I Can Barely Walk

My calves hurt SO bad. Thanks Jillian Michaels. Haha. Last night was Day 2 of the Shred and I got through more of it than I did Day 1. I used The Stick last night to roll out my sore muscles and that definitely helped. However, every time I stand up from my desk or walk around I feel the knots in my legs. I'm going to continue to do little stretches today and continue to walk around every once in awhile so I don't get too stiff.

Sweaty.Mess.
Ha'goo.







While I was donig the 30 Day Shred I had this recipe cooking in the oven.

It was absolutely delicious. It serves 8 and 1/8 of it is 8P+. There is tons of cheese and pasta. I will be making this one again too. Plus, I can sneak spinach into it and when I do that Andrew will eat it.

After all of these reviews, if you still haven't checked out Gina's Blog then you need to stop what you're doing and go now. NOW! 








I will not be doing any new recipes tonight because we now have so many leftovers we are good for awhile. Haha. I'm either having some leftover rice and chickpeas that I made earlier this week with some spinach or I will be having more of the delicious chili I made on Tuesday.
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I had a little peek at the scale this morning and from last week's weigh in I am already down 9.1 pounds. That's freaking amazing. It is probably water weight and all that good stuff but I'm thrilled. You know how on The Biggest Loser the contestants always drop like 15 to 20 pounds that first week? It is kind of like that. You've shocked your body, you're doing good by it and you're sticking with it. So, see what happens when you follow your plan 100% through and exercise? Big losses! WOW! Andrew told me he was proud of me for being so committed this last week. I told him I was tired of making excuses and feeling sorry for myself. Plus, we both want to go on a Cruise sometime soon and I definitely do not want to look like this when I go. I want to look how I did on our Honeymoon in June of 2011!

I was so much more tan than my husband, but I cheated. It was a spray tan. 

That swimming suit was a size Medium and I wasn't afraid to wear it around without a cover up. That was a HUGE deal for me. 

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I am now going to spend a little time browsing books on my eLibrary. I recently finished Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay and it was really good. I am going to see if the library has any more of that author's books. They are classified as Thriller/Murder/Mystery. I love to just browse books on the eLibrary and love that Springfield's Library is part of the program. I love downloading books right to my Kindle. Makes checking out books so much easier than going downtown. Although, I do like to go downtown to the library from time to time. Sometimes, you just want a physcial book in your hands.

Another New Recipe

Have I ever mentioned how much I love making things in my crock pot? Throw it all together in the morning, let it cook all day long, supper is done when you get home. It is wonderful. Plus, the apartment always smells so good all day long. Yesterday's recipe was the Chicken Taco Chili from Gina's blog.

Incredibly easy and delicious. I absolutely loved this. It made a ton of servings and I packaged them up in individual serving sizes. I froze a few to eat next week and left some out for lunches this week. I will make this again. I added 1/4 c of FF shredded cheddar and some chopped jalapenos to mine. It was wonderful, warm, and filling. I packed it for lunch today and I'm very excited about it. I'm sure it tastes even better day 2! 

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Yesterday when I was on Instagram I noticed a girl that I follow had pulled out this oldie but classic DVD:

She said that she was going to do this and wanted to know if anyone would do it with her. I said HELL YES! Problem was, I had to remember where I put my DVD. After work I dug around in the garage and found it safely tucked away inside of a box. I took it inside, immediately changed my clothes and got to work.
Nothing proves you are more out of shape than trying a Jillian DVD. Holy poopsticks. I was winded, in pain and had to lay on the floor for about 5 minutes after it was over. I used to be able to do Level 1 with no issues! Now I have to take a couple of 10 second breaks during some of the routines because it SUCKS. Haha. I'm glad that this gal posted she was doing it. I am excited to keep going with this to notice how much stronger I get. 

I remember doing this DVD back in 2010 for two weeks straight (Mon-Fri only) and my progress in those two weeks was crazy. I didn't know a 27 minute workout could be so full of results. I wish I still had those pictures... I do! Found one!

Yeah, that was after two weeks. I had lost 11 pounds and my butt, legs, stomach, and boobs were smaller. LOL

Man I wish I was that small...... 

I'll get there....

I will do Day 2 tonight after work while my Baked Ziti is cooking! 

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Attempt at Morning Workouts:

What I am going to do is try to go to bed a little earlier every night and wake up a little earlier every morning. That way I gradually get used to waking up earlier and I will still get enough sleep. Andrew and I usually go to bed at 11:00 or so. Last night we were in bed by 10:00 and asleep around 10:45 or so. I remember the last time I looked at the clock it was 10:32. I set my alarm for 6:00 on the dot. I usually have it go off at 6:15. Little bits at a time. It went off at 6:00, I was semi awake and then kind of lounged in bed until 6:20 and got up to get ready. Tomorrow I want the alarm set for 6:00 again and then Friday I might push it to 5:50. My goal is to wake up at 5:45, be ready to work out before 6:00 and start the workout at 6:00. As long as I am in the shower by or before 6:40 I will have plenty of time to get ready, eat my breakfast and take care of the animals. I think it is a great plan. 

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No other news to report. Yesterday my eating was on program and I'm excited about another day full of good food and exercise! One thing I need to remember to do is get some progress pictures going. I will take one tonight and then I will do it after about 10 days of Shred and continue to go from there. I love progress photos. My own and other peoples. It is so fun to see what we are all capable of! 

Trying New Recipes

I'm just going to jump right in. Last night I made this compliments of Gina.

It is Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice".
*drool*
Absolutely amazing and delicious. I want to go to the store and buy more heads of cauliflower so I can make this again. What I love about her site is the food is so simple, so delicious and she gives you the nutritional information for everything she makes! This is something I could eat by the bucket full. Haha. I'm having a cup of it (2P+) with my lunch today.

If you do not like cauliflower you will not like this recipe. If you do not like cilantro you will not like this recipe.




In order to make this recipe I did have to buy a food processor. That was totally OK with me though because I have always wanted one. This is the one I picked out from Meijer:

So cute. I love it. I love KitchenAid products. This only set me back $39. I now have it set up next to my KitchenAid mixer. My other favorite kitchen toy. 

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WeightWatchers & Food:

I switched back to counting Points+ for this week because I am going to be trying many new recipes and it will just be easier. I am still eating only filling foods like before, but counting instead of just tracking and not worrying about a number value. This morning I got this recipe ready in the crockpot for tonight. I am so excited to try it. When I was mixing together all of the ingredients it smelled so good. Even Andrew, who isn't a huge chili fan, is excited about it. I'm going to put a few jalepenos on it and sprinkle on some FF Cheddar and have a delicious 6 point dinner. YUM! You get a pretty decent serving size too. 1 & 1/4 c. It will be filling too with all the beans and chicken breast. Mmmm..... 

I did not exercise last night since I went to the store. I got home close to 6:00 and by the time I got everything put away and made the cauliflower recipe it was 7:00. I had the cauliflower, a little brown rice and some air popped popcorn later on in the evening. It was a sporadic "dinner" but I didn't binge or go crazy. Even though I didn't exercise, I earned 1 AP! Grocery shopping is a good workout. Let me tell ya.... Tonight I hope to do something. 

I would love to try and do early morning workouts. I toy with this idea in my head a lot. I always think that if I just got it done right away then when I got home from work it would be done and over with and I could just relax. Problem is, I'm such a lazy ass in the morning. Haha. If I made it a habit though it wouldn't be an issue..... I don't know. Andrew gets kind of upset when I wake up too early too... even though he can go right back to sleep.... 

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I do not have much else to update. Work is going well, our debt free plan is going well and things are good. I'm content and loving the cooler weather. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Weekend Recap

Monday always sneaks up on me. Every time. Haha. It was a good weekend. I spent some of Sunday a little hungover from a Halloween Party - but by noon I was mostly feeling fine. The only problem was my stomach, minus one gallbladder, was revolting very badly. I never threw up.... just.... the other way.... blech. That lasted all day. Needless to say, this was the first time I ever drank in excess after my surgery and I will not be doing it again. I didn't even drink that much. It was just a combination of some wine and a couple of shots.

Photo compliments of Ryan. Andrew and are I in the back right with Caesar. Andrew wasn't wearing him Plumbob. He and I were Sims. Caesar was a Monkey. 

PIKACHU!!!! And a Sim of course.

We had a lot of fun. Andrew and I got there right around 8:00 and then we left around midnight. We were both very tired and of course, I was tipsy. Luckily for me I have a husband who doesn't like to drink much at all and he was my wonderful designated driver. ♥

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Saturday Run Recap:

Well, it was more speed walking. I asked Andrew to go with me on Saturday for a walk/run. I wanted to definitely get my exercise in since I knew I'd be indulging at the party that night. We went out to the bike path that runs behind Scheels. I love that path because it is so quiet and nice. You get a combo of shaded areas and sunshine and it is one of my favorites. We went 3 miles. I tried to get Andrew to run a little more but he was fine with just a brisk walking pace. 

I got him to run a little during that first mile which is why it is the fastest. 

So peaceful. And the weather was PERFECT.

He loves when I take pictures of him. My skinny ass husband.

Awww. Look at his skinny ass shadow. Ha!

I earned 8 ActivityPoints on Saturday. That exercise plus all of the movement the rest of the day racked up a lot of points. I love it! 

The only problem is.... well.... we'll get to that...

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Weigh In, WW, & Food:

Weigh In: +6.1  (HOLY SHIT)

Pounds Lost: +2.9 (DID I MENTION HOLY SHIT)

Pounds to Lose: 106.1

*grumble* My own fault... I know, I know. I just wasn't expecting THAT. Sheesh. It always amazes my husband that a couple of bad days can equal that kind of a gain. Him having a super crazy fast metabolism doesn't understand how that much of a gain is even possible in a week. I told him that I am a pro and both losing and gaining weight and anything is possible. Especially since I am female and sometimes retain water like crazy. Saturday, even before the run, my hands were so swollen I could barely get my ring off. Then after we exercised it was worse. By the end of the night though it was back to normal. Being a girl is stupid sometimes. Ha. 

Foodwise... the party happened. Chinese food happened. Booze happened. Snacks at the party happened. Leaving me a whopping -42 for the week. Now, I am still following Simply Filling so that -42 is all from foods that I counted points for. When we had Chinese I had egg drop soup and a veggie dinner but I counted them as points instead of SF because I feel that I'd be cheating myself if I didn't. Yesterday morning while I was nursing my hangover I had a ton of chicken broth, saltine crackers and water. When I could finally eat all I wanted was noodles. I made whole wheat pasta and broccoli. All filling foods. Then I had popcorn as a snack and Andrew decided we needed Steak 'n Shake for dinner. I had a plain, single burger with half of my fries. 

I always tell myself if could have been worse and at least I tracked. It is a new day. 

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That is all I really have to update. Oh! Green Bay beat the Vikings yesterday. A nice ending to a great weekend. 

Hot Things Burn My Mouth

Seriously. OW. I went to take a sip of my tea this morning, which had been sitting for at least 10 minutes, and burned the holy hell out of my mouth. Luckily I didn't spit it all out all over myself because that would have sucked even more, but now my tongue feels funny and everything hot will hurt it for awhile.
Becky.Problems.
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WeightWatchers & Food:
My Confessions of yesterday:
m&mcakecookiebarsimade,jimmyjohns,morecakecookiebars,pumpkinale,buffalochickenponyshoe,friedpickles,ranchdressing,movietheaterpopcorn,ministarburst
I felt AWFUL all freaking day. Is it a wonder why? I have been doing Simply Filling for the entire week, eating nothing but clean, wholesome, filling foods and then yesterday I said fuck it all and acted like an idiot. I paid for it. Trust me. I was miserable all day and all night. In fact, I think my body is still protesting my bad choices this morning a little bit. This is my plan for today though:
B: 3 eggs over hard, FF milk, tea
S: Air Popped Popcorn
L: Spinach salad with garbanzo beans, edamame, cucumber, peppers, mushrooms and balsamic
S: Non fat plain greek yogurt with pineapple
D: Brown rice, chicken breast, spinach
Activity: ???

I just don't know about Activity. Andrew and I got tickets from his grandparents to go see Spamalot at the Hoogland and I don't want to have to shower again to go out. Look at me making excuses! It is what I do best apparently.

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Rifftrax Live!: Night of the Living Dead
It was so fun!! Mom and I had a blast. The movie was terrible (hence the riff) and the jokes were amazing. I had a really good time having dinner with mom (regardless of the bad choices) and we had fun at the theater. It is always such a good crowd of people for these Rifftrax events. Springfield has a population of over 100,000 people but I still see the same ones over and over again every time these guys put on a show. It is definitely something you love and appreciate... or you don't. I have a $5 certificate left from when I backed their summer project and I need to pick out a new Riff. I have 4 new ones I still haven't listened to/watched yet either! Need to get on that soon.

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On Becoming Debt Free:
My surgery bill came in the mail yesterday. *hurk* Almost $6,000 is left over from what insurance didn't pay. I am incredibly thankful that I have insurance. That is one thing that Andrew and I ALWAYS budget for immediately after rent, food and utilities. Not having insurance is not an option in our house. He and I have both had individual policies for almost a year now. Luckily for me, I finally became full time at SVAS (starting Monday) and won't be paid through the temp agency anymore. I should be able to get pretty good insurance through my employer now which is great. I love my individual policy, don't get me wrong, but insurance is usually one step up through and employer. Usually.... :) I'll weigh the pros and cons of course.  I got the medical bill down to a nice even $4,000 today and set up a payment plan for the rest. I'd love to have it gone by or immediately after Christmas. That is my goal!
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Goal Recap:
Let's check in shall we?

• Hit 5 pounds lost in October - Unfortunately this is not going to happen. I just know it.
• Walk/Run my 10K on October 20 - Did not happen. 
• Hit my 10% Weight Loss Milestone with Weight Watchers before January 1, 2014 - Still have time to hit this!!!
• Exercise at least 3 days a week    Has not been happening. Need to revisit this goal.
• Walk/Run my 5K in November without worrying about pace - Definitely still plan on this

I am going to think about some November goals and will revisit this once I know what I want to do. 

Half Marathons & Dreams

Last night I had a dream that I was running a half marathon.
You know how in dreams when you run, it is ridiculously slow and you cannot seem to will yourself to go faster even though you know you can?
It wasn't one of those. It was a genuine running dream which was magical.
The last half marathon I did was on April 6, 2013. The Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon here in Springfield, IL. I run this race because it is close to home and also because the medal is a giant penny.

April 2013

April 2012

I have two of those now and plan on increasing that collection. I'd love to have 10 of them. I don't know why I picked that number.... I just want 10. 

Then of course I have this Half Marathon medal:

Best Race and Best Medal EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I am actually a child (mentally) everything Disney is always going to be the greatest thing in the world to me. I had more fun at Disney World when I was 26 then when I was 15. Just saying. I was like a little kid. I got my picture taken with Disney characters and was giddy about it. I am not ashamed to admit that I still find true heartfelt joy in the little things. Like seeing Stitch walk around Disney World. And then me screaming for dad to bring the camera while I go get in line behind the 5 year olds. I have no shame people. 

Anyway, back to this dream.....

I was dreaming that I was running the Disney Race again with my friend Anna, with whom I have run races before and is my perfect pacer, and we were having a blast. The funny thing about dreams is anything can happen. The course of this race was WEIRD. I have no idea where it was but we were running on bike paths, streets, bridges, railroad tracks, through big building, etc. What kept throwing me off was that Anna was somehow 3 miles short of what we had actually run. My Garmin said we had run 8 miles and Anna's said she had only done 5. I told her that she needed to go do a 3 mile loop to catch up and I'd meet her again. (Funny right????) So, while she was doing her 3 miles to catch up, I went into a house where my family and friends were and had a nice little chat with everyone. I also played some trivia games (random) and then when Anna got back we kept on going. When we got to mile 12 we had the 1.1 miles left and the end of the race was some kind of obstacle course!! Like, Wipeout style. It was hilarious. We were jumping over things, running down stairs, carrying eggs and trying not to break them (I know, I need help) and when we finished the race we got these gorgeous, bejeweled medals and were escorted to a finishers area where there was a HUGE breakfast waiting with Mimosas and every breakfast food you could possibly imagine. 

The funniest part about that? Out of all that dream food you know what I got? A BOWL OF PLAIN OATMEAL. I am very upset with my dream self for not indulging on the bacon, biscuits and gravy, cold meats, fruits, veggies, etc. My dream self ate stupid, plain oatmeal. At least I did have a mimosa... 

And now that the dream is over.... all I can think about.... 

..... is running.

Day 7: Simply Filling & Poo~Pourri Review

WeightWatchers & Stuff:
I didn't instagram my food yesterday and that felt weird. Haha. My mom asked me the other day why I always take pictures of my food. I told her it was because I have a following on InstaGram and follow people who do the same. We get ideas for meals off of each other and it is fun to see what other people that are trying to achieve the same goals are eating and how it impacts their success. Plus, I've tried so many awesome new things from doing it. That is why I take pictures of my food.

Last night I did some prep. Cut up the cucumbers I had, cooked some edamame, sauteed up some onion, bell peppers, mushrooms and chickpeas for quick and easy salad or meat toppings and make up a huge batch of air popped popcorn. I think Andrew likes having that handy as well. Just grab a bag and go! Great anytime snack.

I ate nothing but Simply Filling foods yesterday and the day went well!
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***WARNING***

If you do not like talking about, hearing about or reading about poop or pooping then please skip ahead to the next section!

My Review of Poo~pourri:
So, last week I finally broke down and ordered some Poo~Pourri. It seemed too intriguing not to at least try.

I have no gallbladder people. I go to the bathroom more now than I ever have in my life and that is because the bile my liver creates is no longer being stored and released from my gallbladder. It runs right down the bile duct to my intestines, lubing them up and pushing everything I eat out. Sound gross? It is actually kind of nice. Ha! I never feel backed up or bloated. But I digress....
Where I work, I share an individual bathroom with two other ladies. Now, I know they are not the type of people to judge me for having to go constantly, but I am not the type that likes to leave a stinky bathroom for someone else and there isn't a super powerful fan in there. I wanted to not disgust those around me and mainly wanted it for work.
I ordered the Call of the Wild scent, the Royal Flush scent and two stocking stuffer Christmas Scents. (Secret Santa and Santa Poo)
I love the scent of all of them. I haven't USED them all, but you can take the cap off and smell them.

It.Actually.Works. Works like a freaking charm. I am so impressed and so thrilled with this product that I will continue to buy it when I run out. The back of the bottle recommends that you spray 4-6 times. I have only being doing 2-3. I supposed if you eat a ton of Chinese food, Mexican food or something spicy that you may want to spritz a little more (lol), but for your normal duty (snicker) just a few sprays works just fine.

In a nutshell, it seems like a super silly product but it is amazing. Yes, the bottle you get is rather small, but again, you don't need much. A little bit goes a long way.

I hope my review is helpful!

***End Review***

No more poop talk. Promise.

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I don't have much else to talk about now. That was the main part of my blog post. Haha. I am going to buy parts for my car tonight and have my friend install them. Instead of $570 (labor not included) at Firestone, my friend is doing it for $260. That includes parts and labor. Yes please!

I will still need new tires but I can budget for that next month. My friend can get me a really good deal on those too. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday! 

When a Lazy Weekend Comes to an End

It is sad when a nice, relaxing weekend is over. I had such a great time this weekend spending time with the hubby and my family that it was hard seeing it end so quickly. Friday night I enjoyed a bonfire at my parent's house, homemade soup made by dad and a nice morning of sleeping in and snuggling with tons of dogs. One of them being this lazy fella:

Isn't he precious. That is Malcom. One of my mom's five dogs. The bed he is laying in was Hyatt's. I gave it to mom and dad because Caesar doesn't sleep in beds and I didn't want to throw it away. Mom's dogs LOVE that bed. With good reason too. It is really soft and fluffy.












Andrew and I went home around 3:00 on Saturday afternoon to make sure the cats hadn't destroyed the apartment. Everything was in pretty good shape minus the litter box and the chunks of Rhea fur all over the floor. So, I cleaned up, did laundry and vacuumed. I invited my parent's over for lunch on Sunday because I had a giant salmon filet I wanted to grill and Andrew needed some male football bonding time with my dad.

Lunch was delicious and entirely on plan with Simply Filling! I marinated the salmon in fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper and a little dill weed and then roasted the potatoes with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground thyme. My dad really liked the potatoes and asked what I did to them. He's a great cook so I was flattered that he asked for my secret!

We also had delicious sugar snap peas and broccoli. Yum yum!









During half time of one of the football games I decided that this needed to happen too:

Froyo! Yum, yum, YUM!!!! I love self serve frozen yogurt. Mom and dad always bring their puppy Mia with them when they come visit; so we took Mia and Caesar with us to sit outside and have our treats because the weather was gorgeous!

I filled my cup with pumpkin froyo and a little nonfat vanilla and then added: graham crackers, sprinkles, PB cup chunks, brownie bites, caramel turtles, cheesecake bits, marshmallow and chocolate.

That seems like a lot but I guarantee I do not put more than 1 Tbsp of each topping IF that. I only did a half pump of choclate and a half squeeze of marshmallow. I even counted how many brownie bites I took and it was only 3 of them. 3 Cheesecake bits. 5 caramel turtles (they're small). So, I was very well aware of what I was eating and I counted accordingly. I used quite a few weekly points for that treat but it was 100% worth it. Plus, Caesar got to share some of the froyo after I got the chocolate topping cleaned up. He liked it!

We finished the day off by watching football (Go Pack!), the new episode of Too Cute! and some Family Guy on Netflix. I also played the Sims 3 for awhile and had the Sim I made graduate from college. She's a Science and Medicine Major that breeds dogs. Oooooo. (I live vicariously through my Sims.)

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Sunday Weigh In:
Weigh In: -0.4
Total Lost: 3.2
Pounds to Lose: 100

I switched to Simply Filling half way into the week and I lost almost half a pound. Nice! I was very happy to see that making the switch was working for me. I am excited to see what happens after I'm on the plan for an entire week. The only problem I foresee is that Saturday night I am going to a Halloween Party and I might weigh in on Saturday morning just so that one night doesn't throw my week of hard work. I don't know. It isn't the food that is a huge issue at the party, it is the drinks I usually consume. However, since having my gallbladder out I cannot drink like I used to and won't really have any problems with that. I dunno. I will figure that out when the time comes.
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On Becoming Debt Free:
Still good on this front. I had a couple of "interest charges" on the cards I paid off so I had to make piddly little $1 - $5 payments again just to get the balance to $0. Stupid credit cards. I am so glad to be done with them. Never again.

Andrew took my car into Firestone today (I don't know why, I HATE them) and they recommended that I needed $1200 worth of work done on my tires/breaks. Now, I know I need an alignment and new tires. I also know I need new break pads.... but $1200!?! I have a friend who can do my break pads and offered to do so for $35 + parts. He can also check out if anything else is seriously wrong. I don't trust the big name mechanics at all. They just continually try to rip you off and I hate it. The last time I got new tires on an SUV it cost me around $600. I cannot imagine they'd be more for a tiny little compact car. Sheesh.

Other than that, everything is going well. Andrew will meet with the college about his certificate and get that paid for and then we are just waiting for my hospital bill to come in. After that, we won't be able to pay anything else off in full, but we will start to snowball the 3 debts that are left!

Feels good. It really does.

Happy Friday!

Good morning, blogger world! It is FRIDAY! You know what that means? It is FRIDAY! Haha. I am looking forward to spending the weekend with my husband. We really do not see each other much during the week so I really cherish our time on the weekends. In fact, I feel like I haven't really talked to my husband much at all this week. He's been working like crazy and I've been working and our shifts are so different.... I just miss him. I guess with this schedule we will never get tired of each other!

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:
Yesterday went really well. I stayed 100% on program and ate such wonderful, tasty, filling foods. My dinner was the highlight of my day.

A very lean cut of meat (I honestly did not see ANY fat on it when I bought it), half a sweet potato and some asparagus. Yum! I didn't eat all of the asparagus because I got really full. It was so good though and I wasn't hungry at all the rest of the night. 

I didn't eat my lunch yesterday until after 3:00pm!!! That has never happened to me before. Usually I'm starving by or before noon. Not yesterday. I was set. I love Simply Filling. Have I said that yet? 

I don't know when I am going to weigh in. If I run the race Sunday I will weigh in tomorrow. If I am foregoing the race I will weigh in at my normal meeting on Sunday morning. I'm still way too wheezy when I wake up in the morning. I'm hoping it is partially allergies too. I am going to see how I feel tomorrow morning and decide then. 

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Random Things:

You know what's awesome? Not having any credit card debt. We are credit debt free. We owe less than $5,000 on my car and the rest is school. I love it. I absolutely love it. I mean, I hate having school loans, don't get me wrong, but not having any credit debt and not having any more credit cards is so liberating. 

I went to PetsMart yesterday to pick up some Cat Attract litter for the cats, a scratching post, some science diet food and some other odds and ends and got Caesar this magical costume for the Halloween party we are going to next weekend:

AHHHHHHH!!!! It is funny because I call him "Caesar Monkey". It is so hilarious when I put it on him. I think this may be his costume the rest of his life. 

I also got Caesar a new collar, which is adorable, a new place mat for his food and water dish and some dingo chew bones that he likes. But he's not spoiled.... not at all..... 

The cats aren't spoiled either.... nope. 

See, I don't want children. I just want to be surrounded by pets the rest of my life. 

Short Week

Since I didn't work Monday I have been a little out of whack this week. I feel like it is only Wednesday. However, it is fun to know that it is actually Thursday and another weekend is just around the corner! This weekend is going to be a lazy, stay at home weekend since last weekend was so crazy!

Let's check in on my October Goals:

• Hit 5 pounds lost in October - Not there yet
• Walk/Run my 10K on October 20 - That is this weekend and I am still debating doing it. Not because of fear or anything; but because I cannot stop wheezing and coughing. I think I have a touch of bronchitis. I am on antibiotics and doing breathing treatments to clear it up. It is helping, but I don't feel like I should go out and do 6 miles until I can breathe correctly. 
• Hit my 10% Weight Loss Milestone with Weight Watchers before January 1, 2014 - Still working!
• Exercise at least 3 days a week *hangs head in shame* Nope. 
• Walk/Run my 5K in November without worrying about pace - Very excited for this one to come around. It is always a good time!

So, there you have it!

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:

Yesterday I made the executive decision to switch to Simply Filling. Why? Because tracking seems to be a big issue for me right now. I don't know why. I have my iPhone handy, my Kindle and a computer (most of the time) but it just seems so annoying sometimes. Probably because I've been on WW since 2007..... but I digress.... 

I switched because Simply Filling will make me eat more wholesome, healthy, clean foods and it will give me the option to eat until I am satisfied. Normally around 10:00am my body is craving a snack. It's 10:00am now... I am not hungry AT ALL. Here was my breakfast today:

2 Scrambled Eggs with sauteed chickpeas (garbanzo beans), green peppers and garlic and a cup of skim milk. I even used 1 tsp of my daily oil intake. 

I love just eating those filling foods and not wondering about points and if I eat that many, how many will I have left for the day? I still get 49 Weekly Points to use for special occasions or for food that isn't SF though and since I love Almond Butter it is a good thing. Ha!

I have also been sauteing my beans and veggies with a little chicken broth. Adds some nice flavor and moisture!

A couple of meals from yesterday: 

The top one is Great Northern Beans, broccoli, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and chicken. I swear there is chicken under there... 

This was breakfast yesterday. Beans, scrambled eggs and broccoli. 

My lunch was a huge salad with edamame, pumpkin seeds and balsamic. Yum!

I am just really happy with how these specific foods make me feel and the energy that they give me. Last night I went to the store to stock up on food and then did prep last night. I boiled eggs, cut up fruits and veggies, air popped popcorn (a filling food, YES!) and bagged up individual snack bags. Having on the go stuff like that is great. And guess what? Prep (with a pause to stop and eat dinner) only took me until 6:45. I got home from the store at 5:30. Not long people. Prep is the BEST thing you can do to ensure healthy meals and snacks for you (and your family if you have one.)

Those are my only updates for the day folks. I'm just feeling good (minus the wheezing) and ready to get some nice rest and relaxation with the hubs this weekend. 

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Sheesh. Where has the time gone? In a nutshell?

• Incision Inefection
• Resting at Home
• Mom's Birthday
• Davenport
• Wedding

Yeah. With all of that includes packing, travel time, lots of eating out (eek), laundry, unpacking and getting back into a routine. However, it has all be worth it (minus the slight infection in my gallbladder incision.) Some antibiotics have really helped clear all of that up though. Yay modern medicine. 

Wedding:

Valerie and Kris got married on Saturday! It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony! I am so happy that I was able to be a part of their special day. I was the Personal Attendant and I did everything and anything Valerie or her wedding party asked of me. Mostly Val though. (Duh) Everything went so well and she looked beautiful in her dress. Kris looked pretty handsome too. 

We left for Iowa on Friday and also got to see Grandma while we were up there as well. It was a nice little vacation (after feeling so poopy) but I am very glad to be home and back in a routine again. Today was my first day back at work since last Tuesday. I've missed my structured days. 

WeightWatchers & Food:

I did not weigh in this week. My meeting is Sunday morning at 9:00 and I was out of town. Could I have gone to a different meeting? Yes. Did I? No. Could I have weighed in at home before I left or when I got back? Yes. Did I? No. Get off me. 

Sunday restarted my weekly points and such but I have been slacking BIG TIME on tracking anything. I just started up again today. I started to track yesterday but then stopped after I ate a freaking Pumpkin Pie Blizzard from DQ. 

Today I tracked everything, ate what I planned and still have 1 point left for the day. Not that I will eat that... but at least it is there! I'm more thirsty than anything right now.....

On Becoming Debt Free:

Haven't updated on this front in awhile. 

Baby Step 1? DONE

Baby Step 2? 10% DONE

We have our emergency fund and we have paid off FOUR DEBTS! FOUR!!!! Do you know how liberating that is?! We are waiting for a bill from Springfield Clinic to come in for my surgery and if that is easily paid off then the car is next! The Clinic bill should only be about $2,000 (hopefully) and we could pay that off immediately. Then, we have $1600 put away for Andrew to go back to school and then we will debt snowball the car and my school loans. WOO! I'm super excited because this is actually happening. I cannot wait to be 100% debt free with 3 to 6 months of expenses saved. Then I will build wealth and take many vacations!! 

Ok, so maybe I won't take "many" vacations, but I plan on going on a few. 

Life is good. When you plan, work hard and have discipline in your goals..... everything is good. 

Things I Need to Better Understand

I read Beth's Blog post today and it hit so close to home with me that I've taken a moment to really self evaluate my own relationship with food.

People (like my husband) never really understand why "fat people" can't just stop eating so much and lose weight. Well, it isn't that easy folks. If you have never struggled with your weight and a food relationship then kudos to you. There are some of us though that will have this internal battle with food for the rest of our lives. I obviously stopped fighting that battle after I got married because I gained all of my weight back and then some. It is my fault, I know this. I know what I did wrong. I know everything that led to this point and I am not blaming someone else or something else. It was ME. That being said, only I can fix it. Yes, I've been back to WeightWatchers and I've had the same yo-yo weight loss/weight gain that usually happens until I am 100% committed to losing it. BeBe posted this blog entry, that again, hit really close to home and got me thinking. I WANT to lose the weight and be back where I was, but I am not COMMITTED to doing it yet. I loosely follow the program and exercise when I feel like it (which isn't a lot) and I'm seeing those exact results displayed on the scale every Sunday when I go to weigh in. For example:

Sunday Weigh In Results:
Weigh In: +1
Total Lost: 2.8
Pounds to Lose: 100.4

I gained a pound. I knew I would. I only exercised once and I kind of tracked my food. This week hasn't started out much better but today is a new day and Andrew and I finally went to the store and stocked up on good healthy foods. I am lost without produce. I cannot stress that enough. I love fruits and vegetables and when I run out I get so obnoxious with what I eat. It is really depressing.

I guess I need to really sit down and re-evaluate my goals and figure out why I am not committed as I should be. Maybe I need to revamp my big picture goals and focus on the little things more often. All I can think about is fitting back into my size 10 Express Jeans and all of my cute Medium shirts in my closet.
Taken at a friends 80's themed wedding reception. What I'd give to be that thin again. :)))

That is a good long term goal to have, but right now.... it seems daunting. So, here are my much smaller, more easily to be attainable faster goals:

• Hit 5 pounds lost in October - to reach this goal I only have to lose 2.2 pounds in the next 3 weeks.
• Walk/Run my 10K on October 20 - I was honestly contemplating NOT doing it because I'm nervous about how badly I'll do. Me, the girl who has done multiple Half Marathons is afraid of a 10K 
• Hit my 10% Weight Loss Milestone with Weight Watchers before January 1, 2014 - That gives me the rest of this month and 2 more months to lose what I have to in order to hit that goal
• Exercise at least 3 days a week 
• Walk/Run my 5K in November without worrying about pace - Just have FUN! 

I think those are a good start. I need to read those every day and keep my chin up! 

Procrastination

I need to grocery shop. I know I keep saying that; it still hasn't happened. Was I so busy I couldn't go last night? No. Have I been swamped all week and just couldn't find the time? No. I just haven't gone. Part of me waits because it is so much easier when Andrew helps. He pushes the cart, keeps me focused on the list and is my calculator for cost - keeping us on our budget. With his work schedule the only day open is usually Sunday. Looks like I am making the lack of food we have last until then. Ha!

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WeightWatchers, Exercise & Food:
When I plugged in my ActiveLink this morning I got to see this pretty screen:

Woo! I finished my AL Challenge and earned 105 ActivityPoints between July and October. That's pretty cool. I get to start a new challenge and what I did was pick the option to try and earn 3APs a day which is an average of what I did over the last few months. I did not want to go through another assessment phase so I chose my own starting point. We will see how it goes! 

Not grocery shopping has aided in this happening:

Gah. Negative 7 is NOT bad, but one of my goals for October was to not go in the red at all this month. I have a lot of social activities going on this month (weddings, birthdays, Halloween parties) and I want to stay focused and on track with everything. I could easily earn those 7 points back with working out tomorrow... so that is what I am going to try to do. 

Today on the training schedule is a rest day. That's going to be so hard. *note sarcasm* I haven't done much of anything all week. I did my 4 mile run, my strength day and that's about it. I have done 165 wall pushups this week so far. I guess that counts for something right? Right?!?! Tomorrow is 60 minutes of cross training and Sunday is a 4.5 mile run. I'm hoping for better weather. Seriously. Where is fall? Where is the cool weather with NO HUMIDITY for me to run in? 

Here is my food plan for TODAY: (with what food I have)

Breakfast: Bagel 

Snack: String Cheese

Lunch: Subway 6" Turkey Flatbread with lots of veggies, Pretzels and WW Mini Bar

Snack: ??? maybe some almonds

Dinner: Grilled chicken, brown rice, peas

Activity: Nada 

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Who is ready for the weekend? 

THIS GIRL!

WAKE UP!

It is time for me to get out of this funk I am in. Seriously. I miss Hyatt more that words can say but I'm being destructive to myself and it doesn't need to be that way. It isn't what Hyatt would want!

 I want to be this skinny again, dammit. That was 5.28.2011. That dress was a size 12 (taken in at the sides to fit me) and I weighed somewhere around 162-164. I felt so good then.... even if I looked in a mirror and still saw "fat" me at times... I still felt good. Shopping was fun, I could wear super cute clothes and dresses. I did on my honeymoon. I wasn't afraid to be seen in a swimming suit or wear short skirts with tank tops.

I will get back there again. Mark my words. I will. Even if it kills me.







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WeightWatchers, Fitness & Food:
Uhhh... well, I've been tracking and been doing OK. There hasn't been any activity though which is a bad thing. I followed my training plan for a week and a half and have already fallen off my schedule. Typical Becky behavior, let me tell ya. I missed a 3 mile run and 40 minutes of cross training. I guess that isn't TOO bad in the grand scheme of things. Tonight is a 2 mile run plus strength. That is EASY. There is no reason I cannot get that accomplished. NONE.

My Menu from yesterday:
Breakfast: Chobani Flip - Nutty for Nana flavor, Green Tea
Snack: String Cheese, Almonds
Lunch: Smart Ones Lasagna, Spinach, WW Mini Bar
Snack: Pretzels with Pine Nut Hummus
Dinner: 6 oz grilled chicken breast, 1 c. spinach, 1/2 c rice, Edy's mint chocolate chip ice cream (individual cups)
Activity: None
Snacks after dinner: Popcorn

I went over my points by 6 and I had the weeklies to do so. I'm not worried about yesterday's food intake at all. I'm just upset by my lack of exercise and sticking to my training. I plopped my butt down on the couch with my computer and after answering an email I watched stupid YouTube videos until Andrew got off work.

I need to make a grocery list and go to the store. Andrew and I are almost completely out of food and it is sad. I really mean it too. The fridge, freezer and cupboards are almost empty. We don't waste food in our house!
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Random Pet Picture of the Day:

Rhea decided that she wanted to read some Dave Ramsey this morning. She is apparently wanting to get out of debt. Or, she is telling us that we do not need to budget money because all we really need to do is buy her tons of toys, yarn and cat treats.


Silly little girl.

Government Schmovernment

Politics. Blah. For the most part I stay blissfully ignorant about most political issues. I read what I need to on subjects that directly impact me and my life, but other than that I just hate it all. People are so mean, rude and annoying when it comes to politics. This is why I normally don't comment or make a big deal out of what people post on their social networking pages. We all have our opinions, you're right, I'm wrong, I'm right, you're stupid, my opinion is best, your opinion is best, I have a better education than you, I don't have any education... WHATEVER. There is no need to fight over issues like this because you will never change that other person's opinion. If they decide to change their opinion... they do it in their own time. I have deleted friends off of Facebook before because of political things. I just don't like having all of that negativity in my life and that is what is usually is. Negative. I have enough to worry about in my life than what your opinion is on MY beliefs and views. And honestly, I don't think anybody even knows what my views are besides being "blissfully ignorant." I would like to keep it that way.

WeightWatchers & Food Stuff:
I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday when I got home but I wasn't in the mood to do ANYTHING. It was probably because Caesar had shit and pissed on my floor (not lumpy poop either... nice, runny, smells bad enough to make me gag poop) and I had to clean all of that up. I don't blame him for the poop. If his stomach is upset and he can't get outside... there's no stopping it. However, him pissing on my ottoman was a bit of a nasty move and I was not happy. He has never peed in my apartment. I think he is acting out a little bit since Hyatt is gone... but that needs to stop very soon or I am going to go crazy. Oh! And did I mention that Hobbs also peed right outside the litter box? Asshole. I'm kind of mad at my pets right now. But I digress....

After I got all of that taken care of I just wanted something quick and easy.... which ended up with me eating things I didn't need or really want..... Here was the entire menu from yesterday:

Breakfast: WW Oatmeal, WW Chocolate Smoothie with milk and coffee
Snack: 2 Cheese Sticks
Lunch: Smart Ones Thai Noodles, salad with Walden Farms dressing, WW Mini Bar
Snack: Pretzels with Pine Nut Hummus and an Apple
Dinner: 2 Chicken Sausages, rice, 1 piece of garlic bread
Snack later on: Peanut Butter stuffed pretzel nuggets, 7 pixy stix.

Yes, I still have the damn Pixy Stix in my house but not anymore. I finally threw those bastards away. I used 17 of my Weeklies last night and now have 18 left for the week. Now, that's more than enough.... I just hate when I blow through them so quickly. Makes me feel a little out of control. Things have been better today though.

I don't have any pictures today. I'm just tired and still a little frumpy about everything going on. It'll all start looking up soon. Right? RIGHT?!?