NEED SUNSHINE

As boring as this blog post is going to be, I will do anything to get away from my school books. I have a test tomorrow and after a full day of class, I am just not in the mood. . . to say the least. We have had good weather here off and on. Last night when I went to bed it was 71 degrees at 11PM and I woke up to 36 degrees at 630AM! Now that is a big change. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again but unfortunately, I have class again all day.

So these pics are to remind me of the fun I get to have with my boys and to enjoy every minute with them. Being in school full time, it just doesn't quite feel like enough.

I have two days left of Phase 3 HCg Maintenance and it has gone by in a flash. I slowly get to add in starches and sugars again. Woo hoo! I now realize the effect they can have on a body so I do not plan to indulge any time soon.

Well, I better get back to my studies. BLUGHHHH!!!!!

Have a great week!

Visions of Brad Pitt?

I have not had a day off this week and I am exhausted! Actually, it is about 2145 Friday night and after I finish this post, I am hitting the hay. Speaking of hay, I promised pics of my new chickens! I asked on Facebook for name ideas and I cannot decide between Laverne and Shirley and Thelma and Louise. If I choose Thelma and Louise, it will bring up visions of Brad Pitt I had as a preteen that may help me get through each day. If I choose Laverne and Shirley, well, what can I say. . . So without further ado:

The two on the left are Betty's new roommates. They are called Cochins and I think they are just adorable. They are huge and fluffy and have feathered feet! Betty wasn't sure what to think at first but they were fast friends sniffing each others' rears and plucking feathers within minutes.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I have to catch up on laundry! Boo!

Excited

I am very excited to share that I am down to just .5 over my lowest weight while on the HCG diet. I had been fluctuating so much and pretty much accepted that I was going to stabilize at 3 over but I have just been eating a ton of protein and not as much wine and cheese (my two favorite things). I have also been very active lately. We have 5 acres and it takes alot of work to keep up with it, mainly the kids toys scattered and the dog poop! We have had such gorgeous weather that I have been taking full advantage of it!

Anyway, the rest of my life has my head spinning. I feel so frustrated trying to keep everything in order. My husband works out of town alot which leaves me to handle basically everything. It is alot of work keeping up with the house, the kids and of course lastly, MYSELF!

It definitely helps feeling so great about my body. If I was still over 180 pounds, I can see myself sitting on the couch and eating oreos more often! Instead, I am just keeping at it and trying my best every day. If I do not get everything accomplished or if I have to change up my plans, I just move forward and dont look back!

So those are my encouraging words for the day! Now, I have to go pack 3 lunches, get two little monkeys dressed and ready for school, take them up to the church and then get myself to school across town. The hardest part will be surving 6 hours of class today! Wish me luck!

Growing

I have been thinking alot about summer since we have had such wonderful weather the past few days. I would really like to have 3 4x8 raised garden beds this summer. The only problem is I am not good at gardening. I hate weeding and watering. So, where does that leave me? Not sure. Surely if I put in the effort to make 2 more raised beds, I will put a little more effort in this year???
I want to grow:
romaine
bell peppers
jalapenos
cucumbers
onions
tomatoes
strawberries
watermelon?
I would also like to get some apple and cherry trees. I realize they will not be producing for quite awhile but we are planning on living here foreverish.
The problem here is our soil. We have very sandy ground. I guess I could just give it a try with what I've got. I plan to start my seeds inside soon!

Anyway, I don't have much to report today because I was in class all day. Another fun day of lecture! I like to sit in back and check out all my fav blogs but there are like 30 people in front of me and I find it so strange that they just sit there and stare at the power points for 5 hours! Really? Isn't that old yet?

HCG Maintenance Day 7: My weight went up today by like alot! Scary! I guess my partying on Saturday was a little too soon. I am learning though. Those sugar free margaritas sure were fun in the moment. I ate awesome today. No snacks, just two meals. I planned out my meals for tomorrow too and am staying just under 1000 calories. I think a few days of this will pay off and I can be back down where I want to be. I haven't even gone over the 1500 cals allotted in any day though so I don't know why I am wavering so much. I also just had to try on these size 12 jean shorts today and they fit me better than they even did last year when I was around this weight. I have quit eating fruit because I think the carbs are what is messing with my weight. I am sticking to lean meats and veggies. Oh, and a little cheese! I just cannot live without cheese any longer!
An amazing milestone though is that I have not had fast food or restaurant food in 4 weeks! Not a bite!

Fiesta!

This evening I am hosting a Family Fiesta Night with my Meetup Group Social Mamas! I am so excited because we rarely get together with husbands included. Everyone is bringing a Mexican dish and I fixed a Taco Buffet.

Update on HCG Maintenance Day 6: Have been up and down a few pounds but am maintaining! That is the whole point. I have had a few cheats like my wine, a diet coke today and tonight I am sure there will be some hidden sugar I inevitably will consume. I will do my best but man, this part is actually harder than the first 3 weeks!

Have a great weekend!

Bright White Bathroom

My house was built in 1975 and it shows. It has never been renovated just maintained. When we moved in every light and fixture in the house was so dated and hideous. Lots of bronze and gold. The cabinets all match throughout the house and there are alot of them. The problem is that they are so hideous! So here is my green bathroom with lovely yellow laminate countertops. The cabinets are dark brown and have what appears to be 12 coats of polyurethane on them.

While I hate my bathroom, I do not have the $$ to do much to is. It just always felt old. So in order to give it a fresh new facelift, I got out an old gallon of white paint and went to town!

This snow must be getting to me because I just do not know what to do with my yime when I am literally stuck in the house!

I have never painted any walls white because I love color. I usually choose bold and bright. This space has great light since it faces east so the white really shows it off.

I am so happy with my decision! It still needs alot of work in here but it settled my urge to do major renovations for awhile. Painting ain't easy! Apparently painting white over a dark color is much harder that vice versa. It took me forever and I ran out of paint even before I really got an even coat. So don't sit for too long on my pot because you will see all the flaws!

I used Behr Bright White. I cannot recommend this paint because two weeks ago I painted my hallway with the high end Valspar Ultra Premium paint and primer in one and it was glorious! It is the BEST paint I have ever used. It is definitely worth the extra $8 per gallon.

Next project. . . who knows! I would like to redo the trim and reface the cabinets in this bathroom before I try to tackle the kitchen and main rooms. Gotta get some more dough for that task though!

Have a great day!

REVAMP

I am revamping my blog. I am sick of my weight loss focus. I am a mommy, wife, student, builder, painter, friend and surely I wear many more hats. I try to embrace my life as an Okie (that's what "REAL Oklahomans are called round these parts". My new blog address is "Where the June Bugs Zoom" because when I googled "lyrics to Oklahoma", that is the first line I liked. It basically sums up my house during the summer months. I used to run and hide when the June bugs swarmed but I have learned to accept them, AKA swat and stomp. They are crunchy little buggers too. So, in an effort to express my creativity, rant about whatever the hell I please and be a wanna-be Pioneer Woman, here is my new blog!

I hope I do not lose any of my 7 followers!! I love YALL!!

Done Done Done

I am officially finished with the 500 calorie diet and HCG drops! I still cannot eat starches or sugar for 3 weeks which is still going to take awhile to figure out which foods I can eat and still lose weight. I am so proud of myself because I lost 18 pounds in 23 days! That is just crazy! I feel so good about myself and all the discipline I managed to use over the past 3 weeks. It was not easy at times but overall very doable.

I want to put into writing my new goals so that I do not go astray thinking I am done. I have done an amazing thing but I am still not where I see myself. I will just come right out and say it because I have not been this weight since high school. I weigh 163 pounds now! It seems I was stuck in the 180s for all of my 20's so I am thrilled to be starting my 30's in the 160's.

My new goal is to get down to 155. This is just 8 pounds. Sounds doable right?

Well, I better go cook up some eggs with green peppers and avacado! YUM!

Have a fabulous day! I have an exam and am not looking forward to it. Yesterday was a looong day of lecture and after have most of last week off due to snow, it is hard to stay focused!

One day left!

I am down 17 pounds in 3 weeks! Woo hoo! Yes, I say that a lot even in real life! I bought a new scale yesterday and since I have gone through 4 lithium batteries for my scales in 2 years that are supposed to last 5 years, I got the $7.99 analog scale that will not fail me! I was kind of torn between going the 40 days or not because I am definitely not where I want to be weight-wise but I am happy and want to eat fooooood! So tomorrow is it and I get to go on to maintenance! Hello, bacon, sausage, ranch, blue cheese, and eggs!

So thin!

This diet rocks! I have 5 more days of drops and then I am done! I have no idea how much I have lost yesterday or today because my scale battery died! I actually do not have any intention of getting a new battery because I just want to be surprised at the end! There is nothing I can do if I am not losing as much as I would like anyway. I have stuck to the plan completely (except for that one Moms Night Out but that was planned!) So, we shall see. I feel soooo skinny. My stomach is so close to being pooch-less! I think I will do another round after Easter so April 25. That way I finish up just before David's big 5th birthday pool party! Also I have heard I will continue to lose over the next few weeks of maintainence too so that is great. Anyway, off to school!

Stuck

We are still stuck inside all day today. I used up all my fun ideas yesterday so I am not sure how to entertain the kids today. Guess I better bust out the books and do a little school work. I also need to do a little cleaning because this house is starting to stink! Not sure if it's the chicken or dogs! All need cleaned for sure!

I lost another pound today! 14.5 lbs lost I think! I am so happy because I now weigh less than I have in almost 15 years! I cannot remember when exactly I really put on weight as a teenager but I remember in 8th grade I was 144lb and thought I was a cow! So, I just hope to keep on losing!

I had a rough time last night. I was really wanting to quit and just give up. I didn't cheat, I just drank my hot tea and went to bed early. I can see that there are just 6 short days left (3 more days of drops!) and then I can eat some cheese on my salad! Oh the joy!

SNOklahoma 2011!!!

Well the snowstorm hit us hard all night. It is still coming down with very hard winds. We have at least 7 inches. I haven't been out and do not plan to until this wind dies down!

I am happy to report I lost another pouns so I am down 13.5 lbs! I only have a week left of the 500 cals so I am hoping I can still lose another 5. I would imagine I will have another good loss sometime in this week. It is going to be very hard to stick with it because I am going to be stuck at home bored to death due to the snow!

I moved my chicken in the house in a dog cage last night because the temp is -20 with wind chill and I just cant bear to lose another chicken. She is so funny to have around too. The kids and dogs are loving it! I got really bored this morning and googled "how to sew a chicken diaper" lo and behold a lady has a youtube video on exactly what I wanted! So I whipped one up in about 15 minutes!

I had to lock the dogs in the bedroom because Brutus sees her as a walking chicken nugget! I put it on her and she got to mosy around the house with us. She walks real slow and just checks everything out! She has gotten alot more tame recently. She likes me alot and lets me carry her around too. If I had know how great chickens were as pets, I never would have gotten dogs. Now they are a pain in the butt!

So here is sweet Betty in her new diaper!