Looong Weekend

My boys went to their Grandma's this weekend so Scott and I had a long, relaxing weekend. We both went out with friends (not together) Friday night and then watched a movie together at home Saturday.

I cheated on my diet Friday night because I really wanted to have a good time out with my girls! I was planning on having just a glass of red wine (gave up my fruit that evening) and I did but I also had a Vodka Tonic later in the evening when my friends were all having more fun than me in the crowded, dirty, standing room only bar. So, I didn't gain the next morning but I didn't lose either. And again today, no loss! So, was it worth it? Heck yes! We had a great time and I NEVER get to get out with my friends and just loosen up!

So today I have tried to stick with the protocol but it is hard to even eat because I just am not hungry. Even last night I could not eat my fruit again. I know how important it is to eat everything because it won't work if I am not getting enough calories. So, I have some faux chili on the stove and I am going to eat it up!

I didn't realize today marks two weeks so I need to do my measurements but I like to make sure I get the smallest result so will do it in the morning. I can tell a huge difference already. I have my waist back and my pooch is fading! I even fit into my Lucky brand jeans Friday night!

Anyway, tomorrow starts a new week. Have my second test tomorrow, Booooo! I will do it all though!!

Oh no! Aunt Flo!

As if this diet isn't hard enough, Aunt Flo came to visit today and now I have to go a few days without the drops. I did lose another .5 lb so I am very happy. Down to 11.5 lbs in 8? days! My next weight loss will be into the 160's!! I loooove the 160's. I think I will try to stick with chicken and tilapia for a few days and lay off the ground beef. I was doing better before I started eating it.

It's actually funny because last year when I did the 30 Day Shred, I lost 11 pounds in January and got down to 168. This means I gained 10 pounds last year!! UGH! That is just disgusting. No baby to show for it. Just pure fat!

One more gone!

Well this HCG diet sure ain't easy or fun but it works! It really works. I have lost 11 pounds now in 7 days. I felt great all day, no weak or queasy feelings at all.

Today was my first Pharmacology exam and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that I did okay. It wasn't that hard but one of the measurements we needed to know I got mixed up. So for future reference, as if anyone would ever need to know this:
1 gram equals 15 grains and 60 milligrams equals 1 grain or something like that, see I still don't know it!

Anyway, today means I only have 14 more days of this 500 calorie bullcrap. I already planned a Mexican Fiesta with friends a week after I finish. I miss my cheese.

Uh ho!

Lettuce tacos! Yum!

6 pieces romaine leaves

extra lean ground beef

1t taco sauce (no calories, no sugar) (the plan does not allow for this since I am mixing 2 veggies tomatoes and lettuce but I have been using it all along)

hot sauce

Wrap them up and enjoy!

Well, I got up and weighed and didn't lose a single pound! My scale only shows to the half pound though so I'd like to think I at least went down .2 pounds! Oh well, I am not giving up yet. I did remeasure and have lost 7 inches, including an inch off each thigh! Now that is what I was hoping for!

It was a little tricky today because I had to sit in class for 3 hours and felt a little light headed and slightly nauseas (I know that is not spelled right but spell check says it is, so ha!). I didn't feel awful and I get the same feeling if I don't eat before lunch on a normal day. After lunch I had to be on my feet and I was fine the rest of the day.

I used the oil free lotion alot yesterday and am wondering if that is what caused a non loss. I just used it once today. My hands are so dry they are cracking and painful!

I have trouble drinking my water during school days. They only let you take breaks once an hour and when I drink alot I need to pee like every 5 minutes it seems.

I know how boring this is all sounding and I am incredibly sorry for that. I just want to have a record of how it all went if in the future I want to do it again.

Last night I had to call my mom (also on the diet) and get some support (aka curse like a sailor) because I guess the boredom of studying by myself in this lonely house made me want to eat!

Anyway, I will not quit! I am 1/3 of the way through!

Loving it!

I am down 10 pounds in 4 days!! Tomorrow I get to re-measure myself to see my results. I don't quite feel thinner but I can see a difference in my face and under my chest. I will be thrilled to see the change in my booty and thighs!

My cheats: I put about 1T green or red taco sauce on my salads because I cannot take ACV twice a day. It really makes a chicken salad!

I got some spray conditioner that I spray on just the length of my hair. I would be a hot mess without this.

I also use baby oil (yuk!) and just got some oil free Neutrogena face moisturizer because my hands actually started falling apart. Dr. Simeons says the fat flowing in your body will give you a youthful glow but I am not seeing it yet!

Today was my first day at school while on the diet. I brought a taco salad and an apple. I actually wasnt hungry for the apple until on the way home. I thought I would be exhausted but I had plenty of energy and felt great all day.

Lost a small sack of potatoes!

I've lost 2 more pounds for a total of 5 in 2 days! That is incredible. I am still in bragging mode about the diet because I seriously have more energy and am not hungry at all. I do have to fight off cravings though.

Last night I was sad because while I could have gone out to Chelino's and devoured 2 baskets of chips and an extra large plate of lard, I was eating chicken soup. And when I say chicken soup, I mean chicken in water, spices and spinach. I did make a baked an apple though and it was fabulous! It does make me sad that I have to diet like this but it will be worth it. I just keep thinking bikini body!

Baked apple recipe:
Core 1 granny smith apple
Place in baking dish and fill bottom with water about 1/4 inch to keep moisture in.
Pour pumpkin pie spice and stevia to taste in core.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
YUMMY!

Since I cannot be fun anymore aka eat or drink, I basically cleaned all freaking day. Including the chicken coop which was a nasty and I am pretty sure I have some disease now because while I tried not to breath as the wind blew the poo piles in my face, it was a little tricky. So if I die, let the news channels know that it was my love for my chicken that killed me.

Woohoo

I was so excited to wake up this morning to weigh myself. I lost 3 pounds! I started blogging Wednesday but it was just embarassing to put into words all the food I ate and how I felt about it! Yuk. I don't want to go back there.

Yesterday was the first day on the VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet). I had alot of expectations and it was nothing like it. I was NOT hungry in the slightest. It was even hard for me to eat that much.

Brkfst: Coffee

Lunch: Tilapia, Spinach with strawberries drizzled in apple cider vinegar

Dinner: Ground beef, iceberg lettuce drizzled with taco sauce (not sure if that was allowed, says no sugar or calories so I did it)

Snacks: Orange and 2 melba toasts (not at once)

I made my family tacos for dinner so it was not hard to resist since I got a faux taco salad!

I have to go out in the cold and start my car because I am pretty sure it is below freezing. I have to go to school and of course I have to stop for gas. Normally my husband will go out and "fill er up" for me but he was sick and was not catching my hints last night.

Abcense Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I have lots to update since last June! Time flies when you are having fun!
1. I started Nursing school last week and in 16 months I will be an R. N. with a BSN! Woot Woot!
2. I feel extremely guilty leaving my kids 17 hours a week while I am in class!
3. I am on a building hiatus. Since I last posted, I have built a toddler bed, twin fort bed, King bed, 2 bookshelves, step stool and dining table and bench! There are probably a few more things but I cannot think right now.
4. I have started feeling FAT again!
5. I don't know where this random list came from but it feels right so let's go with it.

That last one is the most important to me. If I do not feel good about my body, everything else in life goes wonky. I wish that weren't true but it is. So here is my plan to fix it.

HCG DIET! (If you don't know what this is, here is the protocol straight from the creator, DR. Simeons http://hcgdietinfo.com/Dr-ATW-Simeons-Pounds-and-Inches.htm. Check it out! After you get all skeptical and health conscience on me, google hcg before and after pics. You will be amazed. I truly believe that the reason this is not marketed more is because where would it leave the big ballers who sell weight loss pills? Broke!

I bought the homeopathic drops from my local health food store for $50 for the 23 day supply.

Wish me luck! I just took my before pics and they are appalling! If you looked like I do in a bikini, you would jump on the bandwagon too!I did my measurements too and weighed in.

So today is Day 1 or the binge, pig out, gorge day! I have eaten a Sausage and egg biscuit, embarassed to say I could not eat the hashbrown because I was so full, chocolates that have been hiding in my cupboards since Christmas whispering my name 3x day, Wendys chicken nuggets that the kids begged for and then decided they werent hungry, potato soup which is my fav food ever and 2 glasses of wine. I feel like I should eat more but I cannot stuff anything else in this fat belly. So, that's it for Day 1.

Tomorrow, I have class in the morning and then more eating to do!

Well, Well, Well!

Well, well, well! What have I been up to?

I don't know if I got this crazy idea at the thought of farm fresh eggs in my backyard or after seeing pictures of adorable coops! I wanted it to be cheap and to use as many of my scrap pieces as I could. I found plans that I liked, like the Playhouse Coop but the plans were not easy for a novice. I found the Backyard Chicken site which allows readers to submit their pics and the building process for their own coops. It was a challenge to sort through all and find one I liked, considering I knew very little about chickens and how they lived.
So I drew up many, ideas on envelopes of bills. But then I would toss them after they were on my counter for too long. They were never worth keeping anyway.
I kept going out to my building area under the carport and looking at all the wood I had accumulated and putting a few pieces together. I think after about a week my husband started feeling sorry for me. He is not really that great at creating plans either though so we were not a great pair.

It has been over 2 months since I last blogged and for good reason might I add. I have been so busy this spring and now it is already summer! Yay! I love, love, love summer. We have a swimming pool so everyday has a little sun and water in it. My kids love to swim, and play in the water and as a fair skinned red-head somehow, I am TAN!
I started back to school to prep for my trip to Nursing School at Oklahoma City University in January by taking Principles of Chemistry at OCCC. It is 8 weeks and ohhhh so intense. Luckily I had to take Advanced Chem in high school so it is all very vaguely familiar. High School was over 10 years ago so I must add the very to vaguely.
I have been most busy with my building obsession. I love surprising myself. I love challenging myself. I love to show off my skills to my husband. While I did show off my skills, I also go in way over my head and needed more help from him than I intended. But, the end result was AMAZING. So amazing that 8 chickens are now the residents of my latest obsession,

A chicken coop!

I have to give thanks to Ana at Knock Off Wood, whom I mentioned a few months ago when I built the West Elm Modern Farmhouse Table and Benches. She is this super talented, beautiful and most generous blogger who shares her own plans to Pottery Barn look-a-like furniture.
After I had built the West Elm Farmhouse Table and two benches, a Pottery Barn Madison book shelf and a preschool picnic table, I decided I needed something bigger. I am not sure if it was the idea of raising my own chickens and going out for farm fresh eggs every morning or the idea of these super cute yet functional chicken houses that I found at Backyard Chickens. This website gave semi-instructional pictures but no plans! So I gave it my all and just went for it. A divorce was almost caused in the process but now that it is all said and done, we are all a happy family again. All 15 of us. Yes, there are now 2 parents, 3 sons, 2 dogs and 8 chickens! This is the final result:

For Crepes Sake!

I used to be a good mommy. With my first child, David, I made him homemade baby food. I was even working full time in the Air Force! Every Saturday I would spend about 5 hours preparing and freezing months worth of baby food for him. He was NEVER served a jar of Gerber. And yes, I was damn proud of that.
With my second child, I attempted to do the same. It lasted 10 days. . . He was ONLY served jars of Gerber. Well, not completely. I tried and tried but it was much harder to do. I did not feel like less of a mommy for this, this time around though.
Well, over the past (David's fourth birthday is in less than 2 months)few years, I have given in to requests for Pop Tarts, Coco Puffs, Coco Pebbles. . . I could go on and on. I take my kids with me to the grocery store which makes it very hard. I want to keep the peace so we can get out with a happy mommy.
My challenge to myself this month is to make more healthy, homemade breakfasts for them. Cooper (17 months old)will eat anything and would devour any homemade breakfast. David, on the other hand, is a very picky 3 year old. He used to love waffles and pancakes. Now, he prefers dry cereal on the couch with some Dinosaur Train.
David is like his mommy in the mornings. Grouchy! In his case, he needs some dry cereal and Dinosaur Train on tv. In my case, I need just shy of a full pot of coffee. Somedays I do not fully awake until noon.
Back to the point, I am going to branch out from pancakes and waffles and move on to CREPES!

I just made a batch of them and they are waiting until morning in the fridge. We will be having blueberrys and syrup as the topping tomorrow. In David's defense, he has been trying so many new foods lately, it's like he is a different child. We do not pressure him with food. If he does not eat what is served at mealtime, he will wait until snacktime to eat again.
Do you have any tips or breakfast recipes for a picky child? Next, I will be making strawberry muffins and freezing them for the month!