Day 3

Today was so much better. I didn't crave sweets, I actually wanted salt on my parfait, hmmm. Dare I say it, I got on the scale this morning and I'd lost 3 pounds already. I'm not convinced they'll stay off, but it is nice to see. Only 2 more days to go!

Day 2

Getting into the swing of things. The raspberries didn't seem so tart today. Having to be at work made it a bit more difficult as did having Devun back home, so the regular dinner schedule was on (me cooking). I did it though, although compared to pizza my smoothie didn't exactly hit the spot :) I am exhausted, probably due to the low calories. I'm also having a lot of discomfort in my upper back, which tends to happen when I'm not eating enough. Probably didn't help that I was researching recipes most of the day. Only 3 more days to go!

Fast Forward Plan Day 1

So, I gave up on the challenge this week as I was gearing up for this fast forward plan. That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it. Today was day 1, overall not too bad. The egg scramble was pretty good, even without any salt. I would've loved to use some, but that is a no-no on this plan. The part I had a problem with was the raspberries. I like raspberries, but apparently not on their own. The almonds helped, but I was puckering like a mad woman while trying to chow these down. The parfait was alright, it was just not sweet enough for me. However, I love love love the greek yogurt. Not the taste necessarily (I have to use plain) but the texture is just so creamy. The salad, which I wasn't sure I'd like, was actually my favorite meal of the day. Lastly, the smoothie, wasn't bad but not great either. I expect to enjoy them more tomorrow as my taste buds get used to them.

Hunger wise, it wasn't too bad. Oddly, I mostly felt the hunger pangs during eating or right after I ate. I'm guessing this is because my body was craving the sugar? The book states that I should feel lighter by the end of the day, not so far, but there is always tomorrow. At this point I'm hoping the next 4 days go by fast. See ya tomorrow.

Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. She is such an amazing woman and often doesn't get the credit she deserves. She raised 5 children basically on her own. She had to deal with 4 girls as teenagers, let alone my brother. Just thinking about Reece as a teenager makes me cringe. How she did it with us, I don't know, but she did a wonderful job. I'm so very glad that she is my mom. I love you Mom and Happy Birthday!!!

Look at that, she's still go the touch.

Additions

I've been doing pretty well on my challenge, although I didn't make my weekly goal last week, but I'm okay with that. My goal for the week was a lofty one. I ended up with 63/70. My goal for this week is 64, but I plan on taking a week off next week as I am doing the Cinch! 5 day fast-forward plan (from the book Cinch! by Cynthia Sass). I'm doing it to reprogram my system with sugars, fats, and processed foods. My friend Sharann and I are going to do it together starting Sunday. On this plan we are only allowed to eat 5 foods; almonds, yogurt, spinach, eggs, and raspberries. This is why we're taking a week off from the challenge. I'm pretty excited to start.

Random Pictures

Here are some of my favorite pics of my kids. Love them!

Believe it or not, I didn't ask them to do this. I just happened to take the picture right as they looked at one another. Too cute.

Taking a nap

Celebrating Christmas with Devun on Dec 23rd

Christmas Day

Boxing Day, all worn out sleeping in with Mom

Reece's Birthday

Reece turned 2 on December 16th. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. I'm so grateful for my daughter. I waited a long time to get her and I wasn't always patient. She was/is worth the wait. Love you babygirl!

Sunday Thoughts

I have recently started going back to church, as in the last year. I may have actually now made it to the year mark, but just barely. Prior to that I was inactive for about 11 or 12 years. Today in Sunday school we were talking about that and I was asked what made me come back. My answer was my kids, but I'm not so sure that was it. I certainly wanted to make sure my kids knew about Heavenly Father and Jesus, but I obviously had a desire there too. I know I talked about it for many months before I finally made that plunge, my kids were just the final puzzle piece. During my inactivity, I never once stopped believing that the church was true. I often prayed, though not with any frequency. I am so grateful that I found my way back. This past year has been a wonderful one, especially spiritually. Devun decided to be baptized in June and he is such an example to me. On fast Sundays he is often the first person baring his testimony and I couldn't be more proud. Here is is with his Uncle Sheeb, who baptized him.

I was called to be the Young Women's secretary and while I was nervous at first I truly enjoy it. The girls and leaders are so much fun and I learn a great deal from them. My sister Lesley joined me at church a few Sundays ago. The subject of personal progress came up and she asked me if I was working on it. I had meant to, but never had. She reminded me that I had mentioned prior to going back to church that I had always wanted to do the personal progress and had I ever thought that was why I was chosen for this calling. It certainly took me back, especially since Lesley has been inactive longer than I have and is still so. She was so easily able to see what I was blind to. I don't often think I have much of a testimony let alone a strong one. But how can I not believe this church is true when you not only get answers to prayers that you ask for, but also answers to questions/desires to didn't know or forgot were there.

Scary Ahhhhh

So as far as toys go, the Sing-a-majig was the top toy last year.....Just not in our house. We got one for Reece for Christmas and she wouldn't even touch it. Listening to it was okay, but try to get her to touch it and no go. She even asked me to play with it for her, by saying "scary ahhhh" (as in making the singing noise that the sing-a-majig makes). It took me a minute to realize what she was asking for. Too funny. After Devun played with it for a while she was finally convinced that it wasn't as scary as she thought. Now that she plays with it....I wish she wouldn't ;) Here she is cheesing it up for the camera with her new, unscary toy.

She's great about letting me take pictures as long as she gets to see them after. What a cute kid! Wow, I just noticed how long her hair has grown from the 2 pics. My husband would like me to cut it, but I just can't bare to even think about doing it.

Resolutions

Yes, Yes, I'm a little late. It's still January so it counts right?

I have many goals in mind for the coming year. Which include writing on this blog at least once a week, controlling my temper better, paying off as much debt as possible and so on. I found that this year I couldn't seem to stop coming up with ideas on what to do. Who knows how I will fare this year, but I hope to stick to the three listed, if nothing else.

Along with that I am working toward being healthier. I refuse to have the goal be "lose weight". That would just be a nice side effect. A friend and I have started a ongoing challenge to work towards this goal. I got this idea from another blog and tweaked it a little. Here it is;

1 point/mile walk/run
1 point/10 min intense activity
1 point/15 min regular aerobic activity, yoga, pilates, toning, etc
1 point/20 min extra stretching
2 points/7 servings fruits/veggies daily
3 points/day for no treats
1 point/week serving of fish
1 point/limiting 3 carb servings a day
1 point/not eating after 6:30pm
1 point/day eating normal serving size (use kid plates & bowls)
2 points/day for drinking 12 8oz cups of water
1 point/reaching weekly goal

The ones I added are mostly about eating, my big problem area. I'm hoping this will motivate me to eat better. Our goal is to get 70 points a week. So far so good.

So we started yesterday 1/10/11 and I got 7 points. I figure that's pretty good for making the decision to do this 1/2 way through the day. Today I got 7 as well. Almost got that fruits and veggies point. I was 1/2 a serving away, but then it was too late to eat and I didn't even get the point for not eating after 6:30pm :( That's what you get when you're a mom and take care of everyone else first :)

We haven't decided what our reward will be yet. I'm always inclined to choose food for a reward and that just defeats the purpose. I'll have to update with that later.