A Rainbow Wrap Up

The month of February has now come to an abrupt end. It's time to hunker down and reflect on what things I accomplished this month.

February was a new and exciting month for me. I really believe that one of the most important steps we can do for ourselves is really recognize the positive changes we have made.
February brought a lot of these positive changes and experiences that I'd like to reflect on:

-I started my goal of trying to explore as much as I can of the area I live in. I visited Port Townsend and Alki Beach for my first two adventures.

-I started walking on sunny days during work, which was one way I found to add extra "moving" into my daily routine

-I got my husband to TRY and ADMIT that ground turkey is a yummy, healthy replacement for ground beef!

-I finished my Couch to 5k program- and rocked it!

-I ran for distance- 3 miles-and got a stellar time of 34:30.

-I survived both super bowl sunday, valentines day, and TOM hitting within 1 1/2 weeks of each other and still lost weight!

-Kellen and I started our vegetable garden!

-I took time to evaluate how God has played a role in my journey so far

and to wrap up this post, I'd like to tell you a little story about this weekend....

As of Friday, I had not tried on one single article of NEW clothing in a store since the beginning of my "get healthy" journey- November 9, 2009.

Well I finally broke this with a trip to H&M on Friday. And guess what you guys?!!?

I am down one WHOLE dress size.

I was in shock in the fitting room. I had to buy it! I will be getting a picture of it to show you guys because I'm sure I will be wearing it as much as I can in the next couple of weeks!

and then...
My friend brought me some leggings to try on and brought me a size medium. I instantly thought "Oh there is NO way these are going to fit...but I will try them on!" I did...and they fit! Granted yes, they are stretchy leggings. But to even be able to say I have an article of clothing in my closet with an M on the tag- now that just makes me happy. ;0)

Stay tuned tomorrow as it is my four month healthy living anniversary and weigh in. I'll be writing about my goals and dreams for my birthday month- March!

I found my sunshine.

Yesterday I accomplished something that I HAVE to share with you all. I ran three miles yesterday! I was so happy as this is the farthest I've gotten. And guess what!? I got 34:30 for a time! Not to shabby if you ask me! I was so proud of myself when I finished that run yesterday. It made me feel confident that I can and will finish my race that I have coming up in almost TWO weeks! AHHHH!

Last night Kellen started on our little garden. I hadn't planned on starting quite yet, but he got RIGHT on it when he got home and since this is supposed to be a "bonding" experience I greatly obliged. Here is setting up and planting our first little row of lettuce:

And of course Chloe had to see what was going on and make sure there was nothing edible being wasted:I'm not sure why this totally grosses me out, but we had some garlic on the counter and it started sprouting (EWWW)....so Kellen decided to plant it and see what happens.

While he did that I made dinner. I needed to use up some beef that had been in our freezer so I made teryaki kebabs and brown rice:

Yum!!

I also want to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave me a blog award this week, I am so thankful to know that I have some pretty awesome readers and I love getting to know you all through your blogs.

That being said, I'm not going to pass on all of them but I did want to pass on this one I received and mention some blogs that I absolutely love. If you don't follow these gals, you should because they are really awesome and have been so supporting to me!

This award came from Googie at Love Me For Who I Am:
I chose to do this one because...well...I love me some sunshine! And even when it's raining here in Washington State, these blogs put a smile on my face:

Patti @ Less is More
Kristen @ Change of Pace
Jessica @ CBGBlog
Alex @ just another FAT girl.
ContinuousChanges
Lucy @ Eat When Hungry
CinciMom11
Whitney @ Fat Girl in a Wedding Dress
Kaitlin @Everyday Grace
Tiff @ Project 365
Melissa@ Try Try Again
Alexia @ My Wicked, Wicked Ways

These are just ones I enjoy reading daily, but there are SO many more I'm trying to catch up on and that I really enjoy. I appreciate all of my readers so much!

I'm pumped for my weigh in on Monday--it's my fourth month healthy anniversary and the beginning of a new month. Plus...shhh don't tell but...I've been peeking! And it seems to be that my "starting intensity" has payed off this week! We will see!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I want to start by saying thank you to all the supporting comments from my "God and Weight Loss" post. I was especially happy to see that even people who do not share my same beliefs could encourage me in that way. That really moved me!! Thank you all!

I have a BIG dream for this summer....to grow a vegetable garden. Now, for a normal person maybe this wouldn't seem like such a big, unattainable dream. But for me, it is. Why? Because I am a plant killer. I have literally killed every plant I've come in contact with. GRR!

But I am determined. I would be SO happy to be able to just have one salad from my dedication!

So yesterday I took a little trip to the library and checked out a bunch of books on vegtable gardening:Then Kellen and I took a trip to home depot and picked up these babies:
I am going to be reading up in the next couple of weeks until it's the proper time to start planting. I'm nervous everyone!!

Does anyone have some good tips on vegetable/fruit gardening they could share?

God and Weight Loss

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a post about how God has played a role in my weight loss journey for quite some time. I want to caution anyone reading this that these are my own opinions and beliefs about God’s relationship with us and I do not intend to offend anyone, but I am going to talk open and honestly about what I believe.

To be honest with you, at the beginning of this journey God did not come into my mind (in relation to my weight loss). However, as I continue to rediscover myself in new ways on this journey, God is revealing himself more and more. He’s been speaking into my life a lot about the way I view myself as well as the words that I speak to myself.

I haven’t mentioned it before, but I am currently doing a bible study with a bunch of women on the topic of self talk. What kind of things do we speak to ourselves? Are they positive or negative? How would God like us to speak to ourselves? These are just a few of the questions we have been tackling recently

One thing I used to say to myself before this journey was this: “Well it doesn’t matter what I weigh- God looks at the heart right?” And this is true. God does not look at our outward appearance. However- what kind of thoughts about myself was I keeping in my heart? I was not happy. I was choosing to deny the fact that I continuously spoke evil words into my heart every day- things like “You’re so fat….you’re not beautiful…you’re not worth it.” These things I’ve told myself over and over and they WERE in my heart. And I know that God wasn’t happy with those lies.

That day in November I made the decision to change my life. Instead of waking up that day and telling myself I could never truly love who I was, I instead decided to tell myself I WAS worth it. I began to look at myself in the mirror and say “You did awesome today, you are beautiful, and you deserve this.” And you know what? God is rejoicing because I am finally able to understand the way He really sees me- as a woman whose heart tells herself truth.

There is no doubt in my mind that when we choose to not take care of our bodies we are saying to God that His creation does not matter to us. When we allow those thoughts and insecurities into our mind, we start to speak lies to ourselves that oppose everything His word conveys- that we are made in His image, that we are wonderfully made, and that with His strength we CAN do all things.

I challenge you today to look into your own self and really reveal what you have speaking in your heart. Are they hurtful things? Are they helpful to you in this journey? Are they what God would say to you?

One last sidenote is something I really felt that God did for me last week. As I was attempting to run another 35 minutes (which I am struggling with at this point) a worship song came onto my Ipod. I was literally at the last 2 minutes of my run and the bridge of this song continued to play as I struggled. And I was really moved. The verse is simply:

“We won’t be satisfied with anything ordinary, We won’t be satisfied at all”

This simple verse got me through the rest of that run. I am choosing right now to continue to move forward in this journey. God continues to walk by my side each and every day as I tell myself that I will not settle for anything ordinary.

Chocolate and French Fries=My Demise

I honestly believe that if chocolate and french fries did not exist in this world I could have reached my goal weight and been a success story by now (not that losing 24.5 is not a success, but you know what I mean).

I have to be honest with you all. I have eaten a massive amount of these two things in the last week.

Chocolate:
It all started with the Hungry Girl's "chocolate chip mini pancake recipe." I knew I shouldn't have even given in to buying the ingredients for this recipe because I knew that having chocolate chips in my house causes me to overeat on sweet things. Yes, you heard it right, I will literally eat plain chocolate chips out of the bag until they are gone. And that is just what I have been doing for the last two weeks!

Lesson learned: I will NOT keep chocolate chips in my cupboard. If I HAVE to make a recipe which requires this product, I will pawn it off onto a skinny friend to devour and enjoy!

French Fries:
The consumption of french fries is like a giant snowball effect in my life. It all started last week when I somehow justified in my mind that if I ordered a sandwich and french fries for lunch and then just didn't eat anything for the rest of the day I would be fine.
Healthy living, right?!

That was on Tuesday last week. It then turned into a downward spiral and by Sunday I had justified myself into eating french fries/onion rings four times in one week.
(And yes, Kristen, I did say I was going to admit this to only you, but my revelation about these food products was something I felt compelled to share! haha)

Now I'm not saying that YOU can NEVER have these things. But for ME, these foods are major triggers and I end up overeating every.single.time I consume them.

I'm not ready to give them up altogether (what would life be with chocolate and french fries??!). However, I am willing to recognize that I need to practice some serious self control if and when I do choose too!

What foods are your triggers?

Confessions, A Sore Booty, A New Person

Well this weekend was a rocky one. I want to be able to be honest with you all, but I also don't want you to get bored of my confessions of overeating so I'm going to keep it simple. This weekend I was there with food about 50%. That is not ok in my books, but I DO know that I can and will press forward and each day is a new day to choose a healthy life.

As far as my bike trip to Alki on Saturday. I also really wish I could tell you all that it was fun and that I really enjoyed it. I REALLY wish I could tell you all this. But I feel the need to be honest with you all about it.

It was pretty miserable!

Let's just say taking my bike out for [essentially] the first time on such a long trip was NOT a good idea. I knew that my butt would hurt a little bit from riding, but I honestly had no idea how sore I would be from riding just for TEN minutes. The whole trip I really struggled to stay up with the guys. In the end, Kellen and I agreed that I need a new bike. I had gotten this one for free and it has a lot of things just wrong with it that made it really hard to ride.

Not to mention my butt. I had to come home and ice it afterward. It was so painful by the end of the trip I was literally in tears. I do know that butt pain is normal when you first start riding, but I am convinced that this seat was worse and made it more painful than usual! I was about to call off bike riding altogether until the end when I got to switch bikes with one of the guys- and I felt saved! The seat felt comfortable, the bike was EASY to ride, it just felt like a total 180 from mine.

To sum things up, I will not be venturing out on another ride until I can get a proper bike!!

I will show you a cute pic of me riding anyway just for kicks:
As far as Tiff's I AM WORTH MORE CHALLENGE--this comes with another confession :( I was feeling pretty crummy after all my cheats this weekend...and I kind of peeked at the scale this morning. I realize this TOTALLY defeats the purpose of not letting the # on the scale affect you...and I feel frustrated that I would give in to that temptation. (To be honest the number more made me feel like I didn't deserve it...I am down one pound.)

HOWEVER. I am really, really happy I did this challenge. After so many bumps in the road this weekend, it could have been so easy to say "you just can't do this." But when I thought of what I had written throughout the week on those post it's, it encouraged me to know that I CAN and HAVE made positive decisions that have helped take care of my body.

Therefore, although the challenge ended today, I am going to be spinning off of this challenge and writing small notes in my food journal of positive actions I have taken. That way, I can look back and see that I really have taken steps forward NO MATTER WHAT the scale says.

This week I am refocusing. My goal is simple: starting intensity. I want to have and feel that same intense feeling I felt when I first started this journey.

One last bit of joyfulness:

I went to church yesterday and it turns out I have a huge group willing to run with me at the St. Patty's Day Dash!

I also got TWO (count em, TWO) "I didn't even recognize you from across the room" comments.
Apparently I've changed in more ways that just my eyes can see!

Um Excuse Me Miss...Your Child is Missing.

First of all, this is my second post today but I just couldn't resist updating you all with this little nugget of inspiration I discovered! And also, thank you all SO much for the lovely comments on my post earlier about my struggling thoughts on skinny friends.

Lately I have been trying to incorporate exercise into EVERYTHING I do. One easy, practical way I've found to do this is by walking from the family's house that I work for to the little girl's school to pick her up. (I am a nanny if you did not know this). Anyway, it is about a one mile walk to get to the preschool (that I would normally drive).
On the way, I take her stroller with me. I have often had thoughts that people may just think I'm crazy that pass me on the road. For one thing, I'm pushing a stroller with no one in it. I think that maybe people maybe think that I am
A. Crazy or
B. Expecting a baby and getting "prepared" for what it might feel like to push a stroller!

On the way BACK from her preschool, I'm not sure if this is even worse because...well...she is 4. Does anyone know if this is too old to push a child in a stroller? It's like one of those "bigger kid" strollers...but still? I'm constantly wondering if people think I am crazy for pushing (what they assume is my child) in a stroller at the age of 4. LOL But really, a one mile walk with really big hills is just too much for her to walk after being at preschool for 4 hours.

As I was walking today I started to think about my new goal of incorporating exercise into my every day routine and I discovered something. I have done some sort of "moving my body" every single day for 7 days now. It went a little something like this:

Saturday- Finished my C25k, ran 30 minutes
Sunday- Went on a short hike and bike ride with the hubby
Monday- Visiting grandparents, ran for 25 minutes on their treadmill
Tuesday- Still at grandparents, went on a short bike ride on one of their bikes
Wednesday- Ran 35 minutes
Thursday- Went swimming in morning, walked 3 miles in the afternoon with the girl I watch
Friday- Ran 12 minutes in morning, walked 2.5 miles with the girl I watch

And tomorrow we are taking a pretty long bike trip to Alki Beach in Seattle. It should be about a 16 mile ride altogether. I'm actually REALLY nervous because I am going with my husband and two of his best [GUY] friends. That means I'm going to have to keep up with three guys...who are pretty used to bike riding in general. I got some bike spandex today with a pad so my butt wouldn't be too sore from the trip (hehe!).

Anyway, if you are reading this WISH ME LUCK!

I will be checking in tomorrow night to let you all know how the trip went!!

Skinny friends....even skinnier??!

So one of the things that has really amazed me over the past couple of years are that my friends are shrinking. You know how they say that most people gain weight after high school and college and you end up not seeing them for a couple years and then you do and you think in your mind "wow, they've gained weight." (yes we all do this, it is unfortunate human nature). Well I have to say....quite the opposite has happened with me. It seems like every time a friend I haven't seen in a while posts a picture on facebook, or I see them in person, they have shrunk!! Honestly, I can't even tell you the amount of girls I've gone to high school and college with that are now way skinnier than before. The most frustrating thing about it is that most of these girls were "average" to begin with. Now I'm not jumping to any kind of conclusion other than that they have just been working out and exercising. But still feelings rage inside my selfish head that say things like "Why them?! They already looked good before! It must be easier for them than it is for me. Life is unfair!!"

To be honest, these feelings have really just gotten me down lately. I know that I've lost almost 25 pounds, but seeing these girls that already looked great and now they look even better presents a kind of knife in the wound feeling. Ever heard of the saying "God, if you can't make me skinny, at least make all my friends fat?" Well that's how I'm feeling right. A big pity party and I think I just need to snap out of it and stop feeling sorry for myself.

Why, God, Why?!?!?!

Goggles & Cookies

How do I look?Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Pure hotness right?

Yes that's right I picked me up some swimming goggles this weekend and a new bathing suit. I tested out the swimming pool again today.

OH MAN. I can't last longer than 20 minutes there. And it's like 4 dollars a swim. Is it worth it? I'm struggling with this right now!! It's such a good workout but 4 dollars for 20 minutes just seems ridiculous!

I AM however super pumped as I am participating in Tiff's I Am Worth More Challenge!! Here's a sneak peek at one of my sticky notes:

That is a big accomplishment (in my eyes). Anything chocolate I just have such a hard time saying no to!!

Well it's a gorgeous day and I'm going to go take advantage of it by walking to work. Hope you guys make it a good one!

Dog Obesity: A Serious Epidemic.

Ok, so I'm hoping you all didn't actually take me too seriously yesterday when I said I was going to be talking about the rise of dog obesity in America. While I DO think it is just cruel to not exercise your pup and let them get overweight, I don't have too much knowledge or statistics on the subject....so sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to pertinent information! haha.

I WAS however, prompted to write about this when I saw this at wal mart yesterday:

Yes. Yes. That's right. Dog weight loss pills. Right next to the stool eating preventative (YUK!). Ummm....apparently they worked SO WELL on us humans, they just HAD to make them for dogs too!! (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice)

.....I am speechless.

Either way, this pup is going to STAY skinny while she works out with her vanishing mommy:

Trick Your Man Tuesday's: Streching the Eating Comfort Zone

Well I'm remixing Trick Your Man Tuesday's this week because, well, frankly I couldn't think of anything to "trick" my man with this week. I did however, make him a little uncomfortable by forcing him to step out of his eating comfort zone. What do I mean by this you say?!

Eating with your hands.

That's right folks, my big buff, 6'3" manly man (can you tell i think he's a hunk :0) ) took part in a new tradition at our house this week:

Thai Lettuce Wraps
(click on link to get recipe!!)

My adventure on Friday night took me to the grocery store, where I went well equipped with my color-coded grocery list in hand:(no I'm not really this crazy all the time...I was bored!)

I finally made it out of the store alive--and headed back to the house to begin the amazing meal:
Double chin you will always remain my cursed enemy!!

I chopped...and I chopped...and I chopped. There was quite a bit of work in this meal. Definitely not a quickie....but what a dish it turned out to be!And it just so happens our lovely friends came to join us. Check us all out ready to feast!!And here's the hubby...hands on ready for this wrap experience!! (please excuse the tongue and my crazy eyes)
I have to say, he did well. And its kind of nice to have a clear conscious this week...no tricking involved!! ;)

Make sure to stay tuned tomorrow as I tackle a rising crisis in America: Dog Obesity.

Weigh In Week 15: Valentine's- One FUN Blunder

Valentine's day. When Kellen and I woke up yesterday we had vowed to swear off valentine's day this year. Why? Because we figured: why do we need a day to show each other we love each other? Why not do that every day?

Now, of course in my deepest darkest secrets I was so hoping he would reveal a dozen roses and a box of chocolate he had hidden under the bed. No such luck. Apparently he took our "let's not make valentine's day a big day" seriously. OH MAN....he has some years to learn I guess :)

However, that didn't mean we weren't going to spend some quality time together! We ended up heading out mid morning and going for a short hike in a nearby town. Have I mentioned to you all that I have made a pact with myself to explore as much as I can of the nearby towns I live close to this year?

The hike was ok, but mostly it was just good to spend time with him. For lunch we headed to the grocery store and picked up some ingredients to make his favorite: paninis. Here is where the diet demise of the day began.

Check out this sandwich:Turkey.Brie.Tomato.Spinach

So Good. Could I have chosen to eat only half? Yes. Did I? No. :) But it was definitely one of those choices that I didn't feel like I had wasted my calories. This thing was perfect!

After lunch we set out to get our bike tires filled and went on a short ride, until it started pouring down rain!! It was actually kind of fun riding in the rain and when we got back I was soaked.

That night we went over to our friends Jared and Olivia's house. The men made a GOURMET dinner while Olivia and I did "girl stuff" including playing for quite a while with her MAC photobooth:
Then dinner was served. OK guys, this is where the amazingness comes out:Chicken with blackberry butter sauce, risotto cakes and broccolini (must say with Italian accent)! Heaven on a plate!

To top that off, the guys even made us homemade eclairs!! What studs!!
After dinner Kellen and I got a chance to snap some pics of us two:Say Cheese! Ah. What a fun day :)

Oh.....now you are wondering about the weigh in huh?!?

Well first of all I just have to say that whoever invented superbowl sunday and valentines day to be within one week of each other this year....I CURSE YOU!

Also, his name is probably TOM, because that's a factor in this game too.

But I can't be toooooo angry because....I lost a pound this week. That's a total of 23.5 pounds! I am so close to seeing a brand new weight decade! Next week will be the week.

I want to HOLLER OUT to my girl Tiff @ Project 365--last week she left me a comment on my weigh in day that said "Make that scale show you what you want." WOW. So simple. So true. This saying has been echoooooing in my head all week, Tiff, and you were like my little weight loss angel sitting on my shoulder!! hehe. She is such an inspiration and if you haven't checked out her blog yet you are missing out!

Hope you all had a wonderful valentine's day, no matter if you protested against it (like us!) or accepted chocolate and flowers with open arms.... ;)

YAM-bam-THANK-YOU-MAAM'!

Yesterday was a lazy day for the two of us.

A day doing nothing is pretty much a slice of heaven for me in this whilrwind called life. I got to try out a couple of new recipes that I have really wanting to try.

For dinner I decided to go with a Chicken Strips and French Fries theme- Nicole style- This included chicken made from my Weight Watcher's Book called "Southern Oven Fried Chicken."
The recipe essentially calls for fat free buttermilk to dip the chicken in, and then a mixture of flour, crushed up corn cereal, and salt. Dip the chicken "bits" (cut up chicken breast) in the buttermilk and coat with the flour mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 or so. That's it. SUPER simple and delicious. I've been making this one for a WHILE, as you can see:I also decided to venture down sweet-potato-fry alley. However, with my SMALL brain and even smaller knowledge of sweet potatoes, I accidentally picked up YAMS!! Oh well, it worked
out great anyway and the hubby actually LOVED this recipe!! (Olive Oil and Johnny's Seasoning (I'll be posting about this seasoning more soon--heavenly!). Then just bake these bad boys along with the chicken (keep a close eye on them as they cook faster).

I also added in some yummy asparagus to top it off. YUMALICOUS!
And just for kicks, here is where my pup likes to sleep during dinner time:
Stay tuned tomorrow for my WEIGH IN post and a valentine's day special!! :)

Couch to 5k: DOMINATED

Yes, that's right folks, today I completed C25k week 9, day three.

C25k....completed....BOO YAH!

Here I am after today's run:
Yes, I get REALLY pink when I work out!

And my trusty running buddy:She's been sleeping ever since :)

Oh man, you don't even know how excited I am that I finished the program. I am now running a STRONG 30 minutes straight (the program is based on time, not distance) But mainly I think this is because they assume you will complete 5 kilometers in 30 minutes...well... I'm not quite there yet!

But here's the thing....THAT'S OK! You know why? Because I now know that I CAN and WILL complete 5 kilometers, no matter the time it takes me. How do I know this? Because I've finally come to realize that running is SO much more a mental game than a physical one.

I'm not suggesting anyone starting out just go out there and try to run 3 miles all by their will power. Of course you need to ease your body into it one run at a time. However, I AM suggesting that once you learn to say no to that little voice in your head that keeps saying things like:

"You can't do this."
"You're too out of shape, give it up."
"You can only make it a couple more seconds, don't try any more."

Whatever that voice may say to you, you CAN learn to control and overcome it. Once you do, each time you run you will know that you can push yourself one more step or one more minute than before.

To celebrate my accomplishment today, I have registered for my first 5k race. It's the St. Patty's Day Dash in Seattle on March 14th. This will hold a special place in my heart, since it just so happens that my birthday is on St. Patty's :) What a great gift to myself, huh?
I have never liked running. And to be completely honest, I don't wake up on my run mornings and think "OH, GOODY! I get to run today!"....I just don't think I will ever be there. But I do know that running has changed my entire life.

There is such joy in being proud of what you have accomplished. I hope and pray that you ALL can feel that joy in yourself, whether it be through running, or just choosing to take a step forward today and do something to better yourself.

Breakfast on the run

My work schedule is amazing. I usually have to be to work by 12:30pm and I leave by 5:30pm. I work about 25 hours a week. To put it simply, I am blessed with my mornings to myself.

Anyway, today I had to be at work super early. I kind of ran out the door and FORGOT to eat breakfast, or grab any kind of healthy snacks. Now, everyone probably knows this is a BIG nono when living a healthy lifestyle, because...

1. you should eat breakfast to keep your metabolism regular
2. you should not skip a meal because then you will be hungry! and hungry=binge eating (for me anyway)
3. failure to plan is planning to fail right?!?! If I don't bring healthy snacks with me everywhere I go, I end up creating some dumb excuse that it's ok to eat the junk that is easily accessible

Since I usually have a decent amount of time in the mornings to make myself breakfast, I usually eat some kind of "cooked" meal- egg white omelet, low fat waffles with banana and pb, etc.

So my question to you all:

What is your favorite "on the go" breakfast?

Giveaway!

Kristen @ Change of Pace is doing an awesome giveaway! Check it out!

Life Without Pizza is No Life At All

Yes, this is an actual magnet on our fridge. And it is just so true: pizza- the food of the gods! This amazing dish spans countries and generations. And here at our house, pizza makes a very regular appearance.

Last week I got an inkering (is this a word??!) for some good pizza grub. But since my goal mainly has been to take my favorite dishes and transform them into lower calorie goodness, I was presented with a challenge....

I can't remember who asked the question, but I was reading a blog a couple of weeks ago where someone asked ways to make a lower calorie pizza. Someone suggested using the la tortilla wraps for a crust (possibly Kaitlin @ Everyday Grace??). So I scooted on over to my local Albertson's and picked up some la tortillas, and some other ingredients:I was a little skeptical of the tortilla for a crust....but I decided to try it. I put the ingredients together and broiled it in the oven. Then I wrapped it up like a burrito. And can I just say....YUMMMMMM
If you saw my food journal for the past couple of weeks you would be quite surprised to see the entry "PIZZA WRAP" in their QUITE a few times. Rough calculations say this delicious lunch is about 250 calories. But it is FILLING! Man, I was surprised how long this kept me full.

Last night I ventured into the real crust world. I figured it was probably a good idea to use some frozen crust I had picked up at Trader Joe's a while ago (A garlic and herb dough). I used essentially the same ingredients, except the dough. OH! and I added some pineapple. SO good. And of course this was spilt with my eating machine hubby so I beefed his up a bit. Can you tell which side is mine?!If you missed it, I also made some mini pizzas on Sandwhich Thins on Sunday. However, I would HIGHLY recommend the pizza wrap over the minis!!Well those are my pizza creations....that's a wrap (no pun intended...ok maybe it was...)!

H2-O-o-O-o

I took that picture at an antique store I visited last weekend. Oh the 70's decor...how I so wish it was still in style!

Today I did my C25k 9.2 Almost done! I actually pushed myself to run a bit farther than 30 minutes this morning and wound up running 36 straight minutes. In that time, I ran a distance of 2 3/4 miles. I'm feeling better about running and getting really nervous for my first 5k next month- the St. Patty's Day Dash!

What a miracle water is. It's amazing how many times we hear that water is nature's MIRACLE drug but we still don't take advantage of it! Why is it so hard to get in enough water during a day?!

I usually drink less than 30 ounces of water a day. I've always been the person that can never finish a drink! I do, however, drink a lot of tea and sugar free hot coco- do you think this counts?!

Yesterday I made it my goal to drink at least 40 oz of water (I know, it doesn't sound like a lot, but it really is for me!). Well guess what....I woke up one pound lighter this morning! Now, how much that has to do with water retention I'm not sure...but I'll take it!

Thanks so much to all my new blog followers! You all majorly rock!!

Trick Your Man Tuesday's: Second Edition

Welcome to my new weekly installment of "Trick Your Man Tuesday's" If you missed last week's episode, you can click HERE to check it out.

Trick Your Man Tuesday's was invented in order to try to get my husband eating healthier food choices without his knowledge. Is it only me or do we all get a little sense of satisfaction when the people around us have no idea that what they are eating is just a little bit better for them, and we don't have to hear their hesitations?

This week on the menu was spaghetti and ceaser salad. The healthy switches? Ground turkey for regular ground beef and low fat ceaser in place of regular.

This was a very daring event as my cooking this week had to be done quickly without the notice of the subject, who was playing video games on the couch! (Notice said subject in background, please forgive me for the crappy photo as I was trying not to draw attention to the frying pan)And here is my frying pan creation: Ground turkey with spaghetti sauce. I was a little worried about the color of the meat as this might be a big indicator....we will see....

While the pasta was a' cookin, I threw together some lettuce and low fat ceaser dressing. Did I mention the low fat part??! SHHHHHHHHH mum's the word!And here is the final spaghetti product. My portion/his portion. Man that man can eat!
THE VERDICT:

It went a little something like this:

Meal was inhaled (on both parts, i was hungry!)

End of meal...

Him: Um...is this like chicken or something?
Me: OH....uhhh...yeah...uh....ground turkey...*slight smile* But it was good wasn't it?!?
Him: Yeah....*smiling* But why ya gotta cheat me like that??!

(no comment on the ceaser)

We both laughed. It was a good moment. And I think he may just be open to the ground turkey a little more....

MISSION SUCCESSFUL!!


After dinner the leftover cookies were consumed by the subject. Yay for no more temptation for me!

Weigh In Week 14: Superbowl Munchies Got the Best of Me

Guten Morgen everyone! (Had to throw some German out to ya!)

This morning my weigh in was as follows:
-.5

That is basically the littlest amount I've lost thus far (other than gaining after Christmas). But, I'm not really surprised. For one, I've been doing this long enough now to notice that the weigh loss right before I start my period is always pretty small. Also, I kind of cheated this week...A LOT. including superbowl....it was sort of my demise.

I started the day off good with my favorite breakfast of lowfat waffles, banana, and PB. YUM.

Then for lunch I made mini pizzas:I sort of left these bad boys under the broiler a little to long...they were a little crispy...and just ok. (Made on an arnold's sandwhich thin)

The rest of the...yes, well, we will not speak of it. Let's just say there were chocolate chip cookies, tortilla chips, and hot wings involved. YIKES!

HOWEVER, good news is that I got my hair cut this weekend, FOR FREE! My friend Olivia did it! And she even dyed it (brown) and gave me bangs. I look smokin'! (humble, aye?)
Next week I'm looking for a better loss- at least one pound will make me happy. I am starting off the morning with c25K 9.1. We will see how 30 straight minutes running goes....

PT: We're all here because we're not all there.

Yesterday was really fun. It started out with a super yummy breakfast that Kellen and I like to make once in a while:This dish consisted of red potatoes, eggs, onions, and bacon. Calories? A lot. But don't worry people! I lightened my version up--egg whites and turkey sausage in stead of regular eggs and bacon. Here's a pic of my plate:Yum!

After Breakfast we headed to Port Townsend. It's a town on the Puget Sound. Our first stop there was Fort Warden state park. This park used to be a military base and has a ton of cool old military bunkers to explore. It also has some hiking trails up to higher bunkers and such. It was SO fun!Here we are exploring the bunkers:All in all it was great exercise!
We sat down on a seat we found at the park and ate our lunch:

Tuna fish sandwich on 45 calorie bread. A perfect packed lunch. I tried feeding Chloe some carrots but she wouldn't go for it!After lunch we went into town. Downtown Port Townsend is a super cute strip of shops and cafe's. If you'd like to see some more pictures I took around the town there, you can click here to be linked to my photography blog. To wrap up our day, we headed over the Courtyard Cafe. I ordered the "Way to Aunt Katie's Heart- Peanut Butter Pie"Don't worry guys! I didn't eat it all. It was pretty delicious, but I resisted!
This place even makes there own Marshmallows! I didn't try them, but Kellen and I definitely plan on it next trip we take!

Such a wonderful day!