It's February!

Hello and Happy February! Everyone always talks about how long January seems... but I'm not really feeling that at all. I guess it's because I feel like my life is spent running around like a crazy person. Ha!

Debt Paid off as of 2.2.19: $702.91

Total Debt with the House: $128,277.45
Total Debt without House: $76,632.09

I truly wish we could have done better than that. However, some unforeseen things came up and we had to roll with what life handed us. I sent out a stack of bills the other day. Eight total.... FIVE of those were medical bills for Carson. One was a medical bill for me. The other two were living expenses. So, 6 of the 8 were medical. I am totally fine letting the consumer debt wait to take care of the medical bills. That is one thing I will not let sit. Why? I don't know. I know there isn't any interest on them unless you let them go for a LONG time but I don't want to do that. With the amount of medical bills that will continue to come in for Carson, it would be stupid for me to just let them pile up.

Also, my hours were cut at Hy Vee at the beginning of the year which hurt us pretty badly on the debt snowball. That situation has been remedied though and all will continue as normal. Yay!

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Other Life Things:

Meh. My foot is still problematic, however, surgery is scheduled for this Thursday 2.7.19 at 11:30am! I cannot even begin to describe how happy I am that this is finally happening. Since I'm working on year two of this ridiculous pain; I am ready for it to be fixed. I will be in a boot for 4 weeks after surgery. I will be able to walk, but will need to take it easy. I'll have two incisions, one in my foot and one in my calf. Then hopefully the weather will start getting nicer, my foot will be better, and I can finally take the boys outside for walks again! Man do I miss getting out and moving around without hurting or needing to take a break.

The boys are doing fine. Carson did get diagnosed with strep last week but the antibiotics kicked in quick. That and the fact that my son never acts sick means he really wasn't "down" for long. Dean is still doing great with the tubes and his therapy is going swimmingly!

Other than that, we're just trucking along. I haven't been taking many pictures (shame on me) so sorry the past couple of posts have been a bit blah. Thanks for sticking with me though!

Mid Month Update

Hello all! Where is this month going? Between all of the appointments, working, and craziness at home I'm not sure where the time goes anymore.

I don't have much to update on the debt free journey as the last set of paychecks went to living expenses. Mortgage, heat, power, water, etc. We will both get paid again this month and after paying the rest of the bills (insurance, a few medical bills), and filling the envelope with our cash, I will pay another big chunk to the debt. Woo!

I had mentioned before that I was using EveryDollar to do my budgeting, but I am an Excel junkie and made my own fantabulous spreadsheet that I am now using. It's one less thing to log in to and one less password for me to remember. I still love Every Dollar and recommend it to people just getting started with budgeting (since it's free!) but for me... I like to customize everything to my liking and my aesthetic tastes........ plus I'm addicted to Excel spreadsheets.

Dean had his check up for his tubes and there was some blood in his left ear so we are putting some drops in them to try and clear that up. He is doing amazing, though, and we have noticed such a HUGE change in his demeanor and even his personality. He's so much happier and is talking so much more!

I had my meeting with Carson's therapists at The Autism Clinic and his scores have improved dramatically in the 6 months that he has been there. Everyone at the clinic adores Carson and he is definitely a favorite. He's such a sweet and lovable boy. I'm so proud of him. When he first had his assessment he was at an 18 month level and now he's gone up to being at a 2-3 year old level. He's improving!

I have finally gotten in to see a new podiatrist about my plantar fasciitis and had an MRI done on Tuesday so that the doctor could take a look at all my tendons and muscles and recommend which type of surgery he thinks will be best! *insert happy dance gif here*
This doctor can do one of two surgeries. He can either cut the fascia completely so it can no longer pull and get tight OR he can make an incision, poke holes in the fascia and cauterize them and then make an incision in my calf and cut that muscle to loosen it up. The first surgery would require me to be in a cast for 2 weeks and I wouldn't be able to put ANY weight/pressure on my foot. The second surgery would put me in a boot for 4 weeks but I would be able to walk on it right away.... carefully. I am all for the second method of surgery since I have children and being off my foot for 3 weeks?! That'd be kind of difficult....... especially since I don't like to sit still.

My current struggles (because I said I'd be completely honest) are:

• Food. Still. I am a binge eater. A food addict. I haven't lost any weight since November.... but I also haven't gained any weight since November. I'm at a stand still. I need to focus and get my butt in gear.
• Sleep. Carson is still waking up most nights from 2am-5am. It's making both Andrew and I zombies and some days I just want to scream and cry. 
• Work. It's frustrating me right now because I'm not as happy as I once was at Hy Vee. Sometimes working in Customer Service makes you angry. Most days all I hear is "bitch bitch bitch. Me me me. Complain complain complain." and although we have some AWESOME customers, it's hard to block out all the negativity. 
• Work. In the sense that I'm not making a ton and I wish I could contribute more to our family finances. However, I am needed at home. Every week is full of appointments. There isn't a day that I don't have something to do. Except Sundays. Sundays are my saving grace. 
• Autism. Autism is hard. Autism is expensive. Carson is an amazing little person but he's not easy. Some days I lose my cool and snap at everyone around me. Imagine having a 4 year old with the developmental mentality of a 2 year old. It's. Hard. 
• Spending. I still have trouble with buying things I don't need. Am I going over my budgeted amounts? No. But I could be using the money more wisely. 

I know this wasn't a very exciting update but I promised to take you all on this journey with me so here we are. Happy Hump Day, everyone. 

8 Days Until Christmas

It freaks me out how quickly a year goes by the older I get. I've been working with my therapist on a timeline of my life and remembering the month of December as a kid is so different than it is now. I remember this month DRAGGING. One, because I couldn't wait until the 2 weeks I got off from school and two, because Christmas was always fun at our house when I was a child regardless of presents. I have a lot of very wonderful memories with my brothers. Being too excited to sleep the night before, waking up way too early and praying that mom and dad would get up so we could open the presents, the food, family (cousins, aunts and uncles)... it was all wonderful. I think that is still why I love Christmas so much even now. I have such pleasant memories and it is always a special time for me even though family has moved apart and we have gotten older. If you are more of a "Bah Humbug" about Christmas that is fine (or if you don't even celebrate it that is fine), it is just a time of year I love and it makes me very happy.
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WeightWatchers & Food:
I had the munchies BAD yesterday. It was one of those days that if there would have been tons of food around, I would have eaten it. Luckily for me, my wonderful coworker Debi brought in Christmas goodie baskets for the office staff and I was ecstatic:

FRUIT!

Being on WeightWatchers and being mindful of what I eat made this gift even more special. Debi even said that since you can never know a person's dietary preferences she figures she can't go wrong with fruit. She is 100% correct and I dug into my basket right away. I had a pear that was delicious and today I have a pear and a grapefruit. I love grapefruit but never pick it up at the store. I don't know why... it is just one of those things I never plop on my list. 

I had a bad food night last night even though I know it could have been worse. Mom and Dad were at the apartment and I just ordered pizza for us. I got myself a thin crust cheese pizza (no sauce) and mom and dad got a taco pizza. I ate 3 slices... I really could have been OK with 2.... but I counted and moved on. As is the motto of WW. 

Today's Menu:

B: Old Fashioned Oats with 1/2 T Almond Butter, HB egg, Grapefruit, Black Tea

S: Green tea, string cheese

L: Tuscan White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Pear

S: 1/2 c Red Beans and Brown Rice 

D: Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, Tilapia, PB&J Yogurt

Activity: I might try and go to the fitness center if Walter is behaving himself

I am trying the red beans and rice idea for an afternoon snack because I am always STARVING when I get off of work. I want to see if something heavier will help with that. I cooked up my beans and rice with roasted garlic, cilantro and lime juice. So good and refreshing! I love adding lime juice and cilantro to things. 

As of today I have eaten a Pescetarian Diet for 12 days and I feel fantastic. I cannot even describe how great I feel. I had Salmon on the 13th and tonight I will have tilapia and that is the only meat I will have consumed. My energy levels seem to be better and I just feel good. 

Oh! And I have discovered this blog and am IN LOVE. Hence the choice for oatmeal this morning. I need to run to the store and get a few more staple items to make some of the recipes she has. My problem with oatmeal is I always get bored with it but with her site I think that would be impossible! I cannot wait to try some of her ideas!

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I don't really have anything else to update. Things with my therapist are going great and we are uncovering a lot of things that I never dealt with as a child. I find it interesting to realize that I never talked to anyone about how I was bullied in school (for my weight) and my parents didn't even have a clue. I have been holding on to a lot of negative memories and it feels almost liberating to get everything out in the open. I am excited to continue my self discovery through my timeline and am looking forward to seeing my therapist next Monday. It is like I'm excited to dig into my past and face all of these demons once and for all. It may seem all cliché to some of you but guess what? Talking through all of this stuff with someone is amazing. I love it. 

Weigh In, New Recipe & Birchbox Goodies

Happy Monday everyone! Since I don't blog over the weekend, we are just going to backtrack by day for this entry.

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Friday:
I received my December Birchbox and I was so excited! It really is so fun opening them up to see what goodies they send.

Top Left: Number 4 Non Aerosol Hairspray
Top Right: Chuao Chocopod in Honeycomb flavor
Bottom Left: Color Club Nail Polish in Dark 'N Stormy
Botton Right: 29 Cosmetics Skincare Sampler

Top: Salt of the Earth Whipped Body Crème in Cabernet & Neroili
Bottom: Salt of the Earth Aroma Salt in White Ginger










I've used everything and LOVE everything. Would I purchase any of the products? Yes. The nail polish and the whipped body crème for sure. The skincare sampler is $175 for the entire collection so... no... it is nice, but just as a sampler. The chocolate was delicious too. If you buy the Assorted Chocopod 8-Piece Gift Set it is $9.95. It is expensive for chocolate but it is very delicious!

And here is what the nail polish looks like on:

I do like it a lot. I will get quite a few uses out of that tiny little sample bottle. I love nail polish. 

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Saturday:

We got a lot of snow/sleet on Friday night into Saturday so the morning was spent at home trying to keep warm. Andrew had 3 piano tunings he was supposed to do but 2 called off due to the amount of snow and the church wasn't until 2:00 in the afternoon so he kept that one. 

Saturday Weigh In:

Weigh In: +3.9

Total Lost: 7.6

Pounds to Lose: 93.4

Remember how the week before I had that stomach bug and lost 11.1? Yeah, I'm not surprised by this gain at all and in fact I am quite happy because I really didn't do too bad at all. Only gaining about 4 of that 11 back? I think I did pretty damn good. 

I tried a new recipe for lunch and I am in love with it and will probably make it again in the future. Of course it is from Gina's Site. This was the recipe. 

Tuscan White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup:

Absolutely to die for delicious. Seriously. I could eat this every day and it is super filling. 

Andrew and I planned on going to Red Robin for dinner on Saturday so I was sure to save up some points for that. I did end up going in the negative (because of beer and a peppermint mocha from Starbucks) but I have already earned 5 APs for this week and just need to earn 13 more to be in the black again. 

I ended up joining Andrew for his church tuning too. 

It wasn't the best piano in the world but after he was done with it I got to play a couple of songs on it and then we left. Even though the quality of sound wasn't the best, he did do an excellent job tuning it!

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Sunday:

Lazy day. Super lazy day minus going to the fitness center and having dinner with Andrew's parents at a local pub. I was really frustrated at the fitness center because I couldn't get my foot pod to sync up with my Garmin. I finally realized the battery must be dead and sure enough as soon as I got back to the apartment and changed the battery it found the pod just fine. *sigh* Technology is a pain sometimes. I had to go by the results of the treadmill which I know aren't always accurate but it was OK. I was on there fore 36 minutes and earned 4 APs.

We watched a lot of Christmas movies this weekend which was wonderful. Andrew's work schedule is going to start getting really crazy this week so I was glad to have the two days to spend with him. We watched The original cartoon Grinch, Christmas Vacation, The Muppets Christmas Carol and Rudolph. Some of my favorites. I really love The Muppets Christmas Carol. I used to watch that one a lot when I was younger. I'm just sad that certain versions of that movie cut out the "When Love is Gone" scene. I like that song but understand that children grew restless during it so they cut it out of some versions. The version we have doesn't have it. Sad face. 

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Well, that was all the excitment from my weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

And so does Walter:

He's getting SO BIG

Why Have I Never Roasted Garlic Before?

Seriously!? As much as I like to cook and try new things it baffles my mind that I have never in my life roasted garlic. I found a soup recipe that I want to try and it calls for roasted garlic. Well, the way that Gina does it requires taking apart the garlic before roasting it and I hate working with garlic. So, I found this page that gave a really simple way to roast garlic. Basically idiot proof.

It is so good and the garlic is so soft. I have a ton of it now and plan on using it for multiple things. Especially in pasta. YUM. 

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New Recipe:

Last night I made this recipe of Chicken and Lentil Soup. I did not put chicken in it though and rebuilt it in my WW recipe builder and it is 4P+ a serving. 

I've always wanted to make lentil soup and finally had my chance. It smelled SO good and tasted just as wonderful. The cilantro really adds something special to this soup. Because of Gina's site I have been using cilantro in things I never thought to before and have been pleasantly surprised by how good things can be with it. 

Now, the reason I didn't add chicken was because ever since being sick the thought of meat makes me ill. If you put a piece of chicken in front of me right now and asked me to eat it I would probably dry heave or puke. No joke. I was talking to Anna yesterday about her dietary preferences because I know she doesn't eat meat, except for fish, and she explained that she is a Pescetarian. Basically the definition is: "Pescetarianism is the practice of a diet that includes seafood, but not the flesh of other animals. A pescetarian diet typically shares many of its components with a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs, dairy, and insect byproducts (such as honey, carmine, orshellac), but unlike a vegetarian diet it also includes fish and shellfish." (Wikipedia) It can also be spelled Pescatarian. 

I am thinking I want to kind of adopt this way of eating just because of how I'm feeling right now towards any other meat. It is easy enough to make recipes meatless these days and also, I still love fish and want to be able to enjoy that from time to time. Luckily for me my husband isn't a huge meat eater either so it will be easy to adjust to the changes. Plus, my grocery trip last night was cheaper that usual because of my lack of purchasing meat products. The only thing Andrew really won't give up is bacon. Haha. He loves his morning bacon on the weekends. 

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:

Things are still going OK. I think I am in the negative a little bit though due to my peppermint candy obsession. I need to scale back on that a little bit. 

Today's Menu:

B: 3 HB Eggs, 1 c FF milk, coffee

S: String Cheese

L: Lentil Soup, Spicy Black Bean burger on a light english muffin, WW mini bar

S: 6 oz Chobani yogurt, 1 T PB and 1 T Jelly mixed in

D: 5 oz Salmon and broccoli

Activity: Nothing

Springfield, IL is in a winter advisory for this evening going into tomorrow and I feel like it is the type of night to cuddle up on the couch with my husband and the dogs and just enjoy the warmth of the apartment. 

Tomorrow is my meeting/weigh in day. I always say I am going to sleep in on the weekends and go to the 9:00 meeting but my body hates me and is usually awake by 7:00 so I just go to the 7:30 meeting. I don't know what to expect. I had my 11.1 pound loss from the previous week after being ill but I don't count that as a serious loss because it wasn't. It was a fluke of me being ill. Bascially I want to go off of the weigh in before last weeks to judge my actual loss/gain. 

I guess we will see! 

Obsessed with Peppermint

I think I have a problem. I am ridiculously obsessed with peppermint. I had posted about my Philosophy Peppermint Stick body wash and lip gloss in this post. It is the most amazing product ever and each time I fill my loufa with that soap I am in heaven. I also purchased Chapstick that is called candy cane. It is wonderful. I love chapsticks and balms that make my lips tingle when I first put it on and the candy cane one does just that. (So does the Sweet Mint eos balm. YUM.) I also discovered this candle from Avon that smells so amazing I had to buy 3 more of them. They also have a peppermint bubble bath I am trying so hard not to buy since I already have a collection of Avon bubbles.

As you all know I signed up for Birchbox  and received my first box. The second one is on its way and I am very excited about it! However, after I received my first box I got an email from Birchbox saying that they were sorry for what was in my first box. They said that there were items in there that didn't fit the beauty profile that I filled out and they gave me a $10 gift certificate to buy something in the store. I found that to be very strange considering I loved everything in the box but was also really impressed with their customer service and willingness to fix an issue I didn't even complain about! I used that $10 certificate to purchase some Peppermint Bark. I received it yesterday but didn't get into it until I got home because my stomach has still been wonky.

I think it is some of the best peppermint bark I have ever had. I took the smallest piece I could find to try it out and it was amazing. The flavors were wonderful and there was just enough peppermint crunch to it. I normally would not spend $14.50 on that small amount of peppermint bark but since I had the certificate I splurged and only had to pay the $4.50. I believe my shipping was free.... anyway, my obsession with all things peppermint right now is just kind of silly and I love this time of year for making it so easy to find such wonderful peppermint things.
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WeightWatchers & Food:
I'm still unable to eat a lot. I really am not complaining about that to be honest but it is getting kind of irritating that I can only handle certain foods and I seem to get heartburn way more frequently than I used to. I know my body is still kind of getting back to normal after the torture it went through but I wish it would get back to a semi normal state. I've eaten nothing but rice, noodles, crackers, bread/toast..... bland foods. Also, the thought of meat makes me feel ill. I wasn't a huge meat eater to begin with but I always ate chicken, ground turkey, lean ground beef, a steak here and there..... but now the thought of eating any of those things makes me nauseous. If I didn't know any better I would think I was pregnant. (Trust me. I KNOW I'm not.) The thought of fish doesn't seem to bother me though so I think I'm going to be a meatless eater for awhile, minus fish, and see how that goes. Maybe I won't be so grossed out by it in another couple of weeks or so but who knows. Not wanting meat has made some interesting meal choices lately. Like... this:

1 package of Easy Mac and cauliflower. 6PP

That was my dinner last night. I stood in the kitchen and just stared blankly at the food we had and nothing sounded good. Then my eyes passed over the Easy Mac and I didn't even hesitate. I had 19 points left for dinner and I knew I wouldn't eat 19 points worth of mac and cheese. (Even though I probably have in the past. lol) So, I threw that together, boiled up the cauliflower and then mixed it all in a bowl and ate it. I was completely satisfied and full when I was done and didn't think about food the rest of the night. 

Today's Menu:

B: Toast, coffee, milk

S: String Cheese

L: Easy Mac and Cauliflower

S: Pudding Cup

D: TBD - maybe Easy Mac and broccoli. Ha! 

Activity: Nada

I'm still feeling really tired right now. Last night I ran errands and tonight I need to go to the store to pick up a few things. The nights I do my errands I don't really work out. I know that's horrible - but I still just don't feel right. 

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I don't have much else to update. It is quiet at work right now because people don't move this time of year and I am thankful for that. Unfortunately for Andrew this is a super busy time of year for piano tunings and he has been running around like crazy tuning at churches and people's houses to get ready for Christmas celebrations. Good month for income, bad month for relaxation. Haha. 

Hello World

Gastroenteritis - that is what I had starting Friday morning at 1:30am and continuing into Saturday. Luckily for me the vomiting stopped around 12:30pm on Friday and I was able to keep clear liquids down. I had a lot of ice, water, and Diet 7Up. There is a GIANT misconception about this being the flu. It is not the flu. It is a stomach bug. It could have been something I ate, it could have been someone I work with, who knows. I was just unlucky enough to get it. I was MISERABLE. This is a sickness I do not wish on my worst enemy. Nobody should have to puke from both ends of their body.... just saying. Haha.
While I was sick I had some guardians watching over me:

Mom and dad had the dogs since I couldn't take them outside and Andrew was working. Therefore, it was up to the cats to make sure I was well taken care of. Aren't they sweet?

Enough about that disgusting-ness that was my weekend.
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Blog Giveaway Winner:

ANNA! You win my dear. I will need your address to send you your goodie.
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Saturday Weigh In:
This is going to crack all of you up. Remember, stomach virus all day Friday....

Weigh In: -11.1
Total Lost: 11.5
Pounds to Lose: 89.5

Yeah, gastroenteritis... the new detox diet.

This coming Saturday should be interesting when I go weigh in. It will most likely be a gain. This last weigh in I did at home because I did not want to infect anybody with what I had. Thank God my husband did not get it.
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Other WeightWatchers Stuff:

So, my eating and tracking is going great so far. Again, because of my inability to eat much food and it only being mostly carbs. I incorporated some vegetables yesterday and regretted it immediately. I'll get there soon but my body isn't ready for them just yet apparently.

I am back at work today and I packed a Progresso Chicken Soup for lunch today and we will see how that sits on my stomach. I have that and saltine crackers. I also have a pudding cup and a couple of cheese sticks. That is the extent of my food adventures today. For dinner tonight I think I might swing by a Chinese place and just get a giant thing of steamed rice. I'm obsessed with steamed white rice right now.
Whatever my body wants....
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I really don't have anything else to update. It isn't like I did anything exciting over the weekend. I didn't try any new recipes and I didn't go for any winter time runs. Haha. I was a sloth this weekend. A sick sloth.

And I am still exhausted and cannot wait to go home and go to bed.

Had An Episode Last Night

This happened yesterday:

I had an episode around 7:00 P.M. I had already taken the dogs for a walk, cleaned up the apartment, cooked and ate dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, did meal prep, ran to CVS to get my prescriptions, ran to the ATM to deposit a check, brushed and groomed Walter a little bit and still had a small binge. It put me up to 54 Points and I am now in the negative. This also happened:

I am technically only -7 now for the week. Those points will be easy enough to make up before Saturday. I am just sad that even though I was that busy all night... I still found the time to eat things I did not plan for and did not need. It was the first time this week that it happened though and I am proud of that at least. 

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Today's Menu:

B: 2 HB Eggs, 2 Pancakes, 1/8 c SF Syrup, 1 c FF milk, coffee (10P+)

S: (2) Cheese Sticks, Banana (3P+)

L: Progresso Light Chicken Corn Chowder, Chobani Flip Nutty for Nana, WW Mini Bar (12P+)

S: Green Tea and 100 Calorie Pack of Natural Almonds (3P+)

D: Chicken Breast, Butternut Squash, Brown Rice (9P+)

Activity: Walk or Run a mile

I will have 3P+ left after all of that for an evening snack if I choose to have one. Right now I'm really obsessed with Candy Canes, just regular old peppermint ones. They are 2P+ each and I never want to eat anything after them because my breath is so nice and fresh! Haha. 

I have also been doing this thing around 8:00 at night that if my ActiveLink says that I haven't gotten to 100% yet then I just start moving around the apartment. Last night I just did laps around the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. We only have a 1 bedroom apartment that is barely 900 sq feet. Imagine me trying to walk around in it. Haha. The dogs find it to be very entertaining though and it wears them out! It is my goal to at least hit 100% every day. No matter what. 

I'm doing pretty well on the Skinny Snowman Challenge but could be better! I am still enjoying it very much. 

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Doctor's Visit/Diagnosis:

I think I have complained on here before about how badly I have been wheezing. Well, I finally got in to see my doctor and she said I sounded asthmatic on my right side. It isn't horrible but she prescribed me a couple of inhalers to puff on throughout the day. I am supposed to do them quite frequently for a couple of weeks until I feel more regulated and can exercise without an issue and then just go down to an as needed basis. If at that time I use them more than twice a week then I have to go back and see her for testing and a different approach. I started to use them last night and this morning and I can already feel a HUGE difference. I think this will be my fix. My doctor wants to make sure I will be OK for my half marathon in April though and I am supposed to call her if I have any kind of wheezing when I run. 

I also got my annual flu shot and now my arm is sore. Like I did a strength work out. Weirdest feeling when you only have it in one arm and not the other! 

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Lastly - Don't forget about my Giveaway!!!!
So far Anna is the winner because she's the only one who has entered. Katie left me an author to read but politely asked not to be entered. So, thanks to both of you for the book suggestions!

My Very First Giveaway!

I've decided to do a Blog Giveaway. One, because I need something from you readers and two, because I want to know if anyone out there actually reads this. Nobody ever comments and it makes me feel lonely and unappreciated. *sniffle*

Ok, that is kind of an over exaggeration because I do this blog mainly for an outlet and because I like to go back and read my own posts... but still.... a little love is appreciated. Especially since I leave love for others.

Anywhoo, let's get to it.
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iRun Giveaway!
Since I've never done this before it is going to be a small giveaway and very simple to enter. I will put all of the entries into a random generator to pick the winners. I won't play favorites.

How to enter:
Leave me a comment below with suggestions for books to read. I've run out of ideas and need some new ones. Now, if you have suggested books to me before (on Facebook) I have already read most of those. So, gimme some new stuff! You will not be disqualified to win if you suggest a book I have already read, because c'mon, how could you know?

How many can win:
Three people will win!

Once the winner is chosen: 
I will post the winners to my blog with a link to their sites (if they have one) and they must email me at beckylcowan@gmail.com to receive the prize. I will need full names and addresses of the winners.

Dates of Giveaway: 
I am starting it today and ending it on Thursday, December 5. I will pick the winners Thursday night and announce them on Friday's blog post. The winners will have until Monday evening at 5:00 P.M. CST to email me their information. I will mail the prize on Tuesday!

Restrictions:
I will only mail to the U.S.

The Prize:

It is a beauty product that I recently purchased and I know has been out awhile but I love it immensely and want to share it with people. I will be picking which one to send.

Maybelline Baby Lips Balm

My favorite right now is the purple tube which is Peach Kiss. I love that the balm gives the tiniest hint of color and moisturizes my lips as well. It really is a wonderful little product! 

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In other news:
Everything else is still going well. I seriously love my new counselor, therapist, psychiatrist... whatever you want to call her. She is wonderful and she gave me a really interesting "homework" assignment to do this week that I basically sat down and hashed out last night.
Food and tracking is still going well and I'm going strong on the Skinny Snowman Challenge. I didn't end up walking the dogs last night because I was too excited to get started on my project from my counselor. I ended up doing that and didn't even eat dinner until close to 7:00!

Menu for Today:
B: 2 HB eggs, chicken sausage, 1 c FF milk, coffee
S: Cheese Sticks, banana
L: Progresso Soup, ham sandwich, WW mini bar
S: Chobani Flip - Key Lime Crumble
D: Leftover Tacos
Activity: Might try to walk the dogs tonight

This is the time of year where I will eat a lot of soup. It is really warm and comforting when the weather is icky and cold.

I don't have much else to update... so.... good luck on the giveaway!!!

Saturday Weigh In & Thanksgiving Recap

Happy Monday! I am back at work after having four marvelous days off and I'm sad it had to come to an end. As usual, it goes by way too quickly. I got to spend some wonderful time with family as well as some quiet, quality time with Andrew and it was perfect. I wouldn't change anything about Thanksgiving or the wonderful time I had.

Caesar giving me a sweet look. Grandma in the background.

Andrew and I watched Disney movies on Friday night and apparently Rhea really likes Robin Hood. She would not move from that spot. We finally had to get up and put her in the bedroom. It was the weirdest thing ever. When we watched The Emperor's New Groove she didn't once get up there. Must not like that one..... 

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Saturday Weigh In:
I decided to go back to Saturday morning weigh ins because I love Irene. She is the best leader and I like that early morning group. Plus, a meeting at 7:30 means I can weigh in right after waking up and then head home to make breakfast.

Weigh In: -0.4
Total Lost: -0.4
Left to Lose: 100.6

Who was shocked to lose after Thanksgiving? THIS GIRL. Seriously, only two days after stuffing my face and eating 1 2 3 4 pices of pie? (over a two day span... but still) I thought for sure I would be up about 5 or 6 pounds. No joke. I was thrilled.

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:
So, I joined the Skinny Snowman Challenge and it started Sunday. If you want to see all the rules, you can click the link. I love it so far. I know some people from the WW community that are also doing it so we're keeping each other accountable. I love little challenges like this. Especially over the Holidays when I am going to be tempted by cookies, candy and treats all around. Did I mention that Andrew's grandma makes some of the best fudge I've ever had and gives us all a big thing of it at Christmas? *drool*

Menu for today:
B: 3/4 c cereal, 1/2 c FF milk, 1 HB egg, coffee
S: Cheese Sticks, banana
L: Turkey Tacos (leftovers), black beans and rice, Chobani Flip (Nutty for Nana), WW mini bar
S: 1 oz pretzels
D: 1 c pasta, spinach, RF Parmesan
Activity: Walk the dogs

Oh, and guess what happened this weekend?

BOOM! Ended the week with 12 WPs remaining! First time I haven't been negative after a weekend in a VERY.LONG.TIME. 

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Yesterday we took Walter for his first ever walk on a leash around the block.

He did SO well. I was so proud of him. The harness made a huge difference. Whenever I had the leash attached to his collar he wasn't having it. I thought to get out the harness (that is really for the cat) and put it on him. He loved it. I want to continue to take him for walks to get him even more used to the leash. Caesar was trained with a backyard so his leash skills are lacking. Plus, I was a 21 year old with a puppy. I didn't train Caesar very well. My social life was uber important people. Walter is potty training and leash training very well though. I am one proud momma. 

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That is basically all that I have to update. No beauty products today. I will do one tomorrow. I have a couple of new products I'm loving!

TGI....W?

Ah, short work week. Who doesn't like one of those? Especially when you get 4 full days off right in a row. I know I'm excited about it. I'm ready to spend some time with family, spend time with my puppy and just enjoy being lazy.
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WeightWatchers & Food:
Yesterday wasn't all that spectacular. I ended up snacking way too much and had horrible heartburn most of the day. Lunch was OK. I ate my soup and that was about it. Then the afternoon was full of snacking and bad behavior. Dinner was a heaping pile of noodles with RF parmesan cheese. I didn't eat what I planned but I suppose it could have been worse.

Today is weigh in day and I haven't been yet. I'm debating which meeting to go to. If I go to the 12:30 meeting then I can head straight home after work. If I go to the 5:15 meeting then I'll have more time to enjoy the meeting and the people. However, Andrew works from 12:00 - 8:00 today and Walter is going to be locked up in his crate longer than usual. Now, I know he'll be fine... but I want to try and avoid any messes in the cage and a bath for Walter if I can.

I always change my weigh-in day to a weekday but then I never want to go. I do go on weekends but then when I am out of town I don't go. I just really can't seem to commit to a specific day. Maybe I'll start going on Monday's after my appointment with my therapist. I will start seeing her every Monday from 3:30 - 4:30 and I believe there is a 4:45 meeting and it would be on my way home... hmmm.... I might just look into that!

Menu for today:
B: Special K Cereal, FF milk, coffee
S: Banana, 2 Cheese Sticks
L: Chicken Pot Pie Soup with extra peas added in, 1/2 c. garlic mashed potatoes, Yogurt covered pretzels
S: Apple or carrot sticks with hummus (or both I guess)
D: Brown rice, black beans, salsa
Activity: Nada

Again, I'm trying to focus more on food than anything else right now. I am going to try and talk Andrew into going to the fitness center early tomorrow morning. There's just something about exercising before you go and stuff yourself full of food that makes you feel a little less guilty. LOL. I don't normally go crazy on Thanksgiving - but I do eat more of the fatty, high calorie good stuff than usual.
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Beauty Product of the Day:

Philosophy Peppermint Stick Body Wash & Lip Gloss

I love the Philosophy brand. I also have their body wash in Mimosa scent. (yummmmm) Around this time of year I love everything peppermint. Soaps, lotions, glosses, candles, everything. I love candy canes too. I don't know where this obsession came from because nobody else in my family loves peppermint as much as I do. In fact, my mom HATES it. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed with this purchase. Haha. It smells so good though. I look forward to showering just because of the body wash alone. The gloss is just sheer but smells (and tastes) just like a candy cane.

I got this little set from Ulta for $20.00. 

I really like everything about Philosophy. I have a bunch of their products on my Amazon Wish List and I know for sure the next thing I want is the Purity Face Wash. The gal at Ulta gave me some free samples of it and I used it all up the other day. It is amazing. I love how it makes my face feel and it gets all of the make up and dirt off of my face very easily. If I had a Clarisonic I would definitely want to use the Purity face wash with it. 

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That is all for today folks! I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and spend it with friends, family and loved ones! 

Gobble Gobble!!

It's Friday, Friday.... ♫♪♫♪

Good morning! There are many reasons I am happy this morning:

1. It's Friday!
2. I get Jimmy John's for lunch today. That always makes it a good day. 
3. I leave for Iowa after work and get to see my best friend! 
4. I had my husband kidnap my violin from my in-laws so I could take it to Iowa with me.*
5. I meet my new therapist today and I am really looking forward to seeing what she can do for me.
6. Did I mention it is Friday?
7. I get to bring grandma back home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Fun!
8. I put up all of my Christmas decorations yesterday and the entire apartment smells like Pine. 
9. IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!
10. It's Friday!
11. SYDNEY! 
12. Ok, now I'm being obnoxious. 

*Back story:

Sydney and I met in orchestra in Jr. High School. We have both been playing for a very long time and she is now an amazingly talented player and orchestra teacher in West Des Moines, IA. I had purchased a violin off of ShopGoodwill.com that was a Stradivarius Copy made in Germany in the 1930's. It was beat to hell and I had it restored by an amazing violin maker in Macomb, IL. He did a fantastic job and the violin has the most beautiful, rich sound. I am so happy I purchased the violin and put the money into it to have it taken care of. Sydney and I will get a chance to play together this weekend which is something we haven't done since we were 13 or 14 years old! 

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WeightWatchers & Stuff:

Yesterday went VERY well. No binge eating and the only thing I went over my points on was a vodka tonic (made with diet tonic) that I had while watching American Horror Story from Wednesday night. I spent majority of my evening putting up the Christmas stuff and cleaning the apartment and it kept me out of the kitchen and out of binge mode. That is basically all I have to do at night is keep super busy doing something. However, we all know there are some nights where you just plop down and don't want to do ANYTHING. Those are the nights that get me into the most trouble. 

Oh! And I earned 4 APs yesterday from all the decorating I did! 

Menu for today:

B: 3 pancakes, coffee, milk (7P+)

S: String Cheese (3P+)

L: Jimmy John's #6 Vegetarian with no mayo, thinny chips (19P+) <-- totally worth it.

S: Carrot Sticks (0P+)

D: TBD - I'll be on the road so it'll have to be something clever... I'll have 11P+ to use and IF I need them I have my WPs.

Activity: None - driving! Iowa! SYDNEY! 

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Beauty Products of the Day:

I bought these little gems at CVS the other night. It was in this little gift package for $4.99. It came with another cream that I keep on my nightstand. I LOVE the chapstick. (I know, I'm obsessed with chaptstick. Get off me) The lotion has a really nice consistency and doesn't make my hands feel slick or greasy. Just makes them super soft and I love the smell. It is not overwhelming at all. For $4.99 I think it was a nice little treat.

I got my Avon delivery yesterday and got these lip crayons. They were $3.95 each (on sale) and I have never used lip crayons before so I thought I would give them a try. The top one is Mauve Model and the Bottom one is Nude. I really like them. The nude one shows up a little darker than what you see on the bottom of the packaging but I still like it a lot. The Mauve color is really pretty with a sheer gloss over the top. It is what I used this morning. 

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Random Things:

You know how when you're on Facebook and you just start clicking and browsing? Well, that happens to me and my cousin's wife just uploaded a ton of pictures she has taken throughout 2013 and I was looking at them. Apparently my cousin Mat is in a Toyota commercial and I have been trying to find it on YouTube or somewhere on the internet all morning! My cousin and his wife live in LA and he has been in acting school the past 3 years. He has been in a few independent films and I wish him all the luck in the world! 

If you have seen this commercial or know where it is on line then send me the link! 

I leave you with Hobbs. His life is hard. Like. Ridiculously hard. Don't judge him.

A Fresh Start

We all need a fresh start sometimes. Wipe the slate clean and start all over.
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Wednesday Weigh In:
Weigh In: +/- 0
Total Lost: 0
Left to Lose: 101

Technically if you were going from my previous weigh ins I did lose 1.6 last night. I was happy about that. When I walked into the meeting Irene said "Hi Becky!" because I have been a part of her meetings on and off since 2007. If she didn't know me I would be worried. Haha! Anyway, it always feels nice to walk in there and feel so welcome and I know she is always happy that I'm back. At least she acts like she is. :)
Anyway, I told the receptionist that weighed me to wipe my slate clean and pretend like they didn't know who I was. Irene heard me and said "Nope, don't know you. Never seen you before in my life." They are such fun women at that meeting center and it always makes me wonder why I stop going. I am going to go back to doing the lunch meetings at 12:30 on Wednesday because I like that group and that meeting.

So, slate is wiped clean and I'm starting fresh.

Yesterday I stuck to my plan 100% and still had 3P+ leftover. Andrew and I were going to watch South Park so I made us up some air popped popcorn. I went over my DP allowance but I had my 49 WP to fall back on. I was so proud of myself. I did not binge eat anything and actually felt good when I went to sleep. That is an amazing feeling.

Today's Menu:
B: 2 Pancakes, 2 HB eggs, coffee (8P+)
S: (2) String Cheese (3P+)
L: 3.5 oz Chicken Thighs, 1/2 c. brown rice, spinach, Skinny Cow Candy Bar (11P+)
S: Carrot sticks with 2 T Peanut Butter (5P+)
D: 1 c. spaghetti with 1/4 c. pasta sauce, 1 c. peas, WW candies (12P+)
Activity: TBD

I really need to focus on tackling one thing at a time. Right now, focusing on getting my food intake under control has taken the more important role in my life right now. When I joined WW back in 2007 I lost over 20 pounds without ever exercising. I focused on food, measuring and tracking. I might do that for a bit, especially since the Holidays are very difficult. I might throw in some walks/runs here and there when I feel like it but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't workout EVERY day. I still have that challenge going on with Anna starting on Thanksgiving that I do at least a mile a day. That could be walking briskly, leisurely walking or running. Doesn't matter. Just 1 mile a day.
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Beauty Product of the Day:
Yes, this is new and totally necessary. Haha. The other day I signed up for a Birch Box subscription. It is pretty much amazing. You pay $10 a month and they send you a box that has all sorts of samples of beauty products, foods, creams, nail polish, etc. Since I am so interested in that kind of stuff I figured that this was a no-brainer. It comes out of my pocket money budget and I think it is totally worth it. Well, my first box doesn't mail out until 11/27/13 so I was shopping on the store looking for a fun little thing to get and I got this:

This cute little bag (taken next to a pen so you could see the comparison and see how small it really is) holds 17 emergency things. SEVENTEEN. I thought to myself, "No way."

Opened up a bit.....

From left to right (and center): Lip balm, breath freshener, hair spray, clear nail polish, tampon

Dental Floss, band-aid, nail file, sewing kit with a safety pin, buttons, backs to earrings and rubber bands for your hair.

Advil, deodorant towelette, double sided tape, stain remover cloth, nail polish remover

Is that not the coolest thing EVER?! The lip balm smells AMAZING. (of course I opened that first.) and I love having the rest of that in my purse if I ever need it. I am that person that likes to have everything. Just yesterday my boss wanted to know if anyone had a sewing kit because he lost a button on his pants. Guess who had one (before this bag)? ME! 

This little bag is so cute. It was $15 but I had a promo code for 10% off since I signed up for a subscription and I also got free S&H. 

Worth it. 

I Found Someone

I broke down again last night after a marvelously horrid binge episode. I'm not even going to type what I did because it is extremely ridiculous and mortifying. I got on line immediately (after feeling the overwhelming guilt of what I just did) and found a therapist that specializes in eating disorders and weight management. It was after hours so I called and left a message. She ended up calling me back around 7:30 which I thought was awesome. She makes herself available after hours. She said she usually takes phone calls until about 9:00 at night if anyone needs her. That is really reassuring that you can get ahold of her at night if you need support or help. I meet with her Friday at 11:30 and I am looking forward to it.

I see my primary care physician on December 3 and will ask about upping my dosage of my anxiety meds. I think I need a little bit more to balance out completely.

I am hoping that with these two things I will be able to better understand and battle my internal struggles with binge eating and the emotional stress that comes along with it.

Also, I wanted to point out that I do not share all of this information to be all "woe is me and my life". I do it because I know I am not the only one out there that struggles with this and I want people to know that they aren't alone and that there are other people battling the same issues. I know I have found numerous blogs that have helped me when I needed it and they have made me feel more at ease knowing that I can relate to others. It is very difficult to talk about this stuff.... moving on....
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WeightWatchers & Stuff:
As mentioned above, yesterday didn't go well. I also didn't exercise. What I did do though was this:

• I joined WW Meetings again. Whenever I say "I can do it on my own!" and go to eTools only... I fail. I need the support group, I need what they have to offer and I need the accountability. Plus, I love my leader.
• I did crazy food prep last night. I am guilty of the "We have no food and need to go to the store!" That isn't always true. Last night I cooked up:
• Baked Chicken Thighs
• Spaghetti: made into 1 c. servings with 1/4 c. sauce
• Brown Rice
• Pancakes (2P+ for each)
• Bacon for Andrew
• HB Eggs
• Spinach
• I charged up my Garmin and cleaned out my workout clothes drawer for easier access to my favoirtes
• Cleaned the apartment - this always makes me feel better
• Played with the puppy - brings me joy! 
• Found Help

With those things being done I feel a lot more energized and motivated today. I will still need to go to the store very soon, but at least now we have plenty to get us through until then. I know Andrew really appreciates when I cook ahead and make things up into individual servings. 

Today's Menu:

B: 2 HB Eggs, 2 Pancakes(plain), 1 c FF milk, coffee (10P+)

S: (2) String Cheese (3P+)

L: 3.5 oz Chicken Thigh, Spinach, 1 c. FF cottage Cheese, SF Jell-O Pudding Cup (10P+)

S: Carrot Sticks with 2 T Peanut Butter (5P+) - Got this idea from Katie's Blog

D: 1 c. spaghetti with 1/4 c. pasta sauce, broccoli, Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp Chocolate Bar (9P+)
Activity: TBD

My WW Meeting is tonight at 5:15pm and then I have to go home and take care of the babies. I might wait for Andrew to get home and go to the fitness center or go for a run while he watches the dogs. If not, I'll do the 30 Day Shred.
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Not much else to update and sorry about the lack of photos. I haven't really been in the photo capturing mood lately.

Oh, and I cannot believe it is November 20 already. WTF?

Jingle Bell Run & Weekend Recap

Hello Monday! I did not want to get out of bed this morning but only because I've been taking Benadryl at bedtime because my allergies are really bad. Therefore, when I wake up in the morning I feel like I'm heavily drugged. It takes awhile to get going so the first thing I do is take Walter out because the cold morning air really wakes you up! 

Time for my weekend recap. 

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Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis - 5K 

It was really fun! The temperature was great! The wind was a little strong but luckily it was at our backs after the turn around!

That still seems SUPER slow to me since I used to run a 9-10 minute mile, however, that right there is the fastest 3 miles I have done in a very long time. I am super proud of that. I ran the last part of the race without stopping. Also a big accomplishment since I have been so lax about running lately! 

Lots of fun outfits, hats and bells! Dogs are also welcome during this race. I wish Hyatt could have run it with me. He was with us in spirit! 

In the spirit of the race I wore red leggings under my shorts and a bell in my hair!

Afterwards, Andrew and I, plus the delicious salad and cheese snacks that we had after the race. Andrew didn't have the cheese snacks...being lactose-intolerant and all. I enjoyed them though! 

The race was really fun and I'm so glad we did it. The shirts we got were pretty awesome too. I love long sleeved T-Shirts. They are the best to bum around in during fall/winter. They are also great to run in! 

After the race we went home to shower and pack up for a weekend in Taylorville. I ran to PetsMart to grab some cat food and picked up a few cheap sqeaker toys for my mom's dogs. It was also Malcom and Inara's 8th birthday so I picked up a Peanut Butter Pup-Pie for them to share. (they loved it) Once in Taylorville we spent the day relaxing and I ended my night with this:

Dirty Gin Martini. Mmmmmmm...... I like to have martinis because I can only drink 1 and I sip it slowly to enjoy it. I do not over indulge when I drink these and then I don't use up as many of my points! 

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WeightWatchers & Food:

My food choices weren't amazing this weekend but they were better than they have been recently. Going to mom and dad's is always hard because they always have "no-no" foods (the foods that trigger me or I cannot say no to) and it is hard to stay away. I did really well though and only ended up -2 points as of last night. I have also earned 12 APs so far and it is only Monday! I plan on earning those 2 P+ that I am negative and them some. I want to keep on running this week. Going for at least 1 mile a night. 

We are getting to that "I need to go to the grocery store" point at our apartment. I have enough pasta, rice, and vegetables for sides but my only meat is Chicken Thighs. Hopefully I can be creative enough to make everything last one more week. *fingers crossed*

Menu for today:

B: Smart Ones Oatmeal, 2 HB eggs, coffee

S: String Cheese, Apple
L: Leftover 3 Bean Turkey Chili, Tuscan Herb Bagel, WW candies

S: Celery sticks and Roasted Pine Nut Hummus

D: Chicken Thigh, brown rice and spinach

Activity: At least a 1 mile run, if not more

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I leave for Iowa on Friday and I'm so excited! I get to see my bestie and then I'm bringing Grandma back to town for Thanksgiving! I love this time of year. It is full of friends and family!