To be Healthy

New month, new goals

2012-02-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm always constantly thinking of new goals to make- things I can do to be better. Life is about always striving to become a better person through learning new things and harnessing your bad habits to make new better ones.

As I look at January I feel really good about it. My big goal was to exercise at the gym most days, and I did that. Now I am highly addicted to the gym and can be kind of cranky if I don't get there. I'm slightly obsessed because they have a daycare, and I don't have to worry about my children while I'm exercising. My two year old begs to go now. As far as eating goes I did pretty well. I wanted to only eat sweets on days that start with S and some weeks I followed it, and some I didn't. I also wanted to not eat after nine, but soon realized that because I nurse I am often starving at nine and need a slight pick-me-up (usually in the form of an apple and some peanut butter, yum!). I lost a few pounds last month. Yay! I came home from vacation at 145/146 and now I weigh around 142/143. So, I count that as a big success!

I've decided that this year I want to try a new grain each month. I have become pretty good at using wheat, so I figure I can now expand my hurizons a bit. This month I think I may do spelt. Its a wheat and I've read that I can substitute it in baked goods for white flower and you can't tell much difference. I'm so excited to check this out and will share my findings!
As far as fitness is concerned, my goal is to do yoga at least once a week. I'd like to become a really good yogi if I could. There are quite a few yoga benefits, but the one that stands out to me the most is the fact that its good for arthritis. I have arthritis and need some types of exercise that can help me strengthen my muscles in a way that is good for my joints. My overall goal is to start doing research to find different ways I can exercise and still stay fit and strong to help slow down the wear on my joints because of the arthritis. My mom has 3 types of arthritis and takes some pretty strong medicine for the pain. I started showing signs that I had it at the same age my mom found out she had arthritis. I don't want to take drugs to help with the pain. My efforts in the next years are to find other ways to help with the pain and I believe that exercise is one of the best ways I can do this. I will also share my findings in my research when it comes to arthritis too. I know I'm young to have this, but for me it is purely genetic. So, I desperately want to find ways to avoid the heavy medicine. Natural is what I want. We will see what the future holds!
Eaiting goals- just making sure I eat a balanced diet, making healthy substitutes for the sweets and other foods that I like, making me feel less guilty.

Yay for goals and yay for a better me! What are your goals for this month?

Pineapple cutter

2012-01-25T12:17:00.001-07:00

My husband got me this for my bday. I love it! It makes pineapple prep and eating easier. I highly recommend it.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GA53CO/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1327518904&sr=8-2

Create

2012-01-16T19:52:00.001-07:00

We all have an inherent desire to create something. For me, right now, I want to create, or improve my physical fitness. I believe that because we are children of god we can do anything we set our mind to. Love this message.
Watch "Mormon Messages: Create" on YouTube

Yay for gyms

2012-01-12T10:05:00.001-07:00

Monday night was one the best nights ever! Do you know why????

I joined a gym!

Wahoo!

BEST.DECISION.EVER!

I've gone every day this week and have loved every minute of it. The best part is the kids care center. I don't have to worry about the baby taking a nap while I'm exercising and I don't have to worry about my 2 year old being entertained the whole time. I can do my workout uninterupted. Yay!

Can you tell I'm excited? Because I am.

My goals for working out at the gym are two-
1. Go to the spinning classes and get really go at it. I did my first official one today and I know I'm going to be sore.
2. Increase my waits when I lift. It's nice to have heavier weights to work with.

So excited to this new workout adventure!

What are you doing this week/month/year to increase your fitness level?

Hope you have a good day and remember you can do anything you set you mind to! Go do it!

Vacation exercise and Christmas gifts

2012-01-05T08:57:00.001-07:00

For Christmas I got Insanity, by beachbody. It's similar to p90x, but the focus is on carrion and using your body as resistance. I've done it a few times and love it! I am sweaty and tired by the end. The workouts are really challenging and I look forward to mastering them. When I get home I will focus on doing it more often (I think it has 6 workouts a week), supplementing it with strength training because I think that is still important. My husband also bought me three bob harper dvds for my birthday. I've done one and it kicked my trash! The others are kettlebell workouts and look forward to using those when I get home. To follow with the exercise theme for my bday and Christmas my husband gave me a "coupon" for a much desired gym membership at the ymca! I can't wait to start working out at the gym! I'm keeping with the biggest loser theme for this season by following their "no excuses mantra. I really have no excuses now!

I'm still at my parents house for vacation and because I've had my parents to babysit, I've taken advantage of that. I've mostly been playing basketball (they have a half court in their backyard), lifting weights and running while I've been here. My basketball skills have increased greatly the last few weeks and is lie if I didn't say I like it! I LOVE basketball and feeling almost as good as when I played in high school is pretty invigorating. The pick up games with my little brother have been pretty nice as well! We usually follow up our basketball games with strength training in garage which is also really fun. Yay for family exercising together!

I'm looking forward to this new year and sharing my health goals and my weightloss success with you. If I believe I can do it I will.

I did it!

2011-12-12T12:57:00.001-07:00

You know how I made that goal that I would only eat sweets on days that start with s? Guess what? *sing- songy voice*

I did it! I'm so excited!

My goal this week is to follow the same food rule. I'm leaving for California on Wednesday for three 1/2 weeks and my major goal is to follow this food rule the whole time I am there. It seems like last week when I made this goal, my determination to become healthier and more fit has increased. I am looking at this as a fun challenge. My birthday is Friday, so I'm making an exception for that but besides thus it is no sweets on days that don't start with the letter s. I will post my complete list of goals later today. Now I must try and nap while both girls are napping. Wish me luck!

This weeks goal

2011-12-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

After a very fun thanksgiving holiday and lots of overeating and sweets I am more of a sweetaholic then I was before. I became conditioned just in those two weeks to want a sweet as soon as my girls went to bed and the adults either stayed up to play a game or to watch a show on tv. There is one thing I am proud of though, they had bought cheesecake factory cheesecake from Sams and my sister in law started reading the label and said that little piece of cheesecake was 500 calories and I said that was too much so instead had some frozen yogurt that we had bought that was 90 calories for 1/2 cup. Even if I had more, it still would not equal 500. I felt so proud!

As sweets as my topic I am going back to oneof Michael Pollan's food rules which is

"Treat treats as treats and only have them on days that start with S."

Thiss is so hard to do especially during the holidays, but I'll do it because I need to do it. Who wants to do this with me? Strength in numbers right?

Okay, I'm going to do it I will. I will I will.

Put your mind to it!

2011-11-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

When people tell me they can't do something, I think in my head, "No, you just don't know you CAN do it." If you really want to do something and set your mind to it to make it happen, it will happen, end of story. You won't know you can do it unless you try. If you want to do something like lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, give birth naturally, run a race, get a degree, etc, decide you are going to do it. Write it down. Create an action plan. Then do it. From past experience, I know that if I set my mind to anything I can do it. I have to be willing to do the work to make it happen, and if I am then it will happen. The sky is the limit, Once you realize your potential you can do anything. If you are scared or anxious you won't accomplish what you want look at the people before you who have done what you want to do and use them as your example. One of my favorite mantras I repeat is, "If they can do it, then I can to." I can look like Jillian Michaels and trainermomma in the sense that I can have toned arms and flat abs, I just have to be willing to eat really healthy and train hard. If they can do it so can I.

You can do it. Set your mind to it and do it.

Something I've put my mind to-
I'm going to do races next year. I've decided I'm not running the half. Not because I can't. I know I can. I'm not going to run it because I don't want 2 hours of training sometimes to take me away from family time. I also considered the fact that I have arthritis and I really don't want my arthritis to get worse because I run a half. So instead I'm going to run 5ks and 10ks. There are quite a few next year here in Dallas, so I'm going to do them. I'll start with the one on the same day the half is taking place. My goal is to gradually increase my speed and get better at my overall time. I'm excited and have started running this week. Yay!

My half marathon schedule-

2011-11-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

With my last half I followed a specific, very easy for the beginner, schedule, and plan to do the same this time. You can find the url for it on a post I did when I began my training last time, over two years ago- half marathon schedule.

Since I made the announcement that I was going to do this half, I have kind of got scared. Scared of the being able to achieve this goal- yes I am fearful even though I know I did it before. My husband won't be doing it this time, so I would be doing the training on my own. That's nerve racking. Plus, I'm fearful that I won't find time. I'm also fearful that I will be able do the race and not make my baby starve. Hopefully I will be able to nurse her right before the race starts. Luckily I live right down the street from where it will be, so that's an added bonus. So many factors to worry about, and I kind of got overwhelmed about it this afternoon. When I decide to do something, I kind of become obsessed with it, whether it be sewing, crocheting, exercising, races. Anything. Anyhow, I got reminded that using that fear to push me towards my goal instead of hold me back really will help me accomplish it-

I'm reading "Unlimited" by Jillian Michaels, and if you minus all of the swear words in there (I shouldn't be surprised), its really a good book and has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I need to fix, and things that will help empower me in all aspects of my life. She said about fear, "Yes, the unknown can be scary, even painful sometimes. But venturing into it is usually worth the risk. Remember, every action you take plants a seek; if you take that action with a pure intention, it will yield fruit in time." If you never try to do something that is out of your comfort zone you won't grow. (As a side note, I think Jillian Michaels should read the book of mormon, she would agree with a lot of whats said in there. I recall a certain book of mormon prophet that said a similer thing about planting a seed and as you take action to make it grow, it will some day bear fruit. Anyhow, just my opinion. She should read it I think).

So anyhow, there is my schedule and my thoughts for the evening. I really need to go running...

Half Marathon Number 2???

2011-11-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

So last week my friend announced last week that she was going to do a half here in dallas at the end of January. I was excited for here and jealous at the same time, because I can't wait to do a race! Last night I found out that she is doing the same half-marathon and started training last week. That got me to thinking, shoud I do it too? I know I can run a half, because I've done it before, the question is, can I do it that soon? I mentioned my interest to Scott, and later to my friend, and both said I should do it. Then my mind got to thinking...

I started thinking about what I would have to do to prepare for the race, trying to figure out a way I can do it, because I really want to. What better way to jumpstart my weightloss? First, do I have time? There is twelve weeks. The schedule I used last time was a ten week schedule. Doable. I can't run with both of the girls because I don't have a double jogger, and even if I did the baby is too young for that. Well then I figured that I can run after the hubby gets home from work and the girls are in bed. I can do that. Right?

I'm nervous because I know how tiring it is to run 13.1 miles, but I know it will be so awesome to finish one again. A great way to start of the year as well. I'm very seriously considering doing this. What do you think???

Moving forward

2011-11-05T17:19:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to get down to business! Its going to be hard, but completely worth it!

Here are my goals:

Get back to pre-pregnancy weight of 125- when, I don't know, I just want to get there.
Push myself in my workouts and become stronger than I was pre-pregnancy.
I'd like to look like Jillian Michaels-the strong and cut part, I like how I like besides that :)
Eat healthier- get lots of fruits and veggies, tons of protein, and whole grains. Eat less sweets.
Try and sleep when I can, I have a tendency to miss napping when I should because of other things that need to be done, so I need to work on that.
Listen to my body.
Last but not least, be an awesome mom!

Wowsers!

2011-11-05T16:28:00.000-06:00

My body is shaking and tired but my endorphins are hi. I just finished a Jillian Michaels dvd. My body can tell I haven't used that dvd in 10 months! Today marks the six weeks of my daughters life. I can't believe she's already that old! We are loving life-the long nights, diaper changes, and sisters adjusting to each other. Its just wonderful! Week two I started walking-more like strolling but I was itching to move. Week three I started very moderate strength training. The last few weeks I've been doing what I had basically been doing at the end of my pregnancy. Yesterday my dr. gave me the go ahead to go full throtle with my exercise routine. She knew I exercised right up to the day I had the baby so I don't think she was worried I would do something crazy because my body is used to it. My whole mantra the last few weeks was "Listen to your body". Today I felt like I could do a Jillian Michaels dvd and I did and it was wonderful. I'm tired but that's what exercise does, it makes your body work, and when you push yourself you become stronger. It feels great!

Coming next are my goals for the next few months...

Baby Girl

2011-09-24T18:09:00.000-06:00

I finally had our baby girl today! I was induced starting last night and had her by 9:55 this morning. It was wonderfully fast and I did it natural, a goal that I set for myself and achieved thanks to the help of my Husband and my Doula and the support of my doctor. Here is the one picture I will post on this blog. I have a family blog and facebook that has more pictures of her and her name and stats. I'm kind of parnoid, so I don't like posting personal information about my family on this site, so if you want to know the specifics of things, become my friend on facebook, or ask to be invited to my family blog by emailing me your email address. Glad to have our girl with us!

P.S. Can't wait to weigh myself when I get home. Nothing like losing 10 pounds at the get go from having a baby! :)

38 weeks

2011-09-07T13:44:00.000-06:00

I cant' believe I am 38 weeks pregnant! Two more to go, but hoping for less! :) My mom flies in next Tuesday, so I'm hoping for a week from today. That would be convenient don't you think? But, seriously, that would be great.

Good news: the baby has dropped, so hopefully that will help get the ball rolling. We'll see. Here is a picture and a few stats:

38 weeks
32 pounds gained
feeling good

Now we are just waiting and waiting and waiting!

35 weeks pregnant

2011-08-16T12:28:00.000-06:00

35 weeks large

Stats:
35 weeks pregnant
29 pounds gained
ready to go

I can't believe that I am this close to the end! Can it come sooner please??????? I have loved being pregnant but it is now to the point where its my belly is so large its in the way and I have a hard time chasing after my two year old. I'm ready to meet this gal, and ready to start getting this body back.

I'm still exercising 5-6 days a week (if I know I'm going to be walking a lot that day-like at the zoo or something then I might skip out on the workout...), with cardio 3 days and strength training the other 3. The goal its to keep moving every day even though it is getting harder and harder to do (I have now perfected the waddle and do it wherever I go). I'm trying to eat healthy with whole grains, fruits, veggies, and protein. The focus has mostly been on whole grains and fruits- I've been craving those like crazy this week. I can't get enough cherries or smoothies in my diet. :)

Life is good but I'm waiting and ready. We took out the baby stuff last weekend and rearranged the house. Big sister has successfully transitioned to a big girl bed (although naptimes are still a struggle...). I have last minute blanky projects I'm working on. My daughter has a few blankets I and my family members did for her where you crochet around the edge of a flanel blanket and she carries them around everywhere. I know she won't share, and those are her special blankies anyhow, so I'm doing some for the new gal.

Anyhow, a friend asked me what I've been eating/snacking on while pregnant and my favorite thing lately is smoothies.

What I put in my smoothie:

1-2 cups frozen fruit (make sure you have some frozen mango or banana in there, it makes it super creamy)
enough milk to help it blend, but not make it to soupy-I like mine a nice, thick, creamy consistancy. I use skim milk.

I blend those together and then like to add a few tsps of semi-sweet chocolate chips afterwards- plus its the only way I can get my daughter to share with me- when chocolate is said she runs-sounds a bit like her mother...

5 more weeks to go! We can't wait!

Red Hair

2011-07-28T09:10:00.000-06:00

I went to the salon to get my hair done, wanting red highlights but was talked into getting red hair with even more red highlights, and the highlights are chunks. The jury is still out on whether I like it or not. What do you think?

30 weeks down, 10 to go!

2011-07-12T13:21:00.000-06:00

This is me today:

30 weeks preggo and feelin it!
153 pounds. 24 gained since I became pregnant. Not bad.

I wish I could be this far along and feel like I did during my second trimester. As soon as I hit the beginning of my 3rd trimester, my body started aching more, I've been having more crazy dreams, I'm moving a lot slower (my walk today was at a snail's pace, I think!), and having charley-horses up the wazoo at night. Oh the joys of being pregnant! The girly inside of me is moving and doing great!

I'm on track with my goals for the most part-
I'm eating healthy (with the occasional sweet treat, sometimes daily... but they are healthier sweet treats, so it can't be that bad right????).
I'm still exercising 5-6 days a week 30 min-1 hr. I know its healthy for me to make exercise an almost daily occurance. I know I would have a lot less energy if I didn't, especially chasing after a potty-training two year old! I also know that if I stop it will be hard to start back up later, which is a good motivator. And, I also know that if I continue on, it will hopefully be a little bit easier to bounce back. As soon as the dr gives to okay after this baby is born, I'm hitting it HARD- I would lie if I didn't say I want my old skinny body back! I can't wait to be able to move and run and jump and keep up with everyone else! But, right now I'm trying to enjoy the good things about being pregnant. Its a pretty special thing, and I am glad I get to experience carrying another child from my Heavenly Father. Can't wait to meet this girl!

Itchin to post a pregnancy update

2011-06-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

It seems like once I decided to take a break from this blog, small ideas here and there for blog posts started coming to me, and I almost regretted saying I would take a rest. So, here's to an "every-now-and-again" post.

As I am entering into my third trimester this in 6 days, I figured I could give you a pregnancy update- how I'm doing on my pregnancy goals, etc.

26 weeks and 0 days pregnant
19 pounds gained thus far.

Can you believe I'm that far along? I can't! 98 days to go! Wowsers! I hope I can get ready for this by then! Having more than one child in the house is going to be an adjustment, to say the least.

Throughout my pregnancy I have been trying really hard to keep my goals afloat and I feel like I am doing a pretty good job. Exercise is still happening 5-6 days a week, with weight lifting and cardio switching each day. I think that exercise is really helping me in my energy levels and just helping me feel extra good. I made it a goal last week to stop having treats/sweets during the week (a goal I feel I constantly make and fail to see through), and I actually did it! I was seeing more than the recommended 1 pound a week gainage for a few weeks, and figured that the 2 or 3 handfulls of chocolate chips that I was grabbing every few hours wasn't helping, so I only let myself have chocolate on the weekends now. I'm feel better physically when I do that anyway, so it was really nice to do it and succeed! And, I've gained 19 pounds so far, which really isn't to shabby! I calculated it out, and if I gain the recommended pound a week from now until I am done, I will gain right around 35 pounds give or take a few, which is right where I wanted. I eat when my body tells me I'm hungry and I stop (most of the time!) when I am full. Its a great system and one I plan on sticking to when I am not pregnant any more. I make sure I have lots of veggies and fruits, as well as protein and whole grains, and limit the extra stuff- pretty much everything I was doing before the pregnancy.

Anyhow, wanted to just give an update. Besides being tired and a little bone-weary at night, life is good and being pregnant is great!

P.S.

2011-05-27T08:09:00.000-06:00

If you want to see me grow in my pregnancy and see pics of the baby, and my family, I keep a family blog, that's kind of like a journal/let g-parents see their grandbabies things, just email me (alisalij@gmail.com) your email and I will invite you in. Its a privite blog- so just let me know! I update there pretty often with tons of pictures and family news. That's where my focus will be.

Until next time!

The Blog life

2011-05-26T15:52:00.000-06:00

So sorry for the lack of updates!

Have you ever had a feeling that sometimes a part of your life is finishing and something new is beginning?

I was talking with a friend about a particular blog that I really liked reading, but hadn't seen a post on for over a year or so, and she said something that I was starting to understand myself-

Blogs have lives. Some have longer lives than others. Some have shorter lives.

I've been feeling lately that my blog is supposed to be on the "shorter life" side.

This blog has been many great things for me:
I've learned a lot about myself.
Its helped me become a better person.
I live a healthier lifestyle because I kept this blog.
I've been able to connect with people who have similar interests/concerns/feelings that I do.
I've grown to love cooking, baking, and making food healthier for my family.
I've learned that I can do more than I ever thought was possible!

These skills have allowed me to be a better mother, wife, and person.

Although I know I will always keep learning, and I will always strive to become better in all aspects of my life.

I'm not going to end this blog per se, but for now, I think it is going to take a rest. Who knows, I may need it again after this baby is born. But for now, I'm taking a break. A break I knew was coming, but didn't really want to face. I may still post here and there, but not like I did before. I feel it is time to focus on personal journaling and supporting others in different ways than this blog.

This may not be the end, but is certainly a new beginning... one that I am most excited to start.

Until next time!

My first Tri!

2011-05-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

I SURVIVED! :)

I had such a blast doing this triathlon! It was slightly difficult (due to my lack of training...), but I loved it! It felt like it went faster than it did because it was broken up into three components, something I think I now would prefer-especially to the half-marathon I did almost 2 years ago. My total time was 1hour 30 minutes and 26 seconds, better than I thought I would do! It was so much fun and I highly recommend this! I can't wait till I have the baby and can start training intensely for more triathlons in the future!

Can you tell I'm nervous? Because I was...
Mandi said she figured who I was because I was this pregnant lady who was bighting her fingers looking nervous.
I did that a lot before the race started...

And she's off! I was second to last in line-primarily because I didn't want anyone kicking my belly.
I'm glad I waited for that reason, but it would have been nicer to finish sooner.

This is my transition area. It was super crowded, which is awesome!

The bike part was 10 miles-to loops around a course. This was tiring, but fun. I loved the downhill parts!
I wass the last biker in the race, but that's okay, we all started at different times, so it doesn't matter!

As I started my 2 mile run, I decided to run the whole thing, and I did! It felt great!
I actually passed two people, so I didn't finish last...
I was kind of miffed though because the guy who said he would say "so and so you are now a triathlete" decided that he was going to stop doing that before everyone finished the race, so I didn't get to hear it. At least I know that I am. I guess that counts right?

I got to me an awesome women-Mandi, aka trainermomma! She was so nice and waited at the finish line to cheer me on as I passed it. I was probably a little star-struck! She wanted a preggo pic of us. A triathlon organizer made an honorary catagory for the pregnant ladies, and told me I came in second- they were worried about whether we would be okay during the race. I was definitely okay!

What a blast I had! I can't wait till I get to do it again! You should try it too!

Just finish the race

2011-04-28T16:49:00.000-06:00

Tonight I am starting my "night before" race preparations as I am leaving for the big day tomorrow (the race is in the am, and I don't feel like leaving at midnight to get there, so we are staying at a hotel! YAY!).

Today I swam, to make sure I still could move those leggies and armies in the water, and I can, so that's good. I'll be the turtle in the race though. No hare here. Slow and steady wins the race, or in this preggo momma's case-finishes the race. It was the first time I actually swam in water since, oh, I don't know, last summer... No biggy, I felt good with my new maternity exercise-moister-wicking-top, and my too short to wear to junior high exercise shorts-they so would not pass the tip of your fingers test-but its the only thing I could find that would fit that wasn't 40 dollars... They will work great for the swim, a swim out fit I will probably use the remainder of the summer. I will also be wearing the same outfit for the bike and run-those that are there, just don't look to closely at the thighs as I run... it might be a little scary. And... don't worry its the only time you will see me in that short of shorts ever, unless I'm swimming.

Honest to goodness, I'm not too nervous about the race, yet... The swim has me sort of scared, but I know I will finish-that's my motto-

JUST FINISH THE RACE

Nothing else to stress about. I'm so excited to do this. Hopefully I will enjoy myself and hopefully it will push me to do more in the future-maybe that will be my race of choice from now on. The possibilities are endless! I will do some kind of race post pregnancy-like I did with my last, as a motivation to to get myself back to the pre-baby weight.

I'm also excited because my daughter and I get my husband to ourselves for 2 WHOLE DAYS! -A nice change from the 15 hour day he had yesterday. We really haven't seen him as much since we moved. But alas, at least he has a job right? YAY for a weekend for designated exercise and fimily time with the hubby and daughter. Watch out San Antonio! Here we come!

Candy, no more

2011-04-26T06:43:00.000-06:00

Did any one else overdose on candy htis weekend? I sure did. My poor baby in the tummy has been a lot more active due to all the candy I've eaten, and although I love feeling her move more, I don't like the fact that its because of the candy I've eaten. Granted, I only had it on Sunday and Monday, but that is enough to put me down for the count, big time. Headaches, stomachaches, you name it. My lovely IBS really responded well to all of it...not.

Then I ask the question-why do I still do this? I don't have candy often so when I do it makes me feel ill and because of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, who really hates chocolate and sugar, the symptoms are worse. But, I do it. Still. Well, the rest of the week I am going to try and stay away from these things. I can make sure I get enough calories for this baby without eating this crap, not that that is what I was worrying about when I was eating it-I wasn't even thinking about anything, just the tasty chocolate.

So, today is a new day. No candy or chocolate for me. I'm a happier mom when I avoid this stuff. I also need to prepare this way for my tri. Eat well this week. When I am tempted to eat candy I'm going to eat something healthier if I'm really hungry, or just drink a huge glass of water if I'm not hungry.

What are you guys going to do to stay away from the easter candy this week?

I guess this is it!

2011-04-26T06:32:00.000-06:00

Well, over a month ago I paid for a spot in the race, and last night my husband booked us a hotel for the weekend (he's so excited he has an excuse not to work Saturday or Sunday, and I am too!). So, I guess I am really going to do this triathlon. It hasn't really hit me yet. I mean, I am super nervous, but I think I will so so scared and nervous on Saturday. My in-laws asked me if I thought I could do this and I didn't hesitate by saying, "Ya. Especially since I'm not going for a time or anything. I just want to finish and have fun!" So, I need to remember that as I prepare myself mentally for this thing. But, I am still nervous, but I'm excited to do the triathlon, even if I will be almost 20 weeks pregnant!

18 weeks pregnant stats

2011-04-19T18:58:00.000-06:00

Not the best pic, but this is me at 18 weeks.

My stats:

18 weeks

10 pounds gained

exercising 6 days a week and feelin great!

Trying to eat healthy.

Oh ya, and

Its

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! and Snickerdoodles

2011-04-18T06:41:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, we are finding out what gender the baby is! YAY! I'm super excited and super nervous. We are bringing our daughter because I feel uncomfortable asking someone I barely even know to watch her, more so because I don't want to be a burden on them or anything, so we are bringing her and I am hoping that she gets her nap in before hand. I may wake her up early to make sure of that! ;) Maybe we will even bring our portable dvd player and play her favorite movie, with headphones of course, during it. She sits pretty still that way. Any suggestions?

Anyhow, we are super excited to see the baby, and the figure out what this little person is! I wrung in the week by making perfect snickerdoodles last night (sunday is dessert baking day in our house-mostly so the hubby has something for a fun snack to bring to work). Really, though they were quite tasty.

I've made some changes to the recipe. Here is the changed recipe:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (I prefer soft whole wheat..)
cinnamon-sugar mixture to roll the cookies in.

Cream butter and sugar really well-about 1-2 minutes
add the egg, and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes- you want it to look creamy and yummy when you are done. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Yummy yummy in my tummy!

Hope you all have a good Monday! I'm off for a walk at the lake with the kiddo! Fun, fun!

2 weeks till I Tri

2011-04-16T15:23:00.000-06:00

Two weeks from yesterday we make our trip to San Antonio for the Windcrest Freshman Triathlon. Two weeks from today I do my first triathlon ever! My thoughts are these:

-nervous as all get out.
-why am I doing this 20 weeks pregnant?
-why am I doing this period?
-I'm not a swimmer (still haven't really touched a pool much...)
-I'm not a supreme biker, or even a decent one-I don't have a road bike, mine is a lovely mountain bike.
-What am I going to wear? My tummy is really starting to bolge, and i hope I found the right things to wear, and that I still fit in them by the 30th.
-AH its two weeks away and I'm not ready!
-I almost cried when I went on my first bike ride here in Dallas because I felt so inferior to all the bikers I knew would be on the trail today...
-What about the swimming?
-Should I run or walk- I can run still, but I think I'm just going to feel it out on that da and see how I feel. I think I'm going to run. Its two miles for heaven sakes! We'll see
-I'm so excited to meet the trainermomma!
-I'm so excited to do my first tri!
-I'm so excited to say I did my first tri when I was 20 weeks pregnant!
-I'm so excited to meet the trainermomma!
-I am nervous, nervous, nervous!
-I'm grateful for a husband who is super super supportive.
-If this goes well, I might, I just might do more in the future-this time after I'm pregnant. Races are the best way to become a fit and healthy momma!

I can't believe its almost time for the tri! AH!

Whole Wheat Dutch Oven Pancakes

2011-04-15T07:34:00.000-06:00

I have been craving these like crazy lately! They have 5 ingredients, and they couldn't be easier make. This is something I grew up with and something I will always make. Some people call them Dutch Babies, but we call them Dutch Oven Pancakes, even though we don't cook them in a dutch oven. I've made one change: I use soft whole wheat flour in place of white flour to make them healthier. I buy the soft whole wheat from Honeyvillegrain.com. Its cheaper and they don't charge a bucket load for shipping-only 5 bucks for your entire order, no matter how much it weighs. Anyhow, I use soft wheat for anything that doesn't need a high gluten content- like cookies, cake, muffins, quick breads, waffles, and these. Anyhow, onto the recipe:

Dutch Oven Pancakes
from my mother

serves two

1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup soft white whole wheat flour (you could use regular flour or regular wheat0
3 eggs
a dash of salt
2 tbs of butter

strawberries and sugar

Turn the oven on to 375 degrees. Grab two pie tins and at a tbs of butter (or less, just add some butter) to each and place in the oven. While that is melting, blend together the milk, flour, eggs, and salt in a blender or with a mixer. Remove tins from the oven and pour half of the mixture in each. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

I like this with sliced strawberries macerated in a bit of sugar, or its also good with a little powdered sugar and lemon juice. Hope you enjoy!

New Resolve

2011-04-14T07:27:00.000-06:00

In all honesty, I was not the healthiest of eaters the first trimester of this pregnancy. I craved everything bad for me. Healhty food just sounded kind of disgusting. Now that I am into my 2nd trimester, it seems I can more than tolerate healthy foods, I am craving them again! YAY! I'll still tell you that every once in the while I get a craving to eat out especially at this place we've found in Dallas called "Roti Grill". Its an Indian-style restaurant that's to die for! But, that's besides the point. Because healthy food sounds good again, my resolve to eat healthy has become greater, especially when I think of the beautiful baby inside of my tummy!

What I am doing:
-eat as many fruits and veggies that I can-I try and have one veggie based meal a day at least.
-drink at least 64 ounces of water. More is always better.
-Drink around 3 glasses of milk to get my calcium- I feel like I just blast through my milk cartons, and lactose-free milk does not come cheap!
-Try and eat only 100% whole wheat breads, cereals, and snacks.
-Eat by intuition. I don't count calories now, and I'll have to say-its been a nice change! I may focus more on intuition eating after the baby is born too. I like it. Although, I would have to disclose that this week as we've been dealing with a cranky child who wants her pacifier, I've had my intuition tell me more than once that those whole wheat double dark chocolate peanut butter cookies in the cookie jar were okay to eat, but again, that's besides the point... ;)

So, basically I'm trying to do everything I did before I was pregnant, just trying to amp up the health again. It feels good to be back to my normal self in that aspect. And hey, I think I'm doing pretty good in the gaining weight spectrum of the pregnancy. Right where I should be! Yay! I'm smaller now then I was in my first trimester with my daughter, and that just makes me feel good. Maybe I won't gain fifty pounds this time! There to hopin! Don't worry though, I'm not depriving myself. Whenever I am hungry I eat-I just make sure its good for you eats and I make sure I exercise 6 days a week. I feel great!

Hope you have a happy day today!

Oh, that lovely lake!

2011-04-09T14:14:00.000-06:00

Next to where we live there is a lake-White Rock Lake.

I mean, its very much next to us- just down our street 1 or two minutes! How wonderful!

And, it is a lovely lake.

What I love most about this lake, is the H-U-G-E, wonderfully AWESOME, FANTASTIC, bike/running/walk/roller-blading trail along the ENTIRE thing! Oh, its a lovely sight to behold. It really is.

Its even better when I get to use it. Right now, because of the bun-in-the-oven, I'm doing the walking part.

Today I decided I was going to go for a walk for my exercise. It was so fun to explore a part of the lake I hadn't been at before-seeing people fish in their kayaks, crews of rowers practicing, guys standing on surf boards using a paddle to move it, and having all sorts of bikers courtiously saying "On your left" as they passed. Oh, man! It was AWESOME! I loved the busyness of it, and I even loved better seeing all sorts of people making sure they get their exercise in for the day. I was simply giddy! Go people who are making a difference in life!

I was so happy, and I was so excited to be next to something so beautiful, that I sang
"For the beauty of the Earth". What better way to show my gratitude to my maker?

The first verse goes like this:
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

This is one of my favorite hymns and I love that it just went perfectly with my feelings this morning!

Yay for that lovely lake! Yay for the trail! Yay! Yay! Yay!

This elicited a new exercise goal I made:
I certainly exercise 6 days a week-making 3 cardio days and 3 weight lifting days. Well, because of how fun it was, and because we are supposed to get cardio most days of the week, I figure my new goal will be:

Walk 6 days a week 30-60 minutes depending on if I lift weights.

Yay for goals! Yay for walking!

HOpe you all have a great weekend!

2 things that make this pregnancy hard, but I love it.

2011-04-02T07:37:00.000-06:00

Number 1: I feel hungry ALL OF THE TIME! I never thought I would say this, but eating just kind of gets annoying when I am hungry all of the time.

Number 2: I don't fit into my old pregnancy clothes because they are too big. I'm overall just smaller this pregnancy, which is awesome, because I'm not gaining like crazy, but that means I have to spend more money for new clothes- don't get me wrong, I LOVE getting new clothes, but I HATE spending the money, especially when maternity clothes are expensive!

I guess if this is all I have to complain about (besides the crazy amounts of crying I do...) I can't complain much. Pregnancy is so fun, and it is fun to see my belly grow and to think about my baby bouncing around inside of me. I got to see my baby on a sonogram yesterday which was awesome! This is a fun time in life and I'm enjoying it. It is fun to hear my daughter say "Baby Tummy" when I tell her there is a baby in my tummy. I don't think she understands, but its still fun to hear her say it.

As far as healthy is concerned, I exercise 6 days a week (still weightlifting and cardio) and I am trying desperately eat healthy, sometimes it is easier than others, but overall its been great. Yay for being pregnant!

Hungry, Hungry Hippo and yay for Dallas

2011-03-18T11:31:00.000-06:00

This has been driving me NUTS! When I feel hungry ALL OF THE TIME and need to eat something before I feel sick, I honestlty feel like I'm a hungry, hungry hippo- always eating and hardly ever feeling satisfied. Don't get me wrong pregnancy is great-especially when you get to hear your babies heartbeat like I did today, but this having to eat so much is killing me! Nothing ever sounds good, unless its completely unhealthy (hello to the 8 pounds I gained on vacation- that's what the drs scale said anyway... I tend to like my scale better). Stress from moving compounds the problem because my wonderful IBS tends to make its presence known in these types of situations, so regardless of what I eat, my tummy ends up hurting anyway. What gives???? Now that I'm in my own surroundings, and after I move next week I will hopefully get into a healthier food routine- stomach and mind willing.

Yay for the stresses of life! No, but really- I'm excited for all of the changes- the place we are moving in is going to be so much nicer than what we are in now- it has a fitness center yay!!!!!!! Now I will have a variety of ways I can lift weights and do cardio. I'm SO EXCITED! It also has a pool- which hopefully I will be able to practice my swimming in, although the hubbs said its not lap-pool material. I might just have to prove him wrong... :) AND, there is a bike trail right outside the apartment complex!!!!!!!!! Could there really be a better set up to train for my upcoming traithlon? I think not! I am so excited for all of the hiking and bike/running trails there are in Dallas I can hardly contain it!

Another dream of mine is coming to reality- There's a full-fledged farmers market in Dallas! WAHOO! Its even opened most days of the year, during normal times of the day. Guess where I'm going to do my produce shopping????

Oh, and don't even get me going on the shopping... I actually don't have to drive 2 hours to get to a Target! What a concept!

Sorry hobbs people, I love you, but I would be lying if I wans't happy to leave the state of New Mexico. Can't I just take you all with me and we can all be happy campers in Dallas? PLEASE????? We will miss you terribly, but Dallas here we come!

First Triathlon Baby!

2011-03-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

Last week Trainer momma invited all Texas Fit mommas to sign up for the Windcrest Freshman Triathlon coming up on April 30th. She said she's doing it 20 weeks pregnant, and since I will be the same amount pregnant, I figured I could do it too so I think I'm going to do it! My husband is currently driving to Dallas today to meet with the owner of the hospital that the project is on. If the owner likes him, then he starts work tomorrow! Its been very quick, but because we will be living in Dallas then I will be a TX fit momma, and a little closer to San Antonio where the race will be. So I think I'm going to sign up. I've always wanted to do a triathlon, so might as well start now! And, I'm excited because I'll get to meet the Trainermomma! How sweet is that! I'm SO EXCITED! I've been having the itch to race, but scared to do a triathlon, and who knew it was possible while pregnant? The lengths aren't too bad, so I'm confident I can do it. The swim worries me the most so I'll just have to start doing that soon... But, yay I'm excited!

California Bound

2011-03-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter and I are California bound! We are so excited to see my family! If I post while I'm gone, I will post, if I don't I don't. I'm so excited to go and my husband has generously let us go for 2 1/2 weeks! How wonderful he is!

Also, today I'm 11 weeks pregnant! YAY! I'm now in the ackward stage of not being able to fit into some of my clothes, but still to small to fit into my maternity clothes. So how it goes. Well, have a few good weeks!

I've made the switch

2011-02-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

I was so excited 2 weeks ago when 100 pounds of white wheat showed up at my door. For 2 years I've been using red hard wheat, because that is what we had in food storage, and because we were running out I decided to make the switch to white wheat. There is a website that I like to get my food storage from (mostly because i live 5 hours away from the closest lds cannery)-Honeyville Grain. What I really like about this company is that they charge only 5 dollars for shipping, for your entire order. When you are ordering wheat, that is a BIG DEAL. I got two kinds of white wheat: Hard White wheat, and Soft White Wheat. Why did I get two kinds, you ask? Here's why:

Hard White Wheat: Perfect for making breads and yeast doughs, stuff like that.
Soft White Wheat: Kind of like cake flour. Perfect for making cookies, cakes, pastries, muffins, quick breads-low gluten foods.

I'm hooked. I much prefer white over red. And I've made a few different kind of cookies with the soft wheat, and I love it, and really think it makes a difference. Both types of wheat make a really light and fluffy flour, not nearly as dense as the red. I'm excited for this switch I've made and for the many loafs of bread, pizza dough, muffins, and cookies I'm going to make in the future. No more half whole wheat have white flour, now I can use all whole wheat in recipes. YAY!

A gallon a day

2011-02-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read trainer momma know that advocates drinking a gallon of water a day. I've never done that because I thought it was too much water. I've been good at drinking 64 ounces a day (the recommended 8 8ounce glasses of water thing). Because I am pregnant I figured I could probably use more water, so I tried drinking a gallon of water on Wednesday. It was a success! And... I did it again yesterday. Short term effects are okay-I do feel more hydrated and have fewer headaches, but I hate going to the bathroom every twenty minutes. If I don't I may very well have an accident. But, guess in the long run, I will benefit because of doing this, so I'm going to continue. Luckily I have a 32 ounce water bottle, so if I fill that 4 times during the day and drink them all, I will have drunk a gallon. My husband laughs at me when I have to go to the bathroom 2 times right before bed, but when you combine being pregnant and trying to finish your last 32 ounce, that can happen to a girl.

Anyhow, I'm thinkin I like this challenge, and I will continue to do it. Who else around here is drinking a gallon a day? How has it helped you?

Current Projects

2011-02-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing like a fiend lately. My parents got me cool quilting things for my birthday last year-like a rotery cutter, mat, and ruler, and I finally thought of projects to do with them. I'm making a few baby blankets for friends and I am trying really hard to finish them by the time I leave for California next week (a few weeks ago I said I was homesick, and I really was- I partly blame the pregnancy hormones, the rest of the blame lands on my family for being incredibly awesome (causing me to want to see them). Anyhow, my husband started looking at plane flights and found one for a pretty decent price. Anyhow, I want to finish both blankets before I leave so that I can have my mom teach my how to use her awesome, and huge, quilting machine. I am pretty proud of the one I finished on Monday and hope to finish the other one before I leave next tuesday. Granted I could finish it at my parents, but I wanted to finish it here on my own. So here is the picture of one:

I'd lie if I said I wasn't stinkin proud of this!

Its fun to be sewing and I am grateful for a mom who is an expert sewer- she's received more than one phone call with questions.

The next quilt is the same pattern, different materials. I can't wait till the finished product and will take pictures when they are both finished. Yay for becoming better at sewing! Its kind of addicting once you start...

I can't wait to make one for my own baby after I find out what it is!

Another Answered Prayer

2011-02-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I got a call from my OB's office. They said they recieved the report for the ultrasound, and I heard the best news I could have possibly heard: They couldn't find any trace of the blood clot! YAY!!!!!!!!! Our baby is safe. I feel so grateful to a Heavenly Father who answers prayers! :) Thank you for your many prayers!

I have a good reason...

2011-02-22T06:23:00.001-07:00

I know I have been slacking off with posting anything on this blog. Here are my reasons:

I haven't felt like making anything new.
Somedays I haven't felt like eating anything.
A lot of days lately I have felt yucky and REALLY tired.
My new bed time is around 9pm. I can't stay up later anymore.
Sometimes I've even fallen asleep on the couch by like 8.
I have been having weird cravings-some that I am quite embarrassed of (can somebody say Big Mac?), and healthy foods sound kind of yucky sometimes.
Doughnuts also sound really, really good.

The reason behind these reasons:

I'm pregnant! Today I am 10 weeks pregnant, and I am excited that I am finally that far along. This is the second ultrasound picture we had, done yesterday. It was so fun to see the baby and its heart beat.

We do have some minor complications we are dealing with, nothing to worry too much about-
They found a small blood clot in between the placenta and the uterus at my first ultrasound, which is why I had a second yesterday-to make sure it is getting smaller or gone- and I think the tech said it is getting smaller. I will get the more specific details from my dr today or tomorrow. There is a 95% percent chance that it will just dissapear. We are praying we are part of that 95%.
They also found that I had Antibody E in my blood- the issue with this is that if the ratio of antigens to antibodies get to big, there is a chance that the anti-E's in my body could attack the baby, especially if the baby doesn't have any of them in its system. This can cause the baby to become anemic within the womb, or be born anemic or jaundiced. They take my blood every month to make sure that ratio doesn't go up.

These are minor worries at this point, and I'm grateful we don't have any bigger issues to deal with. But, this is why I haven't shared yet-I just wanted to see the baby again before I did.

I'm trying really hard to stay healthy during my pregnancy, although there has been a few weeks, at the beginning, that all I wanted was hamburgers and onion rings, or fries. I'm doing better now. We eat out less, and I really make treats less, because they just don't sound that yummy.

Good news though, I've only gained 3 pounds so far, as opposed to the ten I had probably already gained with my first by this time. I attribute it to working out 6 days a week (I think this is my life saver) and trying to eat healthier (although I'm not depriving myself in the least bit. Trust me.). Luckily I do eat healthier than my last pregnancy, which is REALLY good.

My goals this pregnancy:
Ultimately to not gain 50 pounds-I don't want to have to go through the emotional roller coaster of gaining that much weight.
Eat healthy
Exercise 6 days a week

I'm super excited to be pregnant, and hope that the second trimester will be easier than the first.
Can't wait to meet this addition to our family around September 20!

Happy Valentine's Day and some news!

2011-02-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a fantastic Valentines Day! We are at our house. My wonderful husband got me a gift card to Hobby Lobby! I can't wait to get more fabric for my quilting projects I've started (pictures to come!). That man just knows what I like!

We have some news-
We are moving!

Okay, old news-we knew that was happening, but we have now officially heard the when and where-

When: March 31
Where: Webster, Texas-right outside of Houston!!!!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!! YAY FOR NO SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to living in Maine, in the fridged cold and snow for 3 years. This SoCal girl just would not enjoy that! So, my prayers were answered, and we are being sent even farther south which is absolutely fine for me! I will miss my friends in New Mexico terribly, but I won't miss the state too much. In Houston they have trees! And, in Houston my skin won't feel like leather and itch all of the time. In Houston they have farmer's markets and food co-ops (can you see me jump for joy!), in Houston I will live 30 minutes from the gulf coast. Oh, it will feel so good not to be LAND-LOCKED anymore. This Cali girl is itching for some sand and water! It will be oh so nice! We have already looked at housing and the prospects look very promising-pools, fitness centers, and playgrounds at most of the apartment complexes! WAHOO!!!!!! We will be living it up. Its cheaper than having to rent in Hobbs, and we get more for what we pay for! I am so excited!!!!!!!

Can you tell that I'm excited! Big news in the Johnson household. YAY!

Is it March 31st yet?

Oh, I'm lovin it!

2011-02-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Its really hard to get up at 5:30 every morning. But I do it. You wanna know why?

EXERCISE.

Plain and simple. I know that when I have exercised in the morning, before my girly gets up for the day, I feel better about myself. I feel like I have already accomplished something for the day. And, once I have exercised there is the rest of the day to get other things done. I find that when I make sure I exercise in the morning, my day is a whole lot more fulfilling. I LOVE the feeling I get when I have exercised. Its like a drug, but what a wonderful drug it is!

This is my time to workout. What time is best for you? What time is your "I'm lovin it time"? What time is your "feel good" time? I know that if you make sure and find that time that works for you, health will be knocking at your door. You will feel happier. You will feel like you've accomplished something wonderful. You will make sure that mommy is healthy, and that is what your children and your spouse need you to be. It is my firm belief that it is easier to give yourself to others through service when you take the time to eat healthy, to exercise, and to be spiritually healthy.

May you have a healthy day that includes a kick-behind workout session! :)

One Week Later

2011-02-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Wow. I hadn't realized that I hadn't written an entry in a week. For some that is normal, but for me, it is quite the opposite. I guess that is what happens when life happens.

There has been a lot of ups and downs this last week, and most days I didn't really feel like writing about them. There weren't any new recipes that I tried, except for these yummy whole wheat-no shortening added- sugar cookies that are pretty rockin. In spirit of rule #60 (I am having a HARD time with this one), I'm not going to post it until Friday.

Life is good. I'm trying to fight of this cold. I felt like it was going away but then today my throat started to hurt with a renewed ferver. Oh well. That's life I guess.

There are a few really good things I have learned this last week:

Like I said in my last post: Prayers are answered-it may take time but they are.

Other things I have learned:
-Patience is hard to come by, but worth the work.
-There are some things in life that you just cannot control, no matter how much you want to. Point in case- my family's dog, Bucko, passed away on Saturday due to unknown cancer in the spleen and liver. He lived 15 years and I still remember going with my siblings and parents to pick him out. I'm going to miss him terribly. He was a really good dog (its sad that I am still crying over it. He's a member of the family to me!). I'm sad that when I go visit my parents he won't be there to greet me when I go in the backyard. Sad day.
-Family is the cure-all for any ailment-I don't know how many times I talked to my parents last week. I also love and cherish the time that I get to spend with my husband and my daughter. Family is awesome.
-My Heavenly Father has a plan for me. Our life is kind of up in the air with a few things-one being- knowing when and where we are moving to. As of right now they don't need my husband in Maine until June-July, but they are possibly thinking about sending us somewhere else in the mean time. Friday we should know more. Hopefully.
-Heavenly Father knows the future. That should be good enough. I always want to know what is going to happen, what the future holds. I get frustrated when I don't have any semblence of a plan. Well, this year is a whole lot of not knowing what the future holds, but I can put comfort in the fact that Heavenly Father knows exactly what is going to happen, and if I put my trust in Him I shall not fear.
-Friends are awesome!-Its wonderful that I have friends who know what I need, and will help me unselfishly. I am grateful for their companionship and friendship.

These are things I learned this week.

Ooooooo, lets end with an up- my brother proposed to his now-fiance! YAY!!!! They are getting married this summer and I am so excited!

Fighting a cold, but prayers were answered

2011-02-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

My sweet husband decided to share with me and gave me his stuffy nose, his sore throat, and I am sure his cough will be heard from my throat in the next few days too. I even have the priveledge of having a pink eye! I'm so lucky! Ha. I can't wait for it to go away!
Anyhow, we've had a few busy weeks, and yesterday was especially busy, but I am grateful we were busy, because prayers were answered in the process. Let me tell you why:

Yesterday we spent almost 8 hours at a hospital. So glad we are done with that!

When our daughter was five months old, we found out that she had something called "Bilateral Bladder Reflux grade 3" meaning that the tubing from her kidneys to her bladder were not strong enough so, urine would sometimes travel back to the kidney. Well, this isn't good, because it can cause kidney infections, and every time the kidney is infected, the function of it lessons by 10%. So for the last year and a few months, she has been taking antibiotics every day, and has had testing every six months just to make sure that everything is well.

Fast forward to the middle of January:

We went to her pediatric urologist for a routine check up, and we mentioned we may be moving in a few months, and we wanted to see what could be done procedure-wise to fix K's problem. When we found out we would move to Maine, we, and her dr, could not find anyone who was a ped urologist there, so we wanted to fix the problem sooner than later, because we really like her Doctor. So, we decided to have the normal tests done again to see if her grade had gone down or not- if it had gotten better, we would hold of on any procedure, if it stayed the same, or got worse, we would go ahead with Deflux, a procedure where they make the walls of her ureters stronger by injecting this putty-like stuff into them- which creates a mound making it easier for the ureters to close when they need to.

It turned out that it hadn't gotten much better-she is still at a grade three, but this time the part that connected to the kidney was a little more swellen than six months ago. So, on to the Deflux we went.

Yesterday, she went through surgery to have the deflux done. We spent a lot of time waiting, but it was worth it. There were no insiscions done, which was ncie. The surgery went well, and in two months time, she will have a follow up, and have an x-ray done to see how it has done. Hopefully the surugery will have done what we wanted, and she can get off of her medicine! We are so grateful for modern medicine and for the prayers that have been answered for us. Whenever we move I wonder why we were sent there- I know Heavenly Father has reasons why we are sent to each place- I believe he truely inspires Scott's bosses when they decide where we are to move next. Well, I firmly believe that a reason we were sent to New Mexico because Heavenly Father knew there was a doctor here who could help us, and who really cared for Kisney's welfare. Without even us asking, her doctor has even done research and found aa pediatric urologist in Maine! He's even going so far as calling him personally to see if they can take care of our baby when we move there! Her dr, Dr. Vordermark, goes above and beyond, and I am so grateful we found him!
Our girly is doing well. You can't even tell that she went through surgery yesterday! What a miracle!

Dessert Friday: cherry-almond-chocolate clusters

2011-01-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Oh, these little clusters of joy are so yummy! And, they are SOOOOO EASY! Hence the title of the book they come from: "So Easy" by Ellie Krieger. I love this cookbook, and everything I have tried making from it has turned out wonderful. She is a nutritionist, and a food network chef (that is how I heard of her). And, everything inside is relatively easy to make. If you want dessert but you want it to be relatively healthy, go to a nutritionist. They know their stuff. Full of protein because of the nuts, and fruit because of the dried fruit, and antioxidents from the dark chocolate.

Okay now enough talk. Let's get on to the important stuff:

Now that's what I am talking about!

Cherry-Almond-Chocolate Clusters

1 cup whole roasted almonds, coarsley chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsley chopped
6 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolated (60%-70% cocoa solids), finely chopped

1. In a medium bowl, toss together the almonds and cherries. Line a baking sheet with wax paper (or just spray it with pam, that's what I did).
2. Melt half of the chocolate in a double boiler over slightly simmering water, over the lowest possible heat, stirring frequently; make sure the water is not touching the top of the pan. If you don't have a double boiler just melt it in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat another 30 seconds, then stir. Only heat it enough that the chocolate is melted after you stir. If the chocolate boils, then it is burned, and we don't want that. Remove the double boiler from the heat, and mix in the rest of the chocolate.
3. Stir the fruit/nut mixture into the chocolate. Spoon out heaping tablespoon-size clusters of the chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Put them in the refrigerator to cooland set for about 20 minutes. Store and serve at room temperature.

Makes 12 clusters
150 calories per cluster

If you don't have dried cherries or almonds on hand, not to worry-last time I made these I tripled the batch, and didn't have enough almonds so I added toasted and chopped pecans and walnuts to the mix. I also didn't have any cherries so I used dried cranberries instead. It turned out wonderful! I love maing this for parties. People love it!

I love chocolate. What do you like with chocolate????

Rules number 60 and 47 and two more...

2011-01-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Again....

There is a reason why I chose these ones to work on. They are just HARD for me to do.

The rules we have tried to follow so far:

Treat treats as treats and only have them on days that start with S. This week I will do that. I will, I will!

Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. So difficult sometimes, but I can do it!

Hoping for a better week on that front.

I am hoping that the next two rules I state will help me with the "Eat when you are hungry" rule:

Rule #46: Stop eating before you are full-sounds simple right? Why is it so hard then? Instead of asking if I am full, ask if my hunger is gone.

Rule #49: Eat slowly: so I can enjoy my food more; so I can know better when to stop. Pollan suggests to put down your fork between bites. This way you enjoy your food more often instead of just scarfing your whole plate down in 5 seconds (something I have been known to do on occassion...)

Okay, yay for more food rules! We can do it! We can, we can!

Who's with me this week?

The Best-Ever Minestrone

2011-01-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no picture, but this recipe is awesome! It is jam-packed with tons of veggies. My husband even loved it, and he's not a minestrone-lover. So, in my book, its awesome! I will definitely make it again.

The Best-Ever Minestrone
from: Easy Soups and Stews by Grand Avenue Books
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small head savoy or green cabbage, coarsely shredded
6 leaves swiss chard (or a few cups of spinach), coarsely shredded
6 leaves kale, coarsely shredded
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (I just used canned)
8 ounces potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 cups chicken broth
2 14 1/2 ounces cans tomatoes, cut up, or 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 15-ounce cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced.
3/4 cup snipped fresh basil (I used dried

1. In a 6-8 quart dutch oven heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add cabbage, swiss chard, and Kale. Cook and stir veggies about 6 minutes more until greens are wilted. Add green beans and potatoes, if desired. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.
2. Add chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Stir in white kidney or Great Northern beans, and zucchini or squash. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes more. Stir in basil.

Serves 8, 213 calories per serving.

Dessert Friday Apple Brown Betty with Cinnamon Ice Cream

2011-01-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know that technically we aren't doing sweets besides days that start with the letter S (something that is so hard for me to grasp! I like sweets on my weekends, and that includes Friday to me...hmmm, should I change the rule??? Treats are okay on the weekend? What do you think?), but because I don't really post on days that start with S, I will post a dessert recipe today to get you ready fro the weekend...

I've wanted to try both of these recipes for awhile and decided that I finally would last Sunday. They both were delicious!

Apple Brown Betty
adapted from Eli Krieger's book "So Easy"

5 large baking apples (I used Granny Smiths, the recipe calls for Golden Delicious), peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 slices whole-wheat bread (1 oz eacy; crusts included)
3 tbls chopped walnuts

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine apples, apple cider, 1 tbs brown sugar, vanilla, and 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until the apples are tender but maintain shape (around 10 minutes). Stir in 1 tbs butter. Pour into pie place or ceramic dish.
3. Place the bread in the food processor and process until crumbs are formed (I used my blender). Melt remaining butter in microwave for 20 seconds. Toss with crumbs, walnuts, and remaining brown sugar and cinnamon. Scatter on top of apple mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is crisped and lightly browned.

Servings: 6
Serving is 1 cup, 230 calories per cup

Yummy with cinnamon ice cream:
Recipe from Cathe Olson's book: Lick It!

1 1/4 cups soymilk or whole milk
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 14oz can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pour the soymilk into a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon sticks and warm on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the soymilk/ whole milk begins to boil. Cover and remove from the heat and steep for 30 minutes. Then remove the cinnamon sticks from the soymilk.
Place the coconut milk and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the warm soymilk and the ground cinnamon and whisk until well combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (I did for 2 I think). Then freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

These recipes are so tasty together!

Bean and Squash Chili

2011-01-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

Not the best picture, its kind of steamy, but I wanted you to see the yummyness I had last night!

I got this super cook recipe book from my good friend for my birthday last month. Inside is contained many soup recipes for my pleasure and enjoyment! I think it will be especially helpful when we move to Maine in a month or two.

Last night I decided to make the bean and squash chili recipe and we loved it! Here is my adaptation to it:

Bean and Squash Chili

2 cups water
1 cup butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or carrot, cut inot 1/4 in slices
1 15 oz can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2 oz can Stewed Tomatoes
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp oregano, crushed (I used my fingers)
1 tsp cumin

In a suacepan combine water and squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add beans, undrained tomatoes, corn, onion, tomato paste, bouillon cube, chili powder, oregano, and garlic. Bring to boil; reduce heat, and simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes.

I topped mine with a little bit of plain yogurt and shredded reduced fat chedder. It was so tasty!

As an option, you could add a few cups of spinich. I did that today as I reheated it for lunch, and I quite liked the addition!

This comes out to 4 servings, at around 163 calories per serving. Sweet!

Harder than I thought

2011-01-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Remember that goal on Monday that I made? The one to eat only when you are hungry? I have a problem. I like to eat. It doesn't matter when, I just like to eat, even when I am not hungry. Hopefully today will be better. I hope I can start listening to my body a little bit better.

What do you to to help you eat only when you are hungry?

P.S. I'm going to post a yummy chili recipe later today, so keep your eyes peeled!

Food Rule #47 Eat when you are hungry

2011-01-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Update on Food Rule 60: Treat Treats as Treats: I did fairly well at this, except for a few blunders- including eating pudding (not much nutritional value-excluding the milk, its not bad, not good). I probably should have had a bowl of whole grain cereal with milk, or a piece of fruit and yogurt instead. When friday hit, I had a hard time. I've usually let myself eat treats during the whole weekend, friday included. My friend's son had a b-day party and I made Chocolate clusters (recipe coming soon!) for it, and had to taste it to make sure they were good, right??? And of course there was b-day cake at the party, so I had to be polite and taste it right. Luckily, my friend has the same health consciousness that I do, so she made a lower fat cake with a bit of whole wheat flour. I love her for that!

The weekend was wonderful. I treated myself to a bowl or two of my favorite cereal/chocolate chip/applesauce/milk concoction, as well as some of the chocolate clusters (they have dark chocolate, nuts, and dried cranberries, healthy right???), as well as homemade Apple Brown Betty and Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream (both recipes coming to you soon- all may be posted on Friday for those of you trying to keep the same goal I am). A great weekend and a pretty good week. I have found that homemade smoothies with no added sugar work wonders for my sweet tooth during the week-I just blend some skim milk and my favorite frozen fruit-banana, strawberries, and blueberries. YUM!

This week I aim to improve on this goal of eating treats only on Saturday and Sundays, and build upon this goal by following the next food rule I am choosing to highlight:

Michael Pollan's Food Rule #47: Eat When you are hungry, not when you are bored

Wowsers, do I have a hard time with this one sometimes, especially on the weekends when that yummy cereal concoction sounds oh so good, or I want ~~triple~~ double helpings of that yummy ice cream I made earlier (homemade peanut butter ice cream is my favorite, also a recipe I will share in the coming weeks).

I eat for several reasons-because I'm bored, for entertainment (who doesn't like a big bowl of popcorn during a movie, or game), if I am happy or sad, or excited. I can think of many excuses to eat that are not because I am hungry

So, then what to do to help me follow this piece of advice?

Pollan says, "Try to be aware of why you are eating, and ask yourself if you're really hungry- before you eat and then again along the way". He said that one old wive's test is "If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not hungry."

So to you I present this weeks goal and challenge: Eat when I am hungry, not bored. Good luck!

Today I danced

2011-01-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

I danced with my daughter...

for exercise.

It was so nice to have a change from my workout dvds, and I wanted to workout before we went out and about to our appointments and such (normally not an issue, but I wanted to sleep in today!), and my daugther always BEGS to dance to her cds we got her for Christmas (I am pretty sure I can sing to all of them word for word, and its two cds! We listen to them ALL THE TIME!). So, I figured out a plan: I could solve both the issue that my daughter wanted to dance, and my issue that I wanted to exercise before we left (I hate having to shower twice in the day, especially in the winter, and since I had some appointments I wanted to show up clean...) could be solved if I put all my exercise gear on and see if I can burn as many calories I would like in the time I had allotted.

IT

WAS

SO

MUCH

FUN!!!!!!!!!

I hopped, skipped, ran around in circles, hopped and skipped some more, and ran around in more circles. I even had the opportunity to run up and down our stairs some while my daughter took a break and colored (her other activity that she just BEGS to do. All I seriously hear is "Color?" "Dance?" so cute!).

The best part was that I still was able to pay attention to my daughter as I was doing it. I didn't have to worry about her picking up weights, or getting kicked as I was doing some tae bo. She was moving with me. If there is one thing I want to teach my daughter, it is that exercise is SO IMPORTANT, and that it can be fun.

Who knows, I may institute a weekly dance off with my daughter, and get some exercised done while doing it! AWESOME!

What do you do to promote movement with you children?

Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-01-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

When my husband found out I was making his mom's chicken noodle soup last night he got pretty excited. I actually had something else planned, but I really just wanted some yummy comfort food. This is definitely a family favorite. Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup
adapted from my mother-in-law's recipe.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
4-6 chicken bouilion cubes
2-3 handfuls whole wheat egg noodles
1 cup uncooked brown rice, prepared according to package instructions
garlic salt
pepper
celery salt

Directions:
Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces and place in a large soup pot. Cover with just enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to boil and cook the chicken. When the chicken is cooked, add celery, carrots, and onions, around 4-6 cups of water along with 4-6 boulion cubes (I did 5 last night. It depends on the day, this soup is kind of a throw it in type soup). Simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the noodles and cook till al dente or tender (my husband likes them cooked pretty pretty soft). Add the cooked rice. Then add the garlic salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste.

I would say this probably serves around 4-6 people, depending on the serving size you want.

Hope you enjoy!

Day 1 of Treats on days that start with S and a slight blunder

2011-01-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night when my husband pulled out his ice cream I gave in and had a bite. Mind you, it was only a bite, but then it was still a bite.

This is going to be harder than I thought. But, today is a new day. I said no the the candys/or leftover texas sheet cake (what I made on Sunday for dessert. YUMMY!) at my husbands work (we got subway and met my husband for lunch). I will say no tonight when my husband probably takes out his ice cream again. I can do it. I will simply be satisfied with the snack I will have instead, like a fruit smoothie, or some cereal with milk and applesauce (one of my FAVORITE SNACKS EVER!) and call it good.

Writing down everything I eat really helps, but I hope that some day I will be able to get past that and master food to the point of trusting myself to make the right choice of what to eat without counting my calories all of the time and recording what I eat all of the time.

How are you doing on your goals for this week???

Michael Pollan's Food Rules

2011-01-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

I received this awesome book as a gift for my b-day from my wonderful brother-in-law and his wife. Contained inside are 64 food rules to help us know what we should eat, what kind of food to eat, and how should I eat. I know what I should eat (he says eat food-real foods instead of the highly processed kin), and I do pretty well eating whole foods, and less processed foods. I have a difficult time on the how I should eat portion- my main problem is the how much I should eat thing. My brain has a hard time listening to my body when it tells me I am full. For some reason that mechanism is somewhat broken. I am out to fix it.

For this reason, I have decided to devote a weekly post or two to Michael Pollan's food rules, what I think about them, and what I am going to do to institute them into my life. My main focus will be on t he "how I should eat" portion because that is what I struggle with the most. I may or may not cover all the food rules, but I will cover any I believe to be important. My hope is that by the end of the year, I will be a better intuitive eater (check out this post by trainermommma about intuitive eating) and have better control over my food and my mind. This will also encourage weekly goal setting as I will try to do this each week.

Food Rule #60 Treat Treats as Treats

2011-01-10T14:14:00.001-07:00

Oh man, this weekend was FUN! But oh man, this weekend I had close to zero control. I usually allow myself to skip the calorie counting on the weekends for the most part to give myself a break, but this weekend I gave myself too much of a break. You see, I kind of got addicted to frozen yogurt and ice cream cones during Christmas vacation. It has been hard to kick the habit. As a spur of the moment thing on Friday my husband and I went to buy ice cream (I frozen yogurt-1 cause its super yummy, and 2 because it doesn't hurt my tummy, and my hubby the normal stuff), and guess what? I finished the entire thing before Sunday was done! AHHHHHHH! Beyond that, I just ate TOO much food this weekend, to the point of feeling sick yesterday night. So, although I had a fun weekend, and although frozen yogurt is tasty, I am saying no the the froyo for a few weeks to gain control of this addiction before it gets worse.

Mondays I always feel good because my control is back and I am just doin good. It feels like on the weekends I am a whole different person. I am considering doing a new thing. Instead of allowing me to go all crazy on the weekends, I think I'm going to follow Michael Pollan's food rule #60 and Treat Treats as Treats by following the S policy: "no snacks, no seconds, no sweets- except on days that begin with the letter S".

I'm going to do it. I will, I will. Who wants to join me?

Homemade Whole Wheat Noodles

2011-01-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Another pictureless post. Really, I will get better at it. I promise! We love lasagna at our house and I made this recipe yesterday, posted by the trainermomma. It is only 227 calories per serving. Its loaded with veggies, and its tasty. I made it with homemade noodles. You are probably thinking, "There goes crazy Alisa making things from scratch again..." Ya, I probably am crazy, but when it cooks in half the time, and when I can't find whole wheat lasagna noodles at the store, I make them. It is SO EASY.

The recipe is adapted from Kelsey's essentials on the Cooking Channel:

Whole Wheat Pasta recipe
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
enough water so its not dry. (any where from 1/4 cup to a half, depending on what it looks like...)

Mix all of the above and knead for about 8-10 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut into about 3 sections. To roll dough out, place flour on your counter, and roll the dough out into a paper thin sheet (another reason to make this, its super good exercise!).

For lasagna:
place the rolled out sheet in the baking dish (I used 9x13), take a pizza cutter, and cut the excess dough off (I jsut run it along the side). This way you only end up making 2 big sheets of noodles instead of a dozen small sheets. Much easier in my book! I cooked the lasagna in about 30 minutes instead of the suggested 1 hour because the noodles were fresh. Another great reason to make homemade noodles!
For other pasta:
Simply roll the dough out paper thin and cut it to the sizes you would like. Fettuchini would probably be fairly easy to try. Once they are cut, boil a saucepan of hot water. Add a little salt and let the pasta cook for about 1 minute or until it floats. Talk about quick pasta!

Oh please try it! So much easier than you think! And the whole wheat homemade noodles tastee ten times better than the store bought whole wheat noodles! YAY!

Please Help!

2011-01-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

I'm no nutritionist. Im no expert on exercise. I only know what I have learned over the last year and a half of research. I share what I learn for my benifit as well as others. It is my belief that when I write things down about what I learn or do a few things happen:

I recognize that I can do anything I set my mind to.

I recognize Heavenly Father's hand in my life.

I learn that its not the end of the world if I mess up. Tomorrow, or even the next hour is plenty of time to become better.

Another goal of this blog is to possibly help others who have felt similar to me. Weightloss is hard. Trying to be healthy is REALLY hard. REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard. Worth it, but hard. If I can help make it easier for someone else, I will try my hardest to do so.

This is where your help comes in. I always post what I want to post about. Is there anything that you would like me to post about???? Any types of food you want me to use in recipes? Any types of recipes you want me to search for that have your favorite ingredients? Anything related to being healthy that you want to ask? Do you want to know what I would do in a certain situation? Or anything. What do you want me to write about????? I want to help, so please, let me know.

Maybe someday there will be some type of an organized way about my posting, but then again maybe not. I am not a terribly organized person . I kind of just write what I think. Anyhow, let me know what you think. I am more than welcome to suggestions!

Easy Peasy Baked Chips

2011-01-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we made Enchilada's (from trainermomma's website, I use a TON of her recipes. Check them out, they are simple and yummy!) and my husband wanted chips and queso dip with them (we don't have queso dip or chips often so I thought that would be okay) and so I said chips are fine, but I wanted them to be baked, so I decided that we would try them with normal corn tortillas and see what happened. The outcome was wonderful and I greatly regret not taking ANY pictures. I am getting horrible at that! But, none-the-less they were tasty little guys. And, guess what? THEY ARE SUPER EASY! YAY for easy food!
All you need is:
corn tortillas
pam spray (I used pam. canola spray, but it doesn't matter, any pam-type spray will do)
Seasoning or salt

Preheat you oven to 500 degrees.

Take the corn tortillas and spray eat side with pam. Cut the tortillas into chip-sized pieces (I think we cut each tortilla into 8 chips). Place on a pan and sprinkle with salt or other favorite seasoning.

Bake for 4-5 minutes until the chips crisp up with nice golden brown spots on them.

Eat! They are so easy and so good, and almost half the calories at the chips from the store.

16 chips (if the tortillas are cut into 8 pieces each) comes out to 90 calories (the same amount it would be had you just eaten 2 corn tortillas-the pam adds little or no calories!).

Oh try it. Please do! Let me know what you think!

Living a Consecrated Life

2011-01-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I read Elder Christofferson's last conference talk about living a consecrated life-simply because Monday I had little motivation to do much of anything (feeling sorry for myself because after New Years, vacation for Scott was really absolutely over. I feel like we are in limbo because we don't know what we are moving, and I still don't trust where we are moving.), and so I felt I needed to revisit this talk to motivate myself to work a little harder. Its a good talk about how important work is, but how important leisure is as well. It was exactly what I needed to hear/read. Luckily, that motivated me to work a little hard the rest of the week! YAY! Hard work is important, including anything from keeping your house tidy (a daily uphill battle in our house. That toddler is fast!!!), to exercising, to eating well, to accomplishing any goals you might have. The hard work you put in is worth it. I try and remind myself of this every day.

I got better at hard work-maybe now I need to read an article about being patient with your children, because my daughter has really and truly hit the terrible twos stage. Still working on how to handle that...

A hundred different directions

2011-01-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a weird kind of day. I did an awesome new workout (the Bob Harper workout dvds kick some serious tushy, no joke...). I had fun playing with my daughter outside. But a lot of the day I just felt bleh. Not sick, but just bleh. I had little motivation to do much. I felt sorry for myself because I live so far away from family and because my daughter kept asking for daddy when he was at work. It was just an off day. As it is the beginning of a brand new year, I have been trying to think of new goals but I just haven't made much headway in that direction. I suppose my goals would be a continuation of what I have been trying to accomplish:

Eat healthy.
Record what I eat
Exercise 5-6 days a week
Spend more time playing with my gal.
Use extra time to seek worthwhile pursuits (I really want to become better at sewing...)
Write in my journal at least once a week. I don't know what but this is just hard for me. I used to be so good at it when I was a teenager, but once I got married it just became harder.
Long term goal: Stay at a healthy weight- working on getting back down to 122. I hope I can get there. We will see what the coming months hold in that regard. If I exercise and eat right it should work. Weekends are hard for me though.
Work on having better control on the weekends: When I have dessert it is okay to have one and be done with it. I can make it again a week later if I want it so bad. That is what I have a hard time with. I think my goal for this is to allow myself to have a dessert or two on the weekend, but make sure it is in my calorie allottment, and not go overboard on eating period. That is my goal: Still exercise portion control on the weekends, even though I may not necessarily be counting calories. I can do that.

Okay, so maybe i do have a lot of goals. I hope I can do them, especially the weekend one. Well, I hope you have a good day and I pray that we can all achieve our goals we have made for this year!

What is your biggest new years resolution?

Dress for a healthy body image

2010-12-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Dress for success.

Have you ever heard that saying?????

Dressing nicely is one of the many things I do to make me feel good about myself. Let me explain:

In the last 1 1/2 years since I started this journey, I have learned that dressing for how you want to feel will lead to success, and will indeed make you feel better about yourself. It's a cause and effect type thing:

When I wear grungy/baggy clothes during the day, I tend to be lazier; I tend to feel more negative about my body, about life in general. Its just not so good. Don't get me wrong, I love these clothes, but they have a place for bedtime.

When I were nicer clothers during the day, I tend to be happier; I tend to do more and get more things done; I tend to feel better about my body. All in all it just feels better.

I don't know why this is how it is, I just know that it is. I feel better about myself when I dress in a way that makes me feel good, and feel like I look good.

I am no fashionista stylist person, but here are some things that I do/wear to help my self-esteem:

Wear clothes that fit. Simple, simple. When I wear baggy clothes I feel frumpy and I feel like I look bigger. I don't want that. This has the opposite effect I want. When I wear clothes that fit, I just feel better about myself. Wear clothes that you like, and that you think look good.

I do my hair. When my hair is done, I feel like a million dollars (unless it is just one of those types of hair days, in which case I wear a cute hat, or bobby my bangs up instead).

I wear earrings if your ears are pierced, or other jewelry if they aren't. I know, this one is kind of weird, but I cannot go a day without my dangle earrings. I don't wear a ton of make up (mascara is it for me, except for special occassions), and even when I wear no make up at all, earrings make me feel special and classy. They make you look dressed up any day.

I know that taking the time to get ready in the morning (even amongst taking care of the kiddos, the laundry, getting the house clean, or anything else on our long list of things to do) does make me feel better about myself. Hopefully it will do the same for you!

What do you do each day to feel good about yourself?

New favorite breakfast

2010-12-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is something I made up myself. I have it most everyday. Its got a lot of fiber, protein and just yummy goodness. Try it out. Tell me what you think!

Yummy hot cereal
1/4 cup 6 grain cereal blend (or 90 calories worth of oatmeal or other hot cereal)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk (I like silk)
a few dashes of cinnimon or pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup unsweetened applsauce
1 tbs pecans, finely chopped
1/2 tbs wheat germ

Place cereal, water, and 1/4 cup of the soymilk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Cook until you like it (I boil it till most of the liquid is done, you can adjust the water or milk according to how you like your hot cereal). While that is cooking, mix the rest of the soymilk with the applesauce in a bowl, and heat it in the microwave until warm (I do anywhere from 1-2 minutes). When the applesauce mixture is warm and the cereal is cooked, place them both in a bowl, add the pecans and wheat germ, and mix.

Yields one serving at 263 calories per serving.

I like to make it an even 300 calories by adding other random things. Usually is another cereal, or some banana. Today I added 1/4 cup Honey Bunches of oats with Pecan clusters. Sometimes I will put a few mini muffins broken up with it. Just depends what I have on hand.

Hope you like it! Play around and have fun with the recipe.

What is one of your favorite cereals?

Look not behind thee

2010-12-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I watched this video as a spiritual uplift for the day.

Look not behind thee

The video applies the story of Lot's wife to the new year. The basic messege of the story is that you live for the future, and what is ahead of you. Don't look back to the past. Look forward to the future. This serves as a good reminder that I should forget what I once was (or what I believe what I once was) and focus on what I can become. I have the power to change myself for the better. There is always room for improvement. No body is perfect. Its my ferm belief that this is what the future is for. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I can choose to live it and live it well. I hope that I can remember this as I approach the new year. May I strive make today count so when it becomes the past I won't have to look back with regret.

Today's goal: Keep patience with my daughter even when I feel like she's driving me crazy.

What is your goal today?

Kettlebells!

2010-12-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

My sweet husband got me both a set of kettlebells and Jillian Michaels Shred it! with weights kettlebell workout! YAY! Today was my first time trying them, and they are awesome! It was nice to have a change in my workouts. I highly recommend using a kettlebell because its just another way weightlifting and cardio that works your body to help you reach your goals. Can't wait to continue using my kettlebells! YAY!!!

I'm BACK!

2010-12-27T08:10:00.001-07:00

Aren't you happy? I am. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved being on vacation, spending time with my in-laws. IT WAS WONDERFUL! The only part that I have mixed feelings about was the food: it was there, I had little control, and I partook. Needless to say that my body has been in a funk for the past few weeks. One awesome thing! I did exercise 10 out of the 13 days I was there. HALLELUJAH for that! I loved being reminded of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Its all in the name. I love my savior, and I am so happy he came to earth and showed me the way that I might live if I want to return to my Father in Heaven again. I love Christmas time! Today I will go pick up the hubby and daughter from the airport, and can't wait to see them! We unfortunately could not fly home on the same plane, thank you all of the indiana mess-up stuff. But at least they get home the day after me!

I had fun and enjoyed my time, but now it is time to get back to business. Time to get back on my wonderful routine and to hit it hard.

Here are my goals for this week:
1. Write everything I eat down-quantities.
2. Do not snack in between meals and snacks.
3. Exercise (I can't wait to use my Christmas present! I got a new Jillian michaels dvd and kettlebells to go with it! CAN'T wait!) I also am having fun with my b-day present- a Polar Heart Rate Watch (we found it half off! AWESOME!). I LOVE it and I love the accuracy of it! YAY for exercise!
4. Eat a well-balanced diet, all my fruits and veggies, as well as protein and grains..
5. Scripture study to prepare for sunday school.
6. Write in my journal at least once, more than that would be nice...

Here are my goals for the week. Its all about making goals each week and writing them down. So much easier to accomplish them!

What are your goals for the week?

A sense of humor

2010-12-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I think that God has a sense of humor about things. These last few days I have felt like that. I have been an emotional basketcase, to say the least. And, don't think is my inlaws, because its not. They are absolutely WONDERFUL, and have treated me like a queen. Nope, its something else.

So, the short of the long of it is this: we aren't moving, but we are.

Confusing huh? You betcha!

Here is the long of the short story:

So, yesterday morning I called my husband to make sure that he packed what I ~~forgot~~ needed him to bring to South Carolina before he left on a plane to Chicago to find us a house in Valparaiso, IN. After a few loose ends were tied togther, he said, "I don't know how to say this to you, but I called the superintendent in Valparaiso to tell him I was on my way to look for houses and he says 'why are you coming to look for houses. You aren't going to move here.'" So my husband said, "What?????????" The super was like "I heard you were going to Augusta, Maine instead." Needless to say, Scott hadn't heard that, and if that is true we wish he would have heard it sooner than as he was on his way to Valpo. So, then he told me that he called his boss in New Mexico and asked him what the deal was. He hadn't heard anything so he called the operations manager, the one who Scott has been dealing with as far as raises, and moving, and promotions and all that is concerned, and he said, no haven't heard, but I did miss the managers meeting, so maybe I missed something. JUST "missed" something? That's not something that I just want them to "miss". So, anyway, Scott was like, okay, I'll wait to hear the real story. So the whole day we were both waiting to see where we were going. What a nasty trick to play! I was a basketcase the entire day. Why tell us we are staying in new mexico two months ago, just to say we are moving to Indiana two weeks ago, to saying that we weren't moving to Indiana but to Maine? And, why was it a superindendent that told Scott, not one of the people that normally do it?

So, to say the least, I was not happy about this situation. Just wrench my heart out into a million pieces k? I was kind of looking forward to living so close to Chicago. Anyhow, we heard nothing before I went to bed last night.

Onto this morning:
Its my bday! YAY! So, I decided that nothing is going to ruin my bday, and I am just going to be happy. But, I didn't get a call from my hubby for what seemed ages. I didn't want to call him because its my bday. He's supposed to call me, right??? So I shower, and I missed a call, or what I thought, but checked later, after complaining to my SIL that he hadn't called yet, when in actuality he called, while I was in the shower. Bad Alisa. Bad Alisa. I kicked myself in the behind for that one, and promptly called him and apoligized. Anyhow. I got the real story. Here it is:

We are moving, but not to Valparaiso, IN, and not at the end of the year. The operations manager was extremely apologetic, and explained that he had "read the list wrong" and told Scott that we had been slated for the Augusta, Maine job all along, he just got it mixed up and thought we were going to IN. So, we are moving to Augusta, Maine, not now, but in January, February, or March, whenever they tell us to be there, which will be, as usual, a close to last minute thing. So, my husband is in Chicago, IL for 1 1/2 days until his scheduled flight to come to SC, time which he thought would be looking for a home, but now is time that he is going to use to romp around Chicago without me. Tickets are too expensive to try and get him here today, and there might be a very slight chance he can get on an early morning plane tomorrow, but its a very slight chance.

So, there it is.

God has a sense of humor I think. He wanted to see how I would handle it. I don't know if I handled it well enough, but I got through it okay. Good news, there is a bread conference in Maine, 50 min away from Augusta next July. I'm SO going!

Sorry Hobbs people, but your stuck with us for a little longer. Can you stand it?

Life style, not a diet

2010-12-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

I control the food.

I am writing this more for myself than anything else. I CONTROL the food. It does not and should not control me. I can choose to have complete control over what I eat, when I eat, and how much I eat. I control it. Food doesn't tell me what to do or how to eat it. Food isn't in control. I am. And when I don't feel I am in control, I can change that. Because its me that is in control.

I hopefully am going to remember this while I am her in SC. I don't have to eat everything on my plate. I don't have to eat all of the treats. I don't have to snack on candy. I can have fun without eating. Its possibly. I am and want to be in control. I can maintain, or even lose weight during the holidays. I can because I am in control. Wish me luck!

Vacation Preperations

2010-12-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

Hey again! Well, onto vacation/holiday staying healthy plan. Basically it is just what I have been doing.

1.Write everything down I eat.
2. Only eat when I am hungry and do not over eat.
3. Exercise most days of the week (6 days is optimal)
4. Don't beat myself up if I make a mistake, and just pick myself and work just as hard as I did before.
5. Be smart about my food choices.

I'm so excited to spend time with the hubbies family! It will be fun! The girly and I get to be there for two weeks! I get to spend my bday with them (only 4 days away! WOW! Time flies!). I asked to make my birthday dinner on Sunday (the whole fam, the ones in town, gets together for bdays on Sunday to celebrate!) and have asked to make Homemade Pizza, and Carrot Cake (another trainermomma recipe, Trainermomma.com) for it! I can't wait! Love spending time with family so it will be super fun! If I remember I my goals and keep to them, it will be a fun holiday! I may or may not write anything while I am gone. We shall see. And after Christmas, around the 29th, we move to Indiana, so if you don't hear anything from me till the middle of January, don't despair. I'll be back. I just got a new soup cookbook from my friend that I am dying to try, and since I will be living in the frozen tundra I will want to eat soup a lot, so stay tuned for soup recipes coming to a blog near you this January! YAY!

Happy Holidays!

Killer Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

2010-12-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I haven't posted recipes this week. I'm sorry! Preparing for the move, and for our vacation to South Carolina, as well as hanging out with my friends before I go. Its a lot to do. But, I ALWAYS have time to cook/bake. Yesterday I decided to try to create a low-calorie vanilla ice cream using the low calorie Chocolate Ice cream recipe that I absolutely love as a guide. So, I omitted the chocolate and added vanilla. Guess what? IT WAS AWESOME! And guess what? The calories are EVEN LOWER than the chocolate ice cream. I am talken, you can have more than a half cup without feeling guilty! AWESOME! I chopped up Dark Chocolate Pepperment bark as the mix in and it so yummy! Oh, and sorry I know its strange to be having Ice Cream when it is cold outside, but I love it so much, and I just can't say no to homemade ice cream. So, hope you enjoy! Let me know how it goes for you!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted from Cookinglight: Annual Recipes 2009

3 cups Fat-Free Milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt (I actually forgot to add this, and it tasted fine)
1 1/2 to 2 tsp vanilla (depends on how strong you want it...)
1. Place 2 3/4 cups milk in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine 1/4 cup milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl and wisk until smooth. Slowly add sugar mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 4 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.

2. Cover and chill 2 hours in the fridge.

3. Add vanilla and freeze mixture in a ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

Yields: 1 1/2 quarts, 16 1/2 cup servings.

35 calories a half cup. Ya. That's right. That means 1 cup of ice cream is only around 70 calories a pop! Isn't that just awesome! Please try it out. Please do! Let me know what you think!

Work party done

2010-12-10T16:21:00.001-07:00

I survived! Well, sort of. I didn't have dessert like I said I was not going to. I made pudding for myself afterwards, the sugar free kind. YUM. But... there were chips right in front of me. I shouldn't have even started, but at least I stopped before the bowl was empty. That counts for something! Right? All in all, I probably could have done better, but I feel like I did pretty well. I wish the food tasted better, it was not that good at all, but overall I feel okay about it.

I feel pretty in-control now. This week has been a lot better than last week. Life is good, I feel great, and its so much easier to say no to food! YAY! This is party weekend though. Tomorrow my friend and our families are getting together because she wanted to celebrate my bday before we go (its next week! I'll be 24! CRAZY!). So there's that, then on Sunday other friends are having us over for Sunday dinner, and I am pretty sure I can survive each. YAY!

Well, toodles, I will keep you updated!

P.S. Try the Mexican Rice Casserole on trainermomma.com. I made it on Wednesday and it is the bom-diggidy. Seriously. Try it.

Whew, passed that test! and Trainermomma

2010-12-08T08:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had a baking day. I needed to make muffins for the hubby for breakfast this week. Then its tradition for me to make gingerbread men for his coworkers every Christmas. The recipe he likes is super tasty, but not healthy, but its once a year, so I appease him. I may change it next year, though. I asked him if I found a healthier recipe, could I use it instead? He said, that if it tasted as good I could, so I am on the hunt. If you have any gingerbread men recipes that are healthier, let me know please! Anyhow, so I made those yesterday, and I sampled a crumb to make sure they were right. Thats it, a crumb. To not feel completely left out, I made Gingerbread muffins from trainermomma.com (its under recipes, under the title of bread and breakfast, I think). These muffins are super tasty, they only have 1 tbs of sugar in them (the rest of the sweet comes from applesauce and molasses), and they are 79 calories a pop, and for the minis they are only 24 cals a pop. So, I got my gingerbread fix without all the added calories. YAY! My daughter downed a ton of them yesterday. The minis are perfect for her size.

I really have to give a shoutout to trainermomma though. She posts recipes multiple times a week. Her recipes are super healthy. She posts the calories for most of the recipes. She is a personal trainer, so its easy to trust her. I probably cook one of the recipes off of her site 2-5 times a week. Seriously. They are delish. Tonight I am trying her Mexican Rice Casserole. It fills a 9x13 pan and is only 222 calories per serving, and is 12 servings. SCORE! Plus a few cups of veggies. WHAT A MEAL! I am super excited. I will take pictures and let you know how it goes.

Seriously though, trainermomma is awesome! Its has a wealth of information, whether you are trying to loose weight, maintain it, or just trying to be healthy, during pregnancy or not. Its specifically geared towards women, and she answers your questions if you have them. I follow her website everyday. Anyhow, its just a good site. Her information and tips has helped me in my goals, and I am sure she can do the same for you.

Hope you have a good day! Happy goal creating, goal setting, and goal achieving today! WE CAN DO IT!

Feel Good Reminder

2010-12-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

This morning as I stepped on the scale (for I changed my weigh in day on Monday, that way I don't go crazy on the weekends...) and I was pleasently reminded that hard work, and dedication do make you reach your goals. I exercised every day, having 3 weight lifting days, and 5 cardio days. Monday through Friday I wrote everything down, and did no extra snacking, which is a feat in and of itself. It was so difficult! I can't tell you how many times the thought went through my mind, "Oh, the girly won't finish her food, well hate to waste it," or, "Only this time won't hurt". And, many, many, many other rationalizations that went through my mind when I was trying so hard to say no. It is a lot easier to say no when you keep your goal in mind every day and make a conscious effort to do what you are supposed to. I kept the mantra going through my mind that I control the food, it does not control me (thank you trainermomma!). On Saturday and Sunday I was a little more lenient, but not be too much. I feel like I stayed within my bounds pretty well. Yay for the 3.5 pounds I lost (all that extra exercise helped big time!)!

Now, hopefully I can do well this week by doing the same thing: Counting and recording everything I eat, no extra snacking, and control with the desserts I eat- choose my battles, use discretion in my choosing. Its a tradition that I make gingerbread men for Scott's coworkers every Christmas, and so I'll be doing that this week, and I will not taste or try them at all. I know they taste good, but they are not low in calorie, so I'm just going to stay away, that way I won't eat the whole batch! I have a Christmas party for Scott's work this week, and I am not going to get a dessert there, especially if it is store bought-it wouldn't be worth my time. Then on Friday we are going to hang out with friends, and I may suggest that dessert can be cut up fruit maybe with a low cal fruit dip. Sunday will be my indulge day. I will get dessert on Sunday. That's the plan. Thanks for listening to my goals. It makes it easier to stick to it if I write out my plan and tell people about it. YAY for goals!

What are your goals to stay healthy this week?

Greek Salad Wrap, or salad

2010-12-03T14:40:00.001-07:00

This is something I like to have when I want a salad, but I don't want just the normal throw-together-salad. Its yummy, yummy, yummy! And it uses the Tapenade recipe I posted yesterday! AWESOME!

Greek Salad Wrap
Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

1 whole grain tortilla
2 tbs fat-free greek-style (or plain) yogurt
1 tbs Tapenade
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 tsp freshly grated orange zest
1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 small cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and sliced
1 tbs crumbled feta cheese (or I use 2 oz canned chicken, I do this when I don't have feta)

1. Whisk together the yogurt, tapenade, orange juice, and orange zest in a large bowl. Add the spinach, tomatoes, and cucumber and toss to coat well.
2. If you want a wrap, just add the mixture to the top of the wrap and sprinkle with cheese or chicken. Fold and eat.
3. If you want a salad, I like, to pop the wrap under the broiler on each side until it gets crispy. Take it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Once cooled, break up the wrap into chip-sized pieces. I like to "dip" my chips into my salad and eat it that way (its like having chips and salsa, but not because its baked chips and salad. I LOVE eating salad that way!).

1 serving
230 cal per serving.

****The picture is a picture where I added a carrot or two and a half of a medium bell pepper, chopped, and mix it in. It comes out to around 300 cals. YAY! Let me know what you think!

Tapenade

2010-12-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

I love this recipe. Its good as a dip, as a sandwich spread, as a salad dressing addition, basically anything. It is an olive paste that is just tasty.

Tapenade:
from: Flat belly Diet Cookbook

2 cups black olives
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice.
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the olives, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted wit ha metal blade. Pulse until coarsley chopped. Combine oil and lemon juice in a measuring cup. With the machine running, add the oil mixture through the feed tube to blend into a rough paste. And the pepper and pulse to combine. It can be stored for up to two weeks in the fridge.

12 servings (2 tbs each)
60 calories

Stay tuned tomorrow for a salad/wrap recipe that uses this yummy stuff!

An important Battle Won

2010-12-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

2 months ago I said no to eating a cookie, or dough when I was baking and afterward. I felt on top of the world. Yesterday I had to make cookies for a church activity, and because I decided to control food earlier this week, I felt it necessary to see if I could make them without ever sampling the dough, or 10 cookies afterwards. I made the dough in the morning for it to sit in the fridge during the day. I didn't lick the pan after I melted the chocolate. Battle 1 won. I didn't try ANY dough, even when it got in my finger. Battle 2 won! I didn't touch it during the day. Battle 3 won! I knew that since I won those small battles, then I could surely win the biggest, and hardest one- snacking on the dough and the finished product while I was baking. While rolling the cookies, I didn't even lick my hands. I didn't eat 20 of the rolos as I was unwrapping them (on of my all time favorites, they were going in the inside of the chocolate cookie dough, one of my favorite cookies). And, I didn't even eat a cookie when they were done (you know, to test it out...). None of the cookie process made it to my mouth, and I felt like I had won a HUGE battle in this choosing to control my food. I think I have come to realize that its better to not eat it at all (especially when you have planned not to) then to even taste it. Because when I taste it, I end up tasting too much of it. Because I have planned to only have a sweet on Sunday (our Church potluck), I am trying to think of one of my most favorite desserts to make and spend those calories on something that I really want, not something I just want to try. I think I might make a salad, or another healthy dish for it, so that I am not tempted to get anything else. I already know I will be in control because I have decided to be. It will feel so good!

I also had another perfect eating day yesterday. My calories were right on as well as my snacking. I had no extra snacking, even when K had leftover grilled cheese on her plate (I love grilled cheese!!!!).

These quotes from President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are quotes I found as I was reading today. They come from this talk.

"Decisions do determine Destiny."
"There are countless worthy goals to reach as we travel through life. Needed is our commitment to reach them."

Hope these quotes help you throughout your day as you make good decisions and choices to make a better you. I know they will help me make good choices!

We are moving

2010-12-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

And, you thought my surprise was something different, and least some of you did. That won't be a surprise to me when I tell everyone about it... This was a complete suprirse. Most of you know that we move a lot. In the 3.5 years since my hubby and I have been married we have moved 3 times. I've accepted moving as part of my life, my husband's job requires it. The knowledge doesn't make it any easier. We thought for sure we would be in New Mexico until March or April. Well, this week is busy, crazy week for my husband, because they have state inspections for the main part of the job tomorrow, and he's been pulling 15-16 hour days at work. Well, Monday he tells me that the Operations Manager from Nashville was coming on Tuesday (yesterday). The operations manager is in charge of where people go, who is fired, who receives raises, and promotions, making sure the job goes smoothly, for the people where were hired out of the Nashville Office. Anyhow, I thought he was coming to see how the job is going. But, yesterday when I called Scott to ask him something, he told me that he was pulled aside by the OM and told that there are going to be some changes, and they needed Scott to move and take our family to a place called Valparaiso, IN. He needs us to move at the end of the year, the last week of this month. Wow. What a surprise. This is something we were not expecting at all, at least not for another few months. So, we are moving...soon. I still can't really wrap my head around it, and I am not sure how I feel about it yet. New Mexico will not be hard to leave, but all of the friends that we've made will be REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard to leave. But, so life goes. If there is soemthing that I have learned in life is that change is good, even though we may not welcome it, its good. People come into your life for a reason, and people go out of your life for a reason. I fully believe that there is a reason we are moving now instead of later. I just don't know what it is, and I am not sure I excited about it. I'm not looking forward to living in snow again. I am not looking forward to the super cold weather. I am not looking forward to driving in the midwest in the dead of winter. But, I am excited to be close to Chicago, to be close to some church history sites, the great lakes, Detroit, and Canada. So, anyway, this is the surprise.

A perfect day

2010-11-30T13:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was perfect. I met my calorie goal, by recording everything I ate, calculating it all out and not snacking. It was tough, but I did it. I am also have decided to go back on a workout schedule, instead of just playing it by ear. So, I decided to do 30-60 minutes of cardio every day, and 30-45 minutes of strength training 3 days a week. I've been good on the strength training, but I was only doing cardio about 3 days a week, so more cardio. I think gaining these 10 pounds has really kind of shocked me out how easy it is to gain it back, and that its not worth the extra cookie or the extra piece of cake if that means that I will gain weight from it. Not worth it, so I am going to be better. I have also decided that I am not going to use the Christmas holiday as an excuse to eat my heart out (what I did at thanksgiving, I thought that because it was hard and stressful, I didn't want to try). So, now I have decided that I'm not going to do that for Christmas. The goal is to lose or at least maintain my weight during Christmas. Hopefully I will lose a few pounds before Christmas, but we will see. I am still healthy, I just don't want to let myself get too far. Bridling the passions and gaining control is a good thing. I feel power over food when I control it, and less when it controls me. I'm feeling good and confident. Life is changing and I think and hope I can keep up. I've done it before I can do it again. Happy day and hope you have a good rest of the day!

To gain control

2010-11-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

This morning during scripture study, as a way to help me understand myself better, and to remember what my perspectives should be about my body (a perspective that has mostly unfortunitely been a negative one, a part of the why I think...) I decided to focus my search on bridling, or controlling, my passions (aka eating, seriously one of my greatest passions). Here are some quotes I found:

Elder Theodore M. Burton in his April 1981 conference address stated, “There is no need to let the body and bodily appetites control our actions … some people have greater drives and appetites than others, but I say that a righteous God has given us minds and wills by means of which, if we desire, we can control and limit those passions and appetites … As we practice righteousness and approach ever closer to God, the easier it becomes to resist temptation and to live in accordance with that light and truth which emanates from Jesus Christ. (Ensign, May, 1981, p. 30.)

Elder Paul H. Dunn says that we prepare ourselves for sanctification by learning to bridle our passions. “Bridle,” he says, “is the word that wise father Alma used in counseling his son Shiblon, and the promise he attached is the key to understanding: ‘Bridle … your passions, that ye may be filled with love.’ (Alma 38:12.) Bridling increases strength, increases power, increases love. … Alma never said kill your passions. The implication is not that passions are evil, that we shouldn’t have them. On the contrary, we bridle something we love, something whose power we respect.” (Ensign, Nov. 1981, p. 72.)

So this week I am going to seek to gain control and bridle my passion of eating so that I might have an increase in strenght, power to withstand, and love. To do this I have created some goals, goals that I have stated many times recently, but goals I have not followed. I've told my husband and I am telling you, so I remain accountable:

1. No extra snacking between meals- 5 small meals shall do it. No snacking from my daughter's plate, or from the meal I am cooking. Nada.
2. Record what I eat. End of story.
3. Dessert once a week only. If I want dessert during the week have a piece of fruit instead.

Here are my goals. I hope I can bridle my passions this week! Wish me luck!

What are you going to do to bridle your passions this week?

Gradual Changes

2010-11-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today I am in a thoughtful mood. I wouldn't say I am upset, or overly happy, just thoughtful. I was upset this morning when I weighed myself for the first time since I left for vacation. Do you want to know how much weight I gained while I visited my family? Six pounds. Yup. I am frustrated and unhappy that it is so EASY to gain the weight back, when it took me so long to lose it in the first place. I am frustrated because it is so easy for my mindset to change so easily. I went from saying no to most everything that is bad, to eating a fry here, two or three desserts there, and so on. And, it wasn't something that just happened over vacation. This has been happening for a few months now, hence the 10 pounds I have now gained since August. My husband and I were discussing this last night. I told him that it wasn't like I just sat down one day and decided to eat 5 hambergers, 2 frosties, 1 serving of fries, 3 refills of soda, 5 donuts, 10 cookies. It was a gradual thing. I slowly started letting myself eat what I would consider as not horrible foods, but not nutritionally dense foods either. Slowly it became a dessert every day thing, when at the beginning of this year, I was maybe eating dessert once a week, maybe. Its been a very gradual downhill slide. My husband compared this to getting into debt (this is how my husband thinks. Isn't he wonderful? :) - Most people don't just go out and buy a big screen tv every single day and that's how they get into debt. Its more subtle than that. You start buying extra at the store everytime you go, you know something a little extra, and every time you do it, the action becomes easier to rationalize, and easier to get away with. That's how things happen, and before you know it you realize what you've done, and it just makes you sick, and you wonder how or why it happened.

So, I need to do some personal digging this week and figure out the why it happened. I know the how. That's simple. I just need to completely understand the why. I partly know why, but I want to get down to the nitty and gritty of it, so I can change and get better. Its going to be hard to change, especially during this holiday season, but it is possible.

Same old, Same old

2010-11-18T16:43:00.001-07:00

I am really good at rationalizing my choices when it comes to one majori element of vacation- FOOD. I could hardly quantify the types and amount of rationalizing I have done these last 9 days (I've been on vacation for a week and 1/2 and have a 1 week and a day left. Life is beatuiful!). It is especially easy to rationalize when EVERYBODY else is doing it- and it ALWAYS FEELS like EVERYBODY ELSE is doing it. Seriously. It does. Its even easier to rationalize when I like the taste of food period. It doesn't matter whether it is healthy or not. If it tastes good, it is a WHOLE lot easier to say yes when I am on vacation and when it seems that EVERYONE is eating, even what I probably shouldn't.

Its the same old story every vacation. I just LOVE to eat. Its one of my favorite pass times. Seriously. But eating that much does not agree with my other goals of staying healthy, living a life of moderation, and maintaining a healthy weight. So how do I find that balance? How do I say no when I so desperately want to say yes? Half of my mind tells me that its okay to eat it because it tastes good. It tells me that I will be okay if I do it just this one time. Every thing I consider eating, my mind has some type of rationalization telling me that its okay to eat it, even when I know I shouldn't. Its a vicious cycle.

So the question is what should I do? Should I continue this somewhat carefree way of eating (nibbling here and there, dessert every night... many of you probably understand what I mean...) and just worry about it when I get home? Or, should I try and say no to the daily dessert and extra snacking now. I want to say that I shouldn't do the extra snacking now. But, it is SO difficult. I don't like feeling like I am left out, and that is what makes this so hard.

Its not that I am doing HORRIBLY. Last night when we made a Cold Stone run (my father's FAVORITE) I chose the Sinless Cream Ice Cream, which is made with nonfat milk and no sugar (it has splenda I think). And when we go out to eat, I plan what I am going to eat before we leave. Its the homemade treats and snacks just lying around. And the nuts, When I start eating the nuts, it is hard to stop. But alas, I am happy to be home, and its nice to have a place to write my thoughts. I can't wait for thanksgiving. All week I have been searching for recipes I am going to use for the Thanksgiving components that I want healthier (we are going to have double of many things, but its worth it). To feel like I am not being left out I must make my own version. Today I found a pecan pie with only 1/2 cup of butter. Do you know what else they use? BEANS. That is right. The most awesomest secret ingredient EVER. And, I may even try a pie crust recipe I found that does not call for butter or shortening. We will see how it works!

I am even more excited because my hubby is coming into town tomorrow! YAY!

Thanks for listening to my ranting and raving. Sorry I haven't been posting much. I guess I'm having too much fun on vacation! I LOVE IT!

Dump Chili

2010-11-16T13:09:00.001-07:00

Here is an easy Chili recipe:

3 15 oz cans tomato soup
3 15 oz cans chili beans
2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes (preferably Mexican stewed), pureed
1 pound of cooked ground turkey
Chili powder to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Heat to boil and serve

makes about 12, 1 cup servings at 250 calories per serving

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-11-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

I LOVE chocolate chip cookies! I think they are probably my FAVORITE cookies EVER. No JOKE! Growing up, the chocolate chip cookies I ate I also loved, cookie dough and all. The only problem was that they were filled with almost 2 cups of fat (a combo of butter and shortening), and almost 3 cups of sugar. Yikes! You might imagine that the taste was/is great, but not so much the nutrition. So, I have been on the search for a chocolate chip cookie that met these guidelines and I found one that I have been tweaking to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie that is approved by me nutrition and health-wise. The recipe comes from Cookinglight September 2010 edition. I've made specific adaptations to fit my guidelines, and finally last saturday I made the perfect taste/perfect texture, and softness in a cookie that I could ask for.

They look goey and yummy don't they???

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Cookinglight magazine
2.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
2.5 ounces Old-fashioned rolled oats (about 3/4 cup)
5 ounces whole wheat flour (about 1 cup)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup to 1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup butter/margarine softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites.
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, pats, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Combine sugar, and butter in a large bowl; beat until well blended. Add vanilla extract and egg whites, and beat 1 minute. Add flour mixture and chocolate chips; beat until blended.
4. Drob by level tablespoons 2 inchese apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes (depending on how soft and gooey you like it-we cook ours for about 6 1/2 minutes. My husband loves them gooey).

Yields: 4 dozen (serving size is one cookie)
Calories: 69 calories per cookie. AWESOME!

Cookie recipe picking tips.

2010-11-08T12:48:00.001-07:00

I can be kind of picky with my recipes, especially baked good recipes, because that is where you find a lot of unhealthyness, and you got to be tricky when it comes to changing the recipes. One of my favorite desserts/baked goods, are cookies. I LOVE them. I am pretty picky with cookie recipes though. When I want a new cookie recipe, I automatically scour the ingredient list and nutrition information. If I find something I don't like, I don't make it, or I will try and mess around and change it a bit (more than likely that is what I do).

These are my specific requirements and tips for cookie recipes:

1. More than 1/2 cup butter in a recipe is too much butter. Unfortunately cookies need some butter/oil/fat to come out cookie-like (chewy, goey, and soft). You can take some away (up to half), but don't really substitute anything for it, because it will change the cookie a little bit.
2. More than 1 cup of sugar too much sugar. The less the better. You can half the sugar in a recipe without changing the cookies taste or physiology too much.
3. The calorie count: If the calories for a cookie is more than 100, I don't want it. The less the better here as well. My ideal cookie has around 50-70 calories, which is hard to come by, but worth the search.
4. Whole wheat: I greatly prefer a cookie to have whole wheat. If it doesn't, then I will substitute whole wheat flour for the white flour. I test it. I usually start with doing half-whole wheat half white. Everytime I make it I may try it with more of the wheat and less of the white. Sometimes I can do complete whole wheat and the cookie texture is the same, and sometimes not. So, you just kind of test it, but I always will substitute some wheat for white flour. I never bake with only white all-purpose flour.
5. If it has both brown sugar and white, I eliminate the white and just use the brown sugar- it has more flavor to me.

That's about everthing as far as what I look at when it comes to searching for cookie recipes. Happy searching!

Tomorrow I'm leavin!

2010-11-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

I'm SOOOOOO EXCITED! I get to fly to CA to visit my family for 2 1/2 weeks!!!!!! AWESOME! I can't wait to see my family. Here is my simple trip gameplan-

1. Plan what I am going to eat during travel tomorrow. We am bringing all of our food, so I don't spend money on airport food. That will insure that I eat healthier too.
2. Bring my food journal so that I can write down EVERYTHING I eat. I seem to be more accountable and more in control when I write everything I eat.
3. Exercise 5-6 days a week (preferably six...).
4. When we go out to eat, choose wisely-do whatever I need to to figure out what is teh healhtiest item on the menu for me to get.
5. Remember that I need to be moderate in all things I eat. I shouldn't eat tons and tons of sweets, but I am not going to deny myself them either.
6. Be prudent in my choices and actions so I do not regret what I do.

I may or may not be posting during my vacation. Almost a positive it won't be as frequent, but I wil lstay iun touch, and maybe even share some more recipes!

Pumpkin Soup

2010-11-05T14:27:00.001-06:00

I have been requested to share more soup recipes, so here you go! This soup is one of my absolute favorites! We have it often. And, its perfect to have this time of year! YA DUDE!

Pumpkin Soup
(adapted from Cook.com-I think...)

1 pound lean ground turkey (I use 93/7)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp sage
a dash of paprika
dash of cinnamon
1 medium onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tbs natural peanut butter, smooth
1 can pure pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fat-free milk, plain soy milk, or fat-free plain yogurt (whatever you want, I use whatever is on hand...)

1. Brown the turkey with the diced veggies and spices.
2. Once the turkey is brown and the onions are clearish, at the peanut butter and let it melt. Then add the pumpkin and chicken broth. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. While the soup base is cooking, take out a blender and blend the cream cheese with the milk/yogurt until its smooth. After the ten minutes are up, pour about a cup of the soup into the blender to blend with the cheese/milk mixture to temper it (this will prevent the cheese/milk mixture from curddling when added to the soup).
4. Add the cheese/milk mixture to the soup and cook another 2 minutes.
5. Serve. Its fun to have with a little dollup of sour cream, or yogurt (I like the yogurt, my husband does sour cream).

8 servings: 1 1/2 cups
212 calories per serving.

Enjoy!

More Positive!

2010-11-05T07:25:00.000-06:00

Yay! From last week, I lost 2 pounds! Hard work so pays off, and I am glad I got back into it again. Now, hopefully this control will help me keep control next week when I leave for CA (I get to be there for 2 1/2 weeks! YAY!). I hope I can keep control while I am there. Just eat smart. That's what I want. Just eat smart while I am home.

This is how I have been eating smart this week: Instead of having two snacks during the day, I save the calories from one snack (my morning one, meaning I have breakfast a little later...), and eat that snack after the girl goes to bed. Why didn't I think of that before???? That way, I am eating the same amount of calories as I would eating my snacks earlier, I'm just not consuming the extra calories I would if I were eating an extra snack at night, like I am so prone to. YAY! I just like to have a little treat before bed (lately its been pudding...). So yummy! Okay, sorry I just really excited! Hard work really does pay off!!!!!!

Healthy Snack Mix

2010-11-03T14:53:00.000-06:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this snack mix. I don't remember if I posted this before, so here it is again if I did.

Seasoned Snack Mix:
adapted from Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking

3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Cheerios
3 cups pretzels
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoned salt (I used Mrs Dash)

1. In a jelly roll baking pan, combine cereals and pretzels. Lightly coat with cooking spray; drizzle with the Worcestershire sauce. Combine the remaining ingredients; sprinkle over the cereal mixture.
2. Bake at 200 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Cool completely and store in a airtight container.

Serving size: 1 cup
115 calories per cup.

YUMMY!!!!

The Writing on the Wall

2010-11-02T14:37:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have been kind of a whirlwind of emotions. A few weeks ago I finally went to the dr. to check about some pain that I have in my foot (been happening of and on for a few years). I had an incling it was arthritis, because my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandfather all have/had pretty extreme arthritis. The writing was on the wall, I just was waiting to see when. Well, a few weeks ago was the "when" I've been waiting for- I found out I had the beginning signs of Osteoarthritis. Since I found out that I had this I've decided that I have to change my goals a little bit. I've decided it probably would not be wise to run a marathon, or even a half-marathon in less than a month. My Dr. suggested any major sport activity was probably unwise. 26 miles is major-so I am not doing this anymore. There is a 10k that I will still be doing on Thanksgiving, and luckily I can already run that and its not too much on the good ol' joints. Now I am in the process of thinking about other things that I can become good at, instead of running. I have my bike and enjoy riding it. Maybe I will become super good at biking, and will start doing biking races next year. Or, maybe I will become a super good swimmer which is also a good exercise, but something that can really only be done during the summers (or if you have a gym membership).

I am realizing that, after much thinking, a little negative at first (like I CAN't do anything anymore!), to positive (like, I just have to do different, good things now.). Exercise will always be a part of my routine. I can't wait for the new goals I will make in the future and for the different things that I hope to be good at. YAY!

Awesome Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

2010-11-02T14:23:00.001-06:00

Remember that book that I mentioned that I was SOOOOO excited about because it was so cheap, and I got it???? Well in that awesome book, I found an even more awesome Chocolate Ice Cream recipe for around 95 calories per half cup-AND it tastes like real ice cream. My husband even said it passes the test! EVEN MORE AWESOME! We had the ice cream on Sunday with these Pumpkin Brownies (that are no-fat!), and it was an AWESOME combo (especially since I added semisweet chocolate chips to the brownies! YUM!)

Onto the recipe. The ice cream was all gone before I got a picture (we shared with friends...) so you will just have to trust me that it looks tasty, and give it a go.

Chocolate Ice Cream
from Cookinglight: Annual Recipes 2009
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt (I actually forgot to add this, and it tasted fine)
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used chips...)

1. Place 2 1/4 cups milk in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine 1/4 cup milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl and wisk until smooth. Slowly add sugar mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 4 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.
2. Place chocolate in a small bowl. Microwave 1/2 cup milk just to a boil (1-2 min). Pour hot milk over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Stir chocolate mixture until smooth. Add chocolate misture to sugar mixture; stir until well blended. Cover and chill 2 hours.
3. Freeze mixture in a ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

Yields: 1 1/2 quarts with a serving size of 1/2 cup.
95 calories per 1/2 cup.

I did it!

2010-10-29T13:44:00.001-06:00

So, you know how I told you that I was not going to touch the cookies that I was making- like not even eat the dough, or taste a cookie once they came right out of the oven??????

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I did not touch the cookies (unless you count putting them on the cookie sheet, or the cooling rack, or as they were going into the goodie bags...:) I did let myself indulge and have 1 1/2 cookies after I ate my Fried Rice for when I went to the hubbies work for lunch (do you guys want the recipe???? I'm not sure of the calorie amount though... its kind of a "this much looks good" recipe). I was quite proud of myself that I stopped at 1 1/2. The other half when the the man. So glad I exhibited self control! I wasn't sure I could do it, but I said I could, and I did! Now I know that next time I make dessert (thinking about making Pumpkin Brownies on Sunday with some homemade chocolate ice cream... on Sunday), I can make it and bake it without taste licking the entire bowl clean! AWESOME!

Really, Im so excited about this!

A down morning

2010-10-29T07:23:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke up excited to step on that scale to see how much weight I lost this week-because man, I worked HARD this week. Really, really hard- with both my eating and my exercise. I thought for sure I would lose SOMETHING. You see, I've been bouncing in-between 124 and 127 for a few months now. I was 122 at the beginning of the summer, but I just got lazy I guess... anyhow, last week was a 127 week. I was okay with that because I thought surely I would weigh back down to 124 this week, especially since I've been working hard this week. So I stepped on the scale, and to my utter dissapointment I gained 1.5 pounds this week! I am 128.5! What gives! I haven't seen that number since probably April or May. Don't get me wrong, I know I am in the healthy weight range, but the goal is not gaining weight. Maintenence means keeping your weight, not gaining 6 pounds over the last few months! I keep telling myself that there are explainable reasons for it-

Maybe I gained muscle from my extra running this week????
Maybe I gained pre-menstral weight this week seeing as Aunt Flow should be visiting next week???
Maybe my body is just being crazy right now???
Maybe I just need to be better...

Okay, so here is what I think:
After crying about it (yes I did cry this morning-also because my daughter woke up during my 5 am workout, why can't she just let me workout before she wakes up? FIVE am is EARLY for a little girl! Gosh!), and being angry and upset because it just didn't make sense (I've put in more workout hours this week than I have in awhile, and eaten less), I figure that its hopefully some silly thing my body is doing. I mean, I am definitely not eating too many calories, I had less snacks (the snacks in-between the snacks that I was so good at), and I have been eating healthy all week. So time will tell.

Goals for this next week:
1. Stick to my running schedule (I am still considering whether I really want to run for 5-6 hours straight...unfortunately this week I found out that it could potentially make a health problem I have a little worse... So the jury is still out on that front...not to worry, I will still race, it may just be a half or just the 10k turkey trot on thanksgiving)

2. No snacks after dinner-no exceptions. This week I did have a snack after dinner most nights, but that was only my second snack for the day so I used that excuse. This next week I am going to get my second snack in for the day before dinner. I will brush my teeth after the girl goes to bed, and keep myself occupied so I don't think about food. I may just have to seclude myself in my room after dinner each night.

3. Only allow myself 2 little candies on Halloween. I will choose very, very, very wisely- no candy that I just kind of like.

4. No snacking of cookies I am making for hubbies co-workers today. I'll make Scott taste them before we give them to everyone else to make sure they are alright.

5. Keep writing everything that I eat in my journal. I am super proud of myself this week. I have written everything I ate in my journal this week. It feels good!

Hopefully these will help me get back to 127 (or even better, 124) this week! Hope you all have a happy halloween! Happy food control!

P.S. This scripture helped me get the right perspective today: Proverbs 23:7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." I won't get any where if I just think negative about my situation. I can change it, so I am going to. End of story. That is why I write my goals down, so I will achieve them. Wish me luck! Good luck to you too!

How many pieces of Candy are you going to eat???

2010-10-28T14:50:00.000-06:00

I am excited for Halloween (the dress up, and stuff like that will be super fun), but I don't so much look forward to the candy part (or I do, I just don't usually look forward to the consequences of eating TOO much of said candy in one sitting...). So, the question is, do I allow myself to eat some candy on Halloween??? Or, do I just watch everybody eat to their heart's content, as I sit back feeling left out and alone???? I don't know. What do you think? I will probably allow myself a few pieces, but then, where do I tell myself to stop? 2? 5? 8? ~~20?~~ I don't know. I know if I don't allow myself to have some I will go crazy and then start binging on a ton. So, I just need to control how many I eat.

What are you guys doing to fight the temptation to eat the whole bowl before the trick-or-treaters come to your door (or car trunk in my instance)?

Organization COMPLETE!

2010-10-27T15:18:00.001-06:00

Today I finally finished another goal of mine: I organized this blog a little more to make it more user friendly. My posts are now sectioned off into catagories, found to your right (you might need to scroll down a little). I know I was getting frustrated trying to find recipes and stuff that I had posted, so hopefuly this will help you too! I am so excited that this project is done! Been a long time in coming. Since I am trying to make this blog better, I would please welcome any suggestions that you would lliek to make that would make it better. Anything you want to see? Anything you want to learn about? Please tell me!

Healthy Chicken Salad

2010-10-27T13:58:00.002-06:00

This is a recipe that I go to whenever we go to the park, or Scott has a softball game-its something that I can make in a jiffy and take in the car easily. This recipe is from So Easy by Ellie Krieger. All of her recipes are healthy, she's a Dietician, and you might have seen her on Food Network. Her cook book is pretty good, although a lot of the recipes are higher calories anywhere from 300-600 calories, so on maintanence mode, this book is great! This is a super easy, low calorie recipe.

Waldorf Chicken Salad

1/4 cup walnuts
1/3 c plain yogurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup cubed cooked chicken breast (about 1/2 pound, I use a 8 oz can chicken, which makes it easier!)
1 medium apple, unpeeled and diced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste (I actually did not add this the other day, and it tasted perfectly)

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
In a bowl, stir yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, mustard, and thyme until smooth. Add chicken, walnuts, and apples. Season with salt and pepper if you want.

This is so tasty on bread, or in a wrap, or on a bed of lettuce, whatever you like!

4 servings, 3/4 cup per serving
1 serving equals-140 calories.

Apple Cranberry Bread

2010-10-26T16:03:00.000-06:00

When I think of heaven, I think of this bread. I LOVE it! Last week when I saw cranberries at the store I had to get them to make this bread. SO GOOD! With a few changes, I made this bread today. It comes from the Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking cookbook.

Here's the recipe:

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs applesauce
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (may try whole wheat next time...)
1 1/2 tsp bakign powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and applesauce. Combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; add to the egg mixture until just combined (it will be a thick batter). Stir in the apples, cranberries, and walnuts.

2. Transfer to an 8 in x 4 in x 2 in loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields 16 servings
with walnuts: 110 calories per slice
without walnuts: 86 calories per slice (that's what I'm talking about!!!!!!)

Seriously, try it, and when you try it, let me know what you think!

Day two

2010-10-26T14:22:00.001-06:00

Man when you are trying to get off of snacking extra, it is H-A-R-D!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday I was so moody! But, I did it! I did not snack extra-no sneaking any of the girl's leftover food, no goldfish, no extra snacks at night (I made sure to make one of my two snacks to be eaten after dinner, so I still got my night snack but it was ALLOWED because I had enough calories. I wish I would have thought of that sooner!). It was VERY, VERY, VERY difficult, but so WORTH it, because today is better. I've been able to say no to extra snacking. I did lick the bowl a little bit when I was making the Apple Cranberry Bread (recipe will be up later today) that my husband requested for breakfast this week. I wanted to make sure it tasted right. You don't want to be cooking something that is yucky yucky. At least I didn't go overboard. I'm feeling really good right now. Hopefully my control doesn't wain when I go to Book Club tonight. I really do not know what to expect. We shall see. Now that i have mentioned it though, hopefully I will have the will power because you know and I don't want to disappoint you.

Official Day to of training turned out really well too. I ran 6.5 miles, and my time was the best I had done in a very long time- mostly ten minute miles! My first mile was 8 1/2 minutes, which is my best time like EVER. WAHOO! Hopefully I will be ready for a marathon. I will train for it, but we will see how I am when I get to that point- it may just be a 1/2, depending on how my body responds to training. Either way I am running and training for something. In two weeks after I try to run 18 miles, or maybe this week after I try and run a half... Time will tell.

Getting Back on Track

2010-10-25T08:23:00.001-06:00

There is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to being healthy in my life right now. I've become really good at having nightly snacks (homemade ice cream and cereal, and such). That is not necessarily bad, except when you consume all of your calories during the rest of the day... then its bad. I've also become really good at sneaking crackers when I give some to my daughter, and stuff life that. I've also become very proficient at forgetting to record my lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and aforementioned late-night snack (okay, so late night for me is like 8, but still... :) in my beloved food journal. I'm really good about finding excuses for snacks. On the weekends (esp Sunday) I live what my in-laws affectionately call the austerity program getting it all in before I have to be good on Monday. Not the way I should be living, and not the way I used to live only a few months ago.

Time for change. I've let myself gain five-ish pounds, not horrible, but not where I want to be, and I just need to do a major overhaul and get back on track. And I figure what better time than before the holidays start so I can get control before I lose control... I leave for CA in 2 weeks and I will be there for a little over two weeks. During this time I will also be training for the marathon, so, its also a good time to get my eating habits back in order. So here's the plan:

Eat:
3 meals and 2 snacks:
Before workout snack: 5 am
workout 5:15 am (if not running...)
B: 8am.
L: 12 pm
s1:3 pm
d: 6 or 7
Brush teeth after the little girl goes to bed to avoid eating anymore. Do this EVERY DAY.

Do not take bites, licks, or tastes of anything. Period-no in-between meal snacking (I'm seriously so good at that right now!).
Record everything I eat-amounts and time.
Drink at least 64 oz of water a day.

Allow ONE meal a week to be my "cheat meal"- dessert on Sundays, or get-togethers, just have it one time a week. Make it a special and tasty dessert-and have only ONE serving, not FIVE.

I've got to do this. I've got to get better control, and eat better. I want to get down to where I was at the beginning of the summer, and hopefully reach my ultimate goal by the end of the year. What better time to do it than the holidays????

Wish me luck!

My new crazy and insane plan

2010-10-22T10:23:00.002-06:00

So today I decided that it would be fun to do some races while I was in CA for thanksgiving-I feel race deprived- I would have to drive 5 hours for a decent race-not my idea of fun racing... So, I searched for CA races during my trip. There were so many to choose from! So are you ready for my CRAZY and INSANE new goal????????

I'm going to train for and run a MARATHON in ONE MONTH! I know is crazy, and insane, but I think I can do it. I found a few articles that said I could- if you are already running 6 milers, and can run a 12 miler (I am going to try that tomorrow I think.....) then you can train for a marathon in a month (so says an article on runnersworld.com). So, I'm going to train for a marathon. In one month. I am already having doubts because it is so crazy, but I think I can do it. Hopefully.

Here is my schedule:
Week 1:
10/25: 4 miles
10/26: 6 miles
10/28: 4 miles
10/30: 12 miles

Week 2:
11/1: 5 miles
11/2: 8 miles
11/4: 5 miles
11/6: 13-15 miles (preferably 15)

Week 3:
11/8: 5 miles
11/10: 8 miles
11/11: 9 miles
11/13: 16-18 miles (preferably 18)

Race week:
11/15: 5 miles
11/16: 12 miles
11/18: 3 miles
11/20 Race day: Fishbowl Run, 26.3 miles-Fountain Valley, CA.

Anyone want to join me?

Am I crazy? I hope I can do it!

Stupendous Soup

2010-10-22T08:30:00.002-06:00

Fall is the perfect time to have soup. Its getting cool in the nights and it warms your tummy so nicely! I find an excuse to eat soup all year long, but I especially like it now. This week I made Roast Pear-Butternut Squash soup. It is super easy and super tasty! You just roast all the veggies (and pear), and broth to it, blend it, and heat it back up. So easy! And it is so creamy without the cream. So good! Seriously making it again. For the recipe and a tasty-looking picture go here:

Roasted Pear-Butternut Soup

Let me know what you think!

Temptations

2010-10-19T08:37:00.001-06:00

In my scripture study this morning I read a talk by our beloved prophet-Thomas S. Monson. Its all about choice-the right of choice, the responsibility of choice, and the results of choice. In this talk he quoted a verse of scripture that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, found in Corinthians 10:13. Paul states that

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptations also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

This is true in all aspects of life, even when it comes to living healthy. God would not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to withstand. Sometimes it seems impossible to say no to that ~~5th~~ 2nd cookie. Most of the time it is hard for me to say no to another handful of chocolate chips (seriously, one of my hardest temptations). Sometimes, though not often anymore, it is awfully tempting to skip the day's workout. We are tempted everyday to to things we probably shouldn't be doing, but the comforting thing is that we can withstand them. We can because God wouldn't tempt us with something that we could not withstand. So, today I am going to challenge myself, and anyone else who wants to try it too, to withstand one of your biggest temptations for today. You can do it. I can do it. If we withstand our temtpations today, they will be easier to withstand tomorrow. Good luck!