10 lbs lighter!!

Yesterday I celebrated an exciting milestone.  I hit my goal of losing 10 lbs! I am very proud of myself and going to celebrate by getting a pedicure.   It has been a fairly easy challenge so far.   Eating frequently helps stop my cravings and prevents me from bingeing on really bad food.  Being organized and 'ahead of the game' helps as well.  It's easier to eat well when the food is in your fridge ready to go.  Today we are celebrating Matthew's 8th birthday with my family and I intend to have a piece of cake.  I also intend to eat dinner out tomorrow night to celebrate at the restaurant of Matthew's choice.  I'm going to eat what I want to eat, drink a diet pepsi, enjoy it all, and get right back on my menu plan on Tuesday.   I deserve this! 

Apparently I don't do a good job at....

blogging.    I haven't posted anything since November 1st but I am going to try to do better. 

I want to make this post about the changes I've been making in my own life.   I have always been very good at organizing things so that everyone else gets taken care of, and everything that needs to be done, gets done well and on time.  I haven't done so well on taking care of myself.   I have let my weight creep up and our eating habits have not been what I would like them to be.   My friend Cheryl gave me this really simple meal plan her trainer had given a few of the girls at the gym.  It consists of eating small meals, frequently, combining complex carbs and lean proteins.  I started this 3 weeks ago yesterday and feel great!   My energy is so high, my mood swings and the sluggish feelings have diminshed.  I have practically no cravings and when I do get one I have the strength to fight it.   I have 'cheated' twice since I have started this, once for a turkey dinner at my Mom's, and once for chips, dip and pepsi.   Both times I felt soooo horrible after eating.  It is my goal to keep on this meal plan, with slight variations out of the recipe book Cheryl was given at the gym.   Following this plan, I have lost 7lbs so far and am very excited to go forward.

One thing that has been super important is planning.  With a full time job, 2 kids, hockey, homework,  being a host family, etc, etc things are always busy.   Everything has to be very well planned for me to do this.   Eating the same simple meals makes this job a little bit easier for me.   When I go for groceries I know what I am going to be making that week, which means I know what I need to buy.  This makes things so simple!   Also, I am learning that there are variations you can make easily to the same basic items to change it up.  I am enjoying the food and I dont even miss the old way of eating.   The other bonus of this is the money we are saving by not eating out.   Eating out is too tempting for me to make bad choices, so we just eat at home.   Last week we made a veggie and shrimp stirfry served over brown rice, and the boys loved it.   It felt so good to be nurturing our bodies with good for us food.  Last night I celebrated my 3rd week of my new lifestyle with my first ever sweet potato fries and chicken souvlaki, thanks to my bff.  It was so yummy.  I still can't believe that it could be good for  us!

Did I mention I feel great?!?!   Stay tuned for my progress updates!

A.

 

Trick or Treat

Last night I had the best Halloween I have had in a long time.  My best friend Cheryl and her husband Larrin, were hosting their 3rd annual Halloween wagon ride. ( I think they have a name for it but I'm not sure of what it is).  We arrived shortly before departure time and I was impressed by how well decorated the wagon was.  There were orange lights, caution tape, ghosts, spiders, etc all over.  I don't know if this is how it looked last year and I didn't notice, or if they had just done more this year.  We all started to pile on the wagon and it soon became clear, as the wagon filled up, that a lot more people were joining us than last year.   I believe Cheryl counted 27 kids in total.  Chelsea, Sam and Juliet came as well which made it even more fun.  All the kids were extremely excited as we got underway.  It was awesome to see them so happy.  It was warmer than last year and someone brought hot chocolate so it helped keep us warm.   Every stop took a little time as all 27 kids got down off the wagon, got candy, and back up.  I am sure Cheryl got a good arm workout as she seemed to be lifting a little one down or up every time I looked over.   We got back to Cheryl's around 7:30 and the kids had bags full of candy.  Sam asked Chelsea if he could bring a pillowcase next year for the candy. Haha!  As we drove away I was so tired, but so happy.  It had been a great night.  We stopped at my Dad's and my Step Mom didn't figure they were going to get anymore kids so she dumped their candy bowl into the boys bag.  The boys loved this.  It made me laugh and was the perfect last stop to our night. Next year the boys will probably be with their Dad but I am hoping to join everyone for another fun night. Thanks to everyone who made it possible!

A feel good weekend

This past weekend, I had a really great weekend.  It was the kind of weekend that you wish every weekend was.   The boys were home from their Dad's (which automatically starts the good weekend ball rolling) and we had a lot of fun.   On Friday night we had dinner at my sister's, which was a real treat considering Brody and Matthew usually have hockey Friday's.  The kids played and the adults visited and it was lovely.   Saturday morning my Mom arrived early to kick my butt into gear.  We got all my patio furniture put away and tidied my garage so I could park in their this winter.   After that I left to go get my hair done and Mom and the boys began the pumpkin carving adventure.  I was very happy to be missing that mess ;) I had a great time at the hair salon.  I have been going there for 9 years and enjoy the woman there and the treat of being pampered once in awhile.  The weekend could have ended here and I would have been happy but nope, it continued.  I picked up two of the boys friends on my way home and brought them to our house for a sleepover.  This is pure bliss to me.   The 4 of them all play so well together, they sometimes play as one group, or as pairs, but it all works very well.   I made lasagna and garlic bread and our guests were thrilled as that was their "favourite"  After dinner the boys settled in to watch a movie and I baked their pumpkin seeds for a snack.  They all went to sleep relatively easy and I got some time to relax, I also did some knitting, which adds to my happiness.  Sunday was another full day.  The visitors left in the morning, we did some homework and tidying and then left to go 'to town'.  I dropped Andrew off at a different friends house for another playdate and Matthew and I got some lunch supplies for the week and then went to my friend Chelsea's to play.   We were having such a great time that I didn't want to go home when it was time to pick up Andrew.  They invited us to stay for supper so I ran out and got Andrew and came back.   Chelsea's husband, Christian, made the best grilled cheese I've ever had.   The cheese was fantastic!   We got home later that night than I would have liked for a Sunday night, but it was soooo worth it. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in what needs to get done that I forget to stop and enjoy life.  That is what Sunday evening was all about.  I guess what this tells me is that my recipe for a great weekend is  getting some stuff done around the house, combined with visiting and spending time with important people in our lives, and having a little 'me' time to relax.   I will have to remember to plan for these things more on weekends.

The beginning....

I've been considering blogging for awhile.  I feel I need an outlet to express my feelings, thoughts, and things that are going on in my life.  I have no idea how often I will blog, or what I will say, I plan to just go with it and see what ends up here.  My life has been such an amazing journey up until this point and I think it is just going to get better.   I hope you enjoy reading along through my ups and downs.