tomato, garlic, and avocado. I ate 1/2 can plus the salad stuff on 2 fiber WASA crackers. Isaac had his in a whole wheat tortilla and said, "this is the best lunch ever!" at least three times. It was really good. Today my aerobic 20 mins. were definitely worth a 10 rating. It kicked my rear. Eating has been harder today. I feel munchy...too bad it had to start on day two! I fixed some fresh salsa with tomatoes from K & M's garden. It's pretty good...I should have looked at my recipe though. Something isn't quite right. Maybe it's the lack of jalapeno. I'm going to fix a turkey/veg/quinoa soup tonight. Hopefully it will fill my guys up! Enjoying the Journey!

Body for Life

Well, I've gone and done it...I entered the Body For Life challenge. That, unfortunately, means that there will be a horrifyingly embarrassing photo of me in a skimpy swim suit posted stuck somewhere for all to see. It might as well be here. (sorry guys!) Every time you see my fatness (or anyone else's fatness for that matter) please say a little prayer for me. Wonder how it's going & call me or write me and make me accountable. Be my cheerleaders. Don't let me give up. I said at the beginning of this whole blog adventure that I wanted to see what I could do with my body in 12 weeks. Well, here it is. This challenge is exactly 12 weeks. Just what I needed. (another thing that I really need is the prize money so I can finish my house!) I'm going to have to write a really great essay on why I need this challenge...why I want to change. Be prepared for my random thoughts and here again, please let me know which to keep and which to expound on so I can really present my best fat forward! Enjoying the journey?

Perfectionista

Of course if there was any question if I really liked No. 3 I had to re-do it. Loving this digital stuff. I just sat down and kicked it out. No mess/no fuss! An added bonus is that I'm not destroying pictures and supplies as I try to get it just like I like it. That is a 10 point bonus! So, which one do you vote for? Does the journaling make sense? I was trying to say that they have my craziness but they especially have my heart.

FYI: I have been to they gym every day this week and am doing okay at my no refined sugar/flour thing.

FYI 2: Not doing so well @ getting my house cleaned. Still stuck in my craft room and attempting to maintain some semblance of order in the rest of the house.

FYI 3: I got my camera! The picture of the boys is one I took on our way to the park yesterday. I also took a picture of my disasterous craft room so you can all feel my pain. I will post it where it should have gone!

enjoy the journey!

No. 3 {MY}

I had a really hard time deciding what to do with this word. I didn't like so much openness. I think the concept I came up with is sound, but I'm not sure I love the layout...any suggestions? I was thinking of making it darker...

enjoy the journey!

Cleaning 101

I found my cleaning schedule cards! I wrote these up to give myself more direction and focus in my attempts to keep a sane house. Basically I focus on one room per day and do one load of laundry (washed folded and put away) every day. Today is craft room day. I could spend a week working on the craft room alone. It has been abandoned and I don’t really know what to do with it. The assigned tasks are: clear surfaces, everything in it’s place, dust lights/ surfaces/ baseboards etc., wash walls as needed, sweep/mop, take garbage out and pull supplies for weeks projects. Well, all the surfaces are buried with the things that aren’t in their places. Seriously, It has been abandoned in the height of disaster. It will be hard, but I will do it! (I wish I had my camera so I could post a picture of the disaster!) Monday is also “wash B’s work clothes” day. The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Tuesday: Front room/den (dusting, washing walls/windows etc. *deep cleaning).Laundry load: whites

Wednesday: bathrooms (scrub shower every other week - so I only have to do one/wk) Laundry: towels/bath mats Thursday: Bedrooms Laundry: Sheets/bedding Friday: Kitchen/Dining room (I alternate planning 2 wk. menu/shop list & cleaning out fridge) Laundry: Boy’s clothes Saturday: Work in the yard Laundry: darks This is a great schedule that doesn’t seem too overwhelming to me. It was very effective when I was doing it before. The key is to just do it. The first week is the hardest because the jobs are so much dirtier. After that, as long as I stick to it the work goes relatively fast because it hasn’t had time to get really dirty yet. Cleaning Makes Me Happy! Enjoy the Journey.

storytime: The Law of Pure Potentiality

storytime: The Law of Pure Potentiality

Rebellion

Well, I've finally done it! I told my "employer" that I am done. I also e-mailed my crazy doctor and told him I am done. I also told my spouse that I am done. Trying to please everyone else that is! Seriously...I feel like I just bend over backward for everyone else and it's never what they really want and I never get what I want. So no more Mrs. Niceguy...I am done! It feels really good too. I am going to try another new thing on this blog...a book discussion. I have a tendency to dissect books that I think have something to teach me. I am going to try linking another blog by me to this one where we can discuss/dissect the current book...The Seven Spiritual Laws by Deepak Chopra. Check it out if you'd like. It's the "storytime" link under "check it out". Enjoy the journey!

Just Another Day

Wow, so much going on! I’m still trying to get my feet under me. I had my husband home from work yesterday. He had…a cold? Always throws life off a little, but very nice to have him here. I didn’t, however, make it to the gym. I made up for it today though! We had chicken Alfredo for dinner. I’m not such a huge fan of Ragu Alfredo so I sautéed up some tomatoes and peppers and tossed them in. It was very much better. Love to improvise. Such a wimp. I had the opportunity to get rid of my two “side” kids today and I’m too chicken to put anyone out. So, I have four kids until school starts. Maybe after that I can think about expanding my own family. I got up the courage to submit my No. 2 in the “One Little Word” series. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve also been invited to join another book club. This one is a little more serious (read: stuffy). The first book is The Seven Spiritual Laws by Deepak Chopra. It was incredibly annoying at first. I felt like he just kept writing the same thing over and over again just to fill up the book. Seriously, I was screaming, “get to the point!” I’m over that now and basically know it’s probably something I really need to dig into but don’t want to commit the time and energy that would require. Maybe I’ll just put it on my future list. I think I will bow out of the group. My youngest went to bed with his baseball cap on tonight! Enjoy the Journey!

No 2 {STOP}

This is the latest one little word challenge. STOP. At first I thought, "why did they do that? Most of the pages I saw people had done included a bunch of stop in them already. But then I moved past that & started thinking about it for me. Stop is all about stopping the madness and gaining control of myself. If my boys are being crazy I always start with a simple, "stop". I always tell myself I've got to stop. So...it really is different in a sense. It is the opposite of go!

The first thing I did was chat with Maria about it. Where would I find a photo? Would I be able to find the photo I wanted? We came up with a few different options and I went searching. The one I settled on was from a CNN article about train safety. I loved the quote that was with it. "Every day two people are killed by a train, and once every three days that victim is a child." I thought that was so appropriate for what I was trying to convey. I go barrelling through life and sometimes I run over people. Sometimes, sadly, my boys get run over. I love how it all came together. The train. The red light. The quote. I remember in elementary school the whole STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. campaign. I don't even remember if it was about trains but I think it was. I thought that would be a nice touch for the journaling. Look at my boys...be aware of them. Listen to them. What they are saying and even what they are not. I love how it turned out!

enjoy the journey!