scattered

things have been so scattered lately.

i haven't really had a set time to blog or even a subject to write about lately.

life has been mainly about:

watching our house take shape

hanging out inside...

a black cat named Snowball likes to hang around the neighborhood,

kind of fitting for this time of year.

the weather's been a changin'

and noses have been runnin'

baseball we've been a watchin'

i've been experimentin'

and tonight, we're goin' trick-or-treatin'

still cool?

sometimes i feel like since i have kids i am no longer cool.

i feel old. ugly. fat.

which translates to not trying very hard when i get dressed,

or do my hair,

or...showering.

ANYWAY.

but then i take a step back and realize i'm only 24 years old!

i am not old or ugly,

and ok, i still have some prego-pudge to work off.

but i've been working on that. a lot.

motivation can come in the strangest places.

today, it came from pinterest.

i look through there sometimes and realize i can still look like that.

i'm young.

my skin is still tight.

i am going to lose weight. (I AM!)

i didn't go to cosmetology school to throw my hair in a messy bun everyday.

not that it's a bad thing!

buns are the shiz right now.

actually i take that back, i will wear a messy bun everyday. wink.

and i just looked over at my daughter and realized

she's never looked cuter with her hair in a messy pony...

 oh yeah, i will be trying this.

Sorry, got on a little hair tangent.

Point being,

there's no reason I can't look like this...

got a little lauren conrad obsessed there for a minute.

but man, she has the best body and style.

and hair.

i've been trying lately to work harder on my outfit choices.

that requires more forethought, and more laundry.

and it really requires more shopping. aw man. ;)

i really want to vow to be a cool mom,

to not get stuck in a rut,

to go for cool rather than comfort.

hey, if i really luck out 

maybe i'll find something that looks cool AND feels comfy.

out with the old, in the with new

diet week is over. 
i'm back to my sweet indulgences.
though admittedly more aware of what i'm putting in my mouth.
and also more grateful for each sinful bite.
it's nice to have this little reprieve though,
because i plan on starting a new diet as soon as it comes in the mail. 


i've been told about a 90-day challenge by this company called
ViSalus
basically it is a shake that is said to taste like cake batter.
there are also different flavor enhancers so you can switch up the taste if you prefer.
you drink it for breakfast and lunch,
and then you get what you want for dinner.
obviously if you choose poorly for dinner it won't work as well, 
but either way, 
drinking this nutritious shake for two meals a day will do something.
i'm really excited to get started.
my mom is doing it as well, 
so it will be nice to have an accountability partner.


let me know if you are interested in knowing more about it,
or if you are interested in the product.
you are given a personal website when you sign up as a customer,
so if you're interested i will give you the link to my website
so you can sign up and i can get credit too. wink!

diet flubs

dieting isn't easy.

that's all there is to it.

i have done a fantastic job so far and i am patting myself on the back for that.

however, i haven't been perfect.

like i said before, this diet is extremely old fashioned.

it's basically, all eggs, no carbs, and no snacks.

the good thing about it is that there is a lot of structure,

but not much room for error (or variety).

i thrive on the structure, and the lack of variety is the death of me.

what i mean by structure is,

every meal of the day is laid out for me

so i know exactly what i should (and shouldn't) be doing.

but yeah, the lack of variety sucks.

i'm a foodie at heart.

i love my food.

i love it delicious, flavorful, new & different, and lots of it.

that's just me.

i'd kill for andrew zimmern's job.

yep, i'd try just about anything.

challenge me. i'll probably try it.

anyway.

i've stumbled.

i admit it!  i cheated!

for cheating, it wasn't that bad.

i had strawberries last night.

...and i may have dipped a couple of them in sugar.

and i had rotisserie chicken tonight instead of eggs,

but seriously, that was trading protein for protein.

i'm not proud.

i did it.

i admit it.

i feel better.

i have eaten so much better this week than i normally do hands down.

so regardless of my "cheating" i feel really good about myself.

i think i will have lost weight (knock on wood) 

when i weigh myself on sunday.

i hope i don't blow it between now and then.

thank you for listening one and all.

you are keeping me sane.

100/three days in

i've reached a little blogging milestone.  

this is my 100th post!

kind of exciting, thought I'd share. :)

now, back to business as usual.

i am now on day 3 of my mayo clinic diet.

as i said before, it's been a lot of eggs and grapefruit.

also salad and coffee.

it's actually a very funny little diet.

very 70's.

i was given the information about the diet from my grandma

 who had gotten it from her mom, my great-grandma.

it was typed out (with a typewriter),

giving daily instructions on breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

and was ended with little "tips".

ya hear that?  no candy!

haha, made me laugh.

the first full day of the diet was pretty easy.

but the first day is always the easiest for me.

i usually still have some of the naughty food

in my tummy from the night before.

my cravings are pretty much quenched at that point.

second day starts out pretty easy,

but by the end of the second day i really need me some sugar or carbs.

one thing that has helped is this diet allows diet pop.

i have found diet cherry coke to be so much

more delicious than plain diet coke.

and really tastes good when everything else is so bland and monotonous.

i'm not usually a fan of diet pop,

but it's pretty much the only "indulgence" i'm allowed.

so i'm going to drink it whilst on this diet.

the first two days of the diet,

i had pretty much the same thing for all three meals:

eggs, grapefruit, tomatoes, salad.

but last night i was allowed a steak!

oh man, was it delectable.

i chewed every bite so slowly, and savored every flavor.

it's funny how when you're on a diet you 

don't take any deliciousness for granted.

it was marvelous.

tonight i get baked fish.

hopefully i can make that totally delicious.

any ideas? seasonings? suggestions?

would love a little help from some experienced cooks.

or i'll just use my friends google and youtube.

the beginning & a proposition

I had the first meal of my diet this morning.

It consisted of two hard-boiled eggs,

a grapefruit (which are difficult to eat if you don't know how btw),

a cup of coffee (with a splash of cream to take the edge off),

and two slices of bacon (bacon!).

Sadly, I overcooked my two glorious pieces of bacon.

But I wasn't going to cook myself two more pieces,

that's just dangerous in the dieting world.

So I ate burnt bacon.

Whatever.

I'm feeling blessed to have this blog right now.

I can tell it is going to be good accountability 

if I have to tell you guys how my meals went.

So far, so good.

But I'm only one meal in.

I hope I don't get sick of hard-boiling eggs.

Or eating said eggs.

On a separate note,

How would you guys feel about my husband doing a 

"Daddy post" 

every once in a while?

He actually asked me what I thought about that last night.

I think it's a great idea.

He's a good writer.

Probably better than me.

Sigh.

Well, definitely wittier.

Double sigh.

Maybe I shouldn't let him.

You guys will still love me too, right?

Ok, I'll let him.
Daddy post, coming soon.

the calm before the storm

Tomorrow starts the big, bad diet.

Luke has graciously* agreed to join me in the Mayo Clinic Diet.

Supposedly if you follow it to a T you will lose 10 pounds in a week, 
and I have a wedding to attend next weekend so I am crossing my fingers that it works.

Something about the specific combination of foods 
on the diet makes the weight come off.

I guess it's a lot of hard-boiled eggs and grapefruits (among other things).  

But mostly just those two.

It's pretty funny actually.  

I have had a few family members do this diet before 
and they all say it works, but it is hard.  

My aunt even said to me, "I sure hope you like those eggs."

But I don't care - if I can't do something like this for a week then I am a sad human being.

C'mon, I mean, the menu even says I can have diet pop, 
so I shouldn't be feeling that deprived.

So tonight during Financial Peace University** (which I HIGHLY recommend) I had a naughty snack.

And after class we headed to the Cheesecake Factory 

to meet my mom and sister,

where I indulged in a carb-loaded, creamy pasta dish, 

followed by a heavenly piece of cheesecake.

This was very strategically planned 

as I knew I would feel deprived for the next week.

After dinner I headed to the grocery store 

and stocked up on our meal plan for the next week.

I will try and update a few times during the week, 

and let you guys know how it's going.

Hopefully I can fit in a workout or two so I can really get all of the benefits that this diet has to offer.

Every time I am lusting after some sugar I'll blog it up.  Sounds like a plan.

Here's to a successful week!

*I say graciously because Luke is fit as a fiddle and could probably stand to gain a few pounds.  But he's being a rockstar husband and joining me in this diet for support and accountability.  Oh well, we'll both be healthier.

**It's a 13 week financial class that is so awesome.  I am so glad we are doing it.  If you hear about a Dave Ramsey class near you, TAKE IT!!