Some Recent Foods

Just a quick photo post to catch up on some recent things I've eaten :)

Egg beaters, vegetarian sausage, oatmeal

This is the kind of oatmeal I've been eating. 7g protein in each packet.

A couple new condiments I tried out. Honey mustard and a lite mayo with roasted garlic & herbs. Both are very good with grilled chicken and I think the mayo would be delicious on sandwiches too and possibly also in tuna salad.

Grilled chicken, slice of Havarti cheese, honey mustard on a sandwich thin.

These are really handy when making pizzas at home!

One of my homemade pizzas on a medium size wheat tortilla with turkey pepperoni and some of the beef crumbles from above.

When we want a treat, we go to the nearby frozen yogurt bar. When I'm being good, I stick to the fruit toppings :) When I'm being a little more indulgent I like the cookie dough bites and candy pieces yum! Last night I had red velvet cupcake frozen yogurt - 97% fat free and tastes like the real deal. SO good. I paired it with a little new york cheesecake flavored yogurt and topped with sliced strawberries. Delicious!

I'm Back (Or Trying to Be!)

Well, what a week it has been. Let's just start with the fact that the end of last week was the 3 worst days of my period (I had it for SIX WEEKS but that was the week I was "supposed" to have it and it hit me like a ton of bricks). I'm on a new birth control now and really hoping it will help. But those 3 days I ate like CRAP. Lots of junk and just constantly eating even when I wasn't hungry at all and was pretty much forcing it down. More than anything I just hate the feeling that I had NO CONTROL over those decisions. I was constantly thinking about it and wanting to change it, but couldn't.

Then I got sick. I've had a chest/sinus thing since Friday. I was secretly hoping being sick would make me have NO appetite (as it sometimes does) and it would help even out my big eating days. But... nope. The poor eating continued all weekend.

I am still sick, but I decided that Monday morning I would start sticking to my rules again and only eat when hungry, get all my liquids and eat the RIGHT foods. I was going to do Curves but I was talked out of that by my hubby & BFF who said nothing strenuous until I am 100% better. I had to listen :-P
But I did very well on my eating yesterday AND went for a 3.3 mile walk with hubby when he got home from work.

Today, still yucky, but definitely getting better. So far eating is on track and still planning another walk this evening. I am REALLY hoping to get back to Curves tomorrow. I don't want my muscles to get weaker! Something I have never worried about before LOL. I am also supposed to go out tomorrow afternoon & evening with my aunt & grandma for my grandma's 94th birthday. We are going to see Mirror Mirror and have dinner at Outback. I really want to be feeling good!! So today I am resting, having more airborne and drinking as much liquid as possible.

Now for some catch up since my last blog post:

First of all, a week after my father-in-law's passing, we had a memorial breakfast at a local taco place. They had a tradition of meeting with his friends for greasy tacos once a month before he got too sick to participate. A bunch of people came and there was a little memorial to him on the table.. it was really nice.

Although my grandma's birthday is tomorrow, last week they threw her a surprise party in her line dancing class. It was SO nice of them!! She was definitely surprised and enjoyed a HUGE piece of chocolate cake, her favorite:

Unfortunately we had quite a scare. After her little celebration when they began their line dancing class, she took a HARD fall. Everyone said the noise was so loud when her head hit the floor. My grandma is stubborn and did not want any fuss but luckily they all INSISTED she be taken to the hospital. After some tests they determined she was ok - no concussion, no fractures in her hip or any of the things they were worried about. I'm just so glad she's ok and that we are happily celebrating her birthday tomorrow.

This past week I got my hair recolored too and one of the girls also practiced a waterfall braid on me.

I also spent time with Amber knitting and went out shopping and found a couple new accessories (this was all before I got sick... sigh).

My husband went out to dinner Friday night with his family. I didn't go since I was sick by then. My sister in law texted me this picture from dinner of Ian all annoyed by some balloons... it made me smile :)

I went with him to Sportsman's Warehouse after dinner just for a minute so he could get some ammo for his concealed carry class on Saturday. I saw this there and just had to share :)

Hubby left me a sweet note this morning. He knows I'm still not feeling well. :)

That's all for now, I have a bunch of recent foods to share but I'll save it for another post.

This & That

So I don't usually order things from Roman's since most of it is just not my style... but my mother-in-law gave me the catalog to pick some things because you could get the free expandable tote bag right now. I have the blue one and now they have a red one (it's a GREAT bag for when I crochet blankets). I ordered a shirt in size large that was way too big and a bra that didn't work out either. But what did work out was my cute, slide-on red sneakers!

I got grey ones too but they are backordered. So... if you have REALLY WIDE FEET like I do, try some shoes from the Roman's site. These come in WW and are actually even a little too wide for me, probably could have gone with just W, but it's nice to have something roomy for a change!

Ian took me out to dinner last night because I was craving M-E-A-T MEAT!!!!!! We didn't really have much at home because of the craziness of this last week and will have to do some shopping soon. We went to Applebee's and I had the Shrimp & Parmesan Sirloin. YUM!

If you've seen Happy Feet Two.... I just wanted to chew on something with a face!! lol :) I ate half this meal for a total of 335 calories. It was delicious. And I almost NEVER want steak. But my body was SHOUTING at me... MEAT MEAT MEAT... and NO STINKIN' CHICKEN! hahaha. It's amazing how much more tuned in to my body I am now. The beginning part of my day yesterday was more carb-y than usual and my body let me know it was time for some major protein. Unfortunately I just don't like this kind of stuff leftover... but hubby got to take the leftovers in his lunch today.

Yes hubby went back to work today after a week off to grieve. Seems ridiculous in some ways, like grieving could EVER be over in just a week. Of course it's not, but you have to keep going with life. As crazy as it was to close on the house and start renovating just 2 weeks after my mom passed, I think it helped to have something to focus on and I think it will help Ian to get back to work. This is supposed to be his last week of training, but he did miss a whole week so it will depend how quickly he can catch up on what he missed I guess. He got his first paycheck though and we were pretty damn excited. Not only is it nice to see them coming in again, but it's $400 higher than his old paychecks, and this is BEFORE he gets his 10% raise which will start when he starts the 2pm-11pm shift. It is such a blessing.

Crazy Week

As you can imagine, it's been a crazy week. I have a lot to catch up on so this will be a long post.
Ian's dad passed away on Easter. I know I haven't said anything further about it here. As you know we knew it was getting close. I will say that we are happy with the WAY it happened - we were all there with him. Ian, me, Ian's mom, his sister & her husband, and Ian's grandma (Neil's mom). He had us all there with him and we know that's what he wanted. For the last two days though he was completely unresponsive so it's not like there was any communication. It was really tough and sad.

Monday we all went to the funeral home for the initial meeting about everything. My friend Kelsi (the funeral director for my mom's funeral) worked her magic and got us transferred to her funeral home at the last minute so we felt so much more comfortable knowing that everything was going to be taken care of and go smoothly.  Monday Ian seemed to be doing okay and fairly at peace with everything, but Tues-Thurs were really hard for him this week.

Tuesday night my BFF Sarah came into town to spend time with us. We both loved having her here. She made Ian laugh a lot which I appreciate so much.

Wednesday morning Sarah went to Curves with me. It was SO fun to have her do the workout with me!! She thought Curves Smart was really cool. I also had two different ladies at different times that day tell me how much change they saw in me in the last month there and that I was looking really good! That was so awesome to hear!!

On Wednesday Sarah and I had also joined my sis-in-law for mani/pedis. I don't have any pics except of my nails:

Wednesday night we all had dinner at Runway Grill which is at a small local airport here. Dinner there is so-so but dessert is AH-MAZING and the view ain't bad either:

This dinner included the whole family plus a couple friends. I was nervous about having dinner with my mother-in-law drinking, but it was actually bordering on pleasant. We had some laughs... the family really enjoyed being together that night. Kinda cool.

On Thursday (yesterday) she went to AquaZumba with me. Class was really awesome and a killer workout. After that, we took Ian and went up to Estes Park so Sarah could see my finished house. The last time she saw it, it was just an empty shell. She totally raved about it and it felt great :) Speaking of the house, I also wanted to share the guestbook entry from last weekend's Easter guests:

I love this job :)

Anyway, back to Estes Park... it was a good time and I think it was really good for Ian. He had been getting really down and withdrawn those couple of days but we had a talk on the way up there and I think he was able to clear his head a bit. By the time we had lunch after seeing the house, he was laughing again and being more himself.

Speaking of lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant called Poppy's in Estes Park. I've eaten there several times and liked it, but had never tried a burger there. I just don't have a lot of taste for burgers anymore (on of my FAVE foods before) because I can't eat the bun (too bulky) and just don't care for it as much without one. Well at this restaurant they offer the choice of a THIN wheat bun (like a sandwich thin) so I went for it! I still only ate the bottom half of the bun but it was delicious and they put SO MUCH bacon on it (well done like I asked!).... it was the first time I've truly ENJOYED a burger since before my surgery almost two years ago:

Sorry to jump around but while we are on the topic of food... our Easter dinner with my family was turkey tacos (before Ian's dad passed). I had taken this pic for the blog and never had a chance to share it:

They were super delicious. A bit untraditional for Easter dinner but we all enjoyed them. My hubby makes his own spice mix for the taco meat and also mixes refried beans in with the meat. Really tasty. The veggie on the side is a steam-in-the-bag southwest veggie mix from Target. It was perfect with it.

Alright so back to Thursday. After we got back from Estes Park Ian was ready for some relaxing. He stayed home to watch a movie & have dinner with my dad while Sarah and I met up with Amber for some crocheting & dinner. We had a nice time at Starbucks. I worked on my blanket:

We all smiled a ton when this awesome old lady came in and she had a crazy rainbow outfit. She looked like a roller derby player too lol.

Isn't she awesome?

After Starbucks we went to Panera Bread for dinner.....

The one in front is mine :) I asked Sarah to take this photo and unbeknownst to me she also took this one of me and Amber talking:

I saw this in my phone today and was just kind of taken aback by how NORMAL I look. Of course this isn't a full body shot but still. Amber is super skinny so just to think I look normal standing there talking to her.... it's amazing how we just don't see ourselves how we truly are. Yes I have a ways to go but seeing this is really encouraging.

Speaking of which. The clothes I shared just two weeks ago that I bought... they are all looser on me now then when I bought them. Like, really noticeably. My weight hasn't really changed at all these two weeks but obviously my shape is changing. YAY muscle. I'm going to do another weigh & measure (and body fat measurement) at Curves this coming week and see what's new.

Today I did Curves again and my body was like OH HELL NO. I mean, I made it through and all but my muscles were WORN OUT. I think AquaZumba still used a LOT of muscle cuz I was sore from it this morning and my muscles didn't get enough rest and just didn't have the oomph for my Curves workout today. I sitll burned 600 calories, but I really had to fight my way through it and it sure showed. All my bar graphs and percentages dropped way off compared to the steady incline I had been experiencing. I'm going to give my body a break til Monday! Maybe just a walk tomorrow if anything.

We went to lunch with my sister in law today at Olive Garden after some shopping at Old Navy. I got two cute jackets which I have really been wanting - found them in the clearance, too!:

 Yes it's really that bright. I don't know how I feel about it yet but it is SO comfortable. I might need to take up the sleeves on the yellow one and then length of the trenchcoat a little bit (yep, I'm shoooort). But they fit great otherwise and I love them. Both XL from Old Navy, btw.

There were beautiful Wisteria flowers blooming just outside the restaurant:

After lunch we came to get Ian and then we met up with the whole family at the funeral home. Had to pick up his dad's ashes today :( Man this stuff is hard. Then we had to take Sarah to the airport to go buhbye :( She has to be in Mexico tomorrow so she couldn't stay any longer. :( happy to report though that Ian is still doing pretty well with how he's feeling right now.

When we got home from the airport we found these waiting for him:

All the way from NEW ZEALAND. Well I'm sure the flowers themselves were from here LOL but our thoughtful friend Raina (a.k.a. mmmarshmallow) in New Zealand sent them to Ian with some encouraging words. SO AMAZING and sweet, especially since he has "friends" HERE who can't manage a text, facebook note, phone call or condolence... but I won't get all worked up about that again right now :-P

He also got this bouquet yesterday from his boss and coworkers! He's been there just FOUR DAYS and these thoughtful people who barely know him all wrote sweet notes in a card for him.

It's just so nice. Okay I am finally caught up for now and I'll report back soon :) Thanks all for your well wishes and just know I am still truckin'!

In Loving Memory

Neil
March 13, 1954 ~ April 8, 2012

What A Day.

(This was written yesterday... I didn't finish)...This morning started out rough. I was up early with hubby as he was getting ready for work. As soon as he left I started getting myself ready to go to AquaZumba... when I heard from him saying his mom and sister were with his dad and he was breathing, but not responding at all. We were afraid this was it. I rushed over there and bu the time I got there, he was doing a lot better. Not totally coherent/himself, but some talking and then drifting in and out of sleep. I stayed a while and kept an eye on things... he seemed a lot better when I left. It just breaks my heart!!!!!! :( It was such a scare for everyone. But unfortunately it's one more sign that the time is very near.

It's been a couple rough eating days. Yesterday I ate out twice and wasn't really planning for both. Had lunch at Olive Garden with my sister in law:

Soup, salad, breadstick :) Yummy! We also went shopping and I got a few more new clothes - 3 shirts with longer sleeves yay! And some jewelry :) No pics yet but maybe soon.

Then I met with my friend Amber to do some knitting. I had asked her earlier if she wanted to eat out and she said no, but as soon as we met up she changed her mind lol. SO, we went to Red Robin. It was hard to find anything reasonable. I had 1/2 a chicken sandwich with a little honey mustard and a few fries. Overall I didn't do TOO bad for the day.

After we ate, we did some knitting. She helped me get back on track with my mittens so now FINALLY one of them is actually done!

 It was also my BFF's birthday! Although I didn't get to see her since she lives in Chicago, I talked to her on the phone quite a while AND Amber and I talked to her together and wished her a happy birthday. I miss her so much!!!

Anyhoo back to Thursday. Once I made sure everything was OK with Ian's dad, I needed to get up to Estes Park and take care of a few things at the house before our guests arrived for Easter weekend. They have a little boy and I set up an egg hunt for him! I left a card for the parents with a list of where all the eggs are... of course I kept it pretty easy for the boy because he's only 2 so everything is on the ground/low and not too hard. But, as the card says, "The Easter Bunny kept it pretty easy for the little one, but there's one BIG BLUE EGG for dad to find! He made that one a little trickier... Good luck!!" :) The dad said he liked reese's pb eggs so I filled a big blue egg with those and hid it for him. The extras are on the counter in a bowl along with the bucket the boy can use with the eggs, the card, and some popcorn (which isn't an Easter thing, but something I want to start doing for guests... it says "thanks for popping in") :)

I forgot to get a picture but I also put a sign in the window that I got at Hobby Lobby which says "The Easter Bunny Was Here!"... It's really cute. I'll have to get a photo of it when I go back.

30 Day Challenge Complete!!

 Here's what the past 3 days have been like here in Denver. Yes, REALLY:

Sunday was 87 and we were roasting. Monday was 30's and windy as all hell. Today it snowed like crazy... and tomorrow will be high 60's again. What the WHAT?

Well here it is, day 30. I can't believe it! It has actually gone by really fast. I've accomplished a lot and I have no desire at all to stop anything I'm doing. Eating right, tracking all my food, exercising... it's all feeling just awesome right now. So I am renewing the 30 day challenge and making it a 60 day challenge :) I may not still blog EVERY day (I got pretty close to every day) but blogging is part of my challenge along with tracking my food and exercising, so I will definitely be around.

Weigh in this morning was 208. A loss of .6 this week. I think it slowed a little due to upping calories but I don't care at all. My food choices and exercise are feeling great and I'm building so much muscle. I know all I need is a little patience and those numbers will start rolling again. I've lost 8 full pounds during my 30 day challenge which I think is amazing given how far out I am from surgery and that I am at a lighter weight now. I feel very accomplished!! Still 10 more to go to get back to my lowest weight of 198. Would like to achieve that by my birthday in 5 weeks, but it could take more like 2 months, we shall see.

Yesterday I finally got to see my macronutrient pie graph as close to perfect as it has ever been:

Pretty darn close!!

Tonight I had a yummy BISON meatloaf dinner at Ted's Montana Grill:

FYI, I ate one piece of meatloaf and 1/2 the potatoes, a little bit of green bean. Brought the rest home for tomorrow.

I spent the day with my father in law today. I am thoroughly saddened as his condition worsens. We are all preparing ourselves... we think the end is very near, maybe a week or two. Please, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as well as my husband and the whole family for what they are going through. Today was such a tough day. I really need to go to bed and wake up to a new day.

Day 29 & Travel Ready

Hey guys. So I was supposed to have weigh-in this morning but yesterday was extremely high sodium and the scale didn't like me this morning. I will try again tomorrow morning and just report no matter what it says :) Today's been a lot better and I've had a lot of water.

Curves this morning was great! Burned 636 calories. I felt like I had more strength this morning. Not sure why... maybe because I was awake for over an hour before going, and had a protein drink beforehand. Hubby started his new job today so we are getting up earlier. Today we got up at 7, but tomorrow will be 6 (and all days after for 3 weeks while he is training). That will actually work out well tomorrow because I'll have time to work out, shower and pack food before getting to Ian's parents house between 10 & 11 to hang out with his dad.

I have been meaning to share this new food find:

Yasso frozen greek yogurt bars. Came across these at our last grocery shop... we picked up strawberry (not pictured) so that is the only one I've tried so far. My dad was going shopping at a different store today so I asked him to look and he found these. I haven't tried these flavors yet but I liked the strawberry. Wouldn't say LOVE like omg it's sooooo good... but it's good. It definitely tastes like yogurt and has that slight yogurt-y aftertaste. But only 70 calories and with 6 grams protein, definitely a good choice when I want something cold and ice-cream like. I love my skinny cow sandwiches but these are half the calories and 3x the protein. I can still have those when I want but these are a great alternative... and they take longer to eat, which is more satisfying.

Tonight's dinner was crock pot chicken in a mixture of campbell's cheddar cheese and cream of chicken soup (healthy request ones) over brown rice and with a side of green beans.

I almost finished my chicken and rice but not quite, and I had to give half my green beans away.

Just for the sake of comparison, I wanted you guys to see my plate next to my dad's plate. We use smaller plates and still eat half (or less) what he eats (or what most people eat lol).

Now for the "travel ready" part. This past weekend Ian and I looked around a few stores trying to find some good travel bags. They will be a carry-on when we fly, but then also be our "day packs" when we are out walking around each city. I wanted to be able to carry my ipad and my camera bag inside of it as well as water/snacks, wallet, etc. I found this to be my favorite bag and I didn't like the light blue color at the store so I looked online and found purple so I ordered it Saturday ... and it arrived today! (Thanks Zappos!)

This is the Keen Adele Computer Bag. It's a messenger style bag but with no flap. I hate how the flap of a messenger bag is in your way when you try to look through the bag.  This is also a great size... big enough for my macbook air, but not SO big that my ipad or other things flop around in it. Lots of exterior and interior pockets too.

Nice big zippered pocket on the front.

One of these pockets on each side.

The interior. The back has the padded portion for laptop/ipad with a foldover snap flap. The middle is deep enough for my little camera bag. Mesh pocket on the right side there holds my laptop cord well. Zippered portion at the ftont is perfect size for my travel wallet (the tall skinny kind) and then 3 more interior pockets below the zippered one.

At home I can use this for when I want to take my laptop AND ipad somewhere with me - they both fit in that flap together (and that's what I'll do on the plan, also)... so I hope to get a lot of use out of this bag!

Really looking forward to the upcoming trips. :)