Skinny Jeans Week 5

Today is check in time at the Skinny Jeans Challenge Forum (i'm not posting the link b/c it's a closed forum) and well I was dreading doing the weigh in and taking the pics.

For Thanksgiving Day, I did pretty darn good. I only served myself one plate (yes it was a big plate, but still) and i had a bit of everything but very small portions. I mean like two tablespoon sizes. The only thing I couldn't resist was eating a slice and half of pecan pie. It's my favorite and I really wanted to bring the leftovers but I knew if I did I would finish it all by myself. sigh..I have no self control. So for that night I did very well. Drank lots of water too! I was so proud of myself.

BUT on Friday and Saturday I had leftover mashed potatoes, salad with the awesome dressing, and hardly drank water. I know that it wasn't much to eat but the mashed potatoes had massive butter in it (that's why it was soo yummy :-O ). I just felt like I could do much better.

I really didn't want to weigh myself, but in the end I had to. I want to loose the weight and being on that challenge and forum just helps. I realize that I am not the only one that has weight issues (like going up and down or maintaining the weight). I don't feel alone on this trip. So I weighed myself and it turns out that I actually lost 1lb! I was very surprised. I mean i'm happy, but surprised. I really did think I would gain at least 2lbs. So this week (11/30-12/5) I will do a much better effort. Not only will I eat better, I will also drink more water, and exercise. I didn't do exercise last week so that didn't help either. So new week, new start. I had a goal of loosing 20lbs in 9.5wks and well we are only 4wks away from the deadline and I don't think I will make the 20lbs, but I think at least 10lbs will do. 6 more pounds to go!! The other ten will be set for a later date.

Christmas Countdown

As I said in my previous post, I have decided to start a new tradition. We will be doing "projects/crafts/activities" starting Dec.1st thru Dec. 25th. I have finally come up with a list and am ready to post it. I have most of the activities with a link to where I got the idea from. Check them out so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Here it is:

1. Bookmarker - I will not be doing one exactly as on the link. I noticed she likes to do lots of sewing and I'm just not a sewing type of gal. :p But I will use the basics.
2. Decorate Door - I don't have a link for this but did get the idea from the Twopeasinabucket forum. There is no instructions, just the idea. I figured I should give them credit. :)
   
3. Window Clings - One this activity I will not be using the same products. I have decided to use saran wrap and permanent markers. I plan on printing some Christmas coloring pages (you know how they are black and white) and shrink them to fit a paper plate. I will put layers of: the plate, the coloring page, and the saran wrap. Then they can trace the coloring page with markers. When they are done and it has dried, they will remove the saran wrap and stick it on the window. Please keep in mind that I have not tested it out yet, so it might not even work, BUT we are still gonna try it!
4. Post it Books - I really like this idea. Very cute!
5. Decorate Christmas Tree - that one is a self explanatory one, right?
6. Dentyne Advent Calendar - It's an Advent Calendar, but I will do it for the little ones so they can have a little "gift" as a countdown. I know it starts out late but maybe I can make use it to countdown to New Years?? I just thought it was so cool to pass up.
   
7. Candy Wrapper Gift - I like these as gifts for the Uncles and Aunts. Something small since we are low on funds, but it would be something yummy. Cause candy is always yummy :)
8. Candy Cane Ornament - I probably won't put these on the tree, but will find somewhere to put them. They look really pretty.
9. Ferrero Rocher Trees - There are quick and easy and cute! And plus these are my favorite chocolates!
   
10. Circle Snowman - Ok now this one is def. a quick and easy one. That is why I added it during the week and saved the bigger activities for the weekend.
    
11. Movie Night - I normally have the kids go to sleep by 8:30 and 9:30 on Friday and Saturday Nights. So for this night, I plan of having them stay up till 10:30pm and we watch movies and eat popcorn. Just a fun kick back night.
12. Cookie Cutter Gift - This I plan on just having the kids create them for their cousins.
13. Christmas Cards - I have a few Christmas cards left over from like 3 years ago. They are all the same. I will have the kids write to whoever they want to.
    
14. TP Roll Presents - I have been saving and have my sis,bro, parents also saving toilet paper rolls. I was originally going to use them for the Advent Calendar that I was making, but ended up coming around this idea and also a "nicer looking" idea for the calendar.
    
15. 3D Snowflakes - These I came about a while back and created them. They came out to be really cool looking. So I decided to do them again.
16. Mexican Paper Flower - I know this isn't Christmas related, but I thought it looked pretty. I hadn't seen how they made them before.
17. Christmas Tag - Just another thing that I thought was a neat idea. I can print the pics out from my computer. I will be using some different materials b/c I won't have those exact supplies. But I think it will still look good.
    
18. Board Game Night - Just another kick back night, but this time playing board games. My sis has like a dozen games and we can munch on snack while we play.
    
19. Fry Box Gift - Another gift to give out to someone. I don't have Christmas scrapbooking paper but I think it will still look cute to create them and still give them as gifts.
20. Kids Calendar - The original idea is to be a goal calendar, but my kids are still kinda small and I figured they would use a regular calendar. Instead of adding pics of what their goal on the top part of the month, I will just add a pic that they want. Anything, from a Hannah Montana pic, a lady bug, cowboys...
    
21. 3D Star - Something quick and easy.
22. Go to Old Town - Our city has an Old Town and this year they are creating an ice skating area. I'm still not sure if I will have them actually skate. It depends on who goes with me. If I have my hubby and my sis go with me, then that would be perfect so I can watch the little one and they can have one kid each to help out. Even if we don't actually skate, I think it will still be something memorable since they have not seen ice skating before.
23. Sugar Cone Decorating - The link is not where I got the idea from I just came up with it, but figured I should show you an idea of what I want us to do. I am actually gonna use whipped cream and buy some food coloring and I should have M&Ms left over from the cookie cutter gifts.
    
24. @ Buela Teresa's House - Off to grandma's house we go. My mother is making a dinner and wants us to hang out with her and wait for Christmas to arrive. We usually have the kids open some presents about 10.30-11pm so that will be a fun activity in itself!
25. @ Buela Josefina's House - Off to the other grandma's house we go. My MIL is doing a secret santa at her house on Christmas Day. So we will be over there and having fun opening more presents. :)

And that ends my countdown. Wish me luck and sanity! LOL!! I think I'm in way over my head with this, but I think it's a cool thing at the same time. This will be our guinea pig year :p

Starting tradition for Christmas

My sister and I were discussing Christmas and putting up the tree and how we want to decorate it. This will be the first year we have an actual tree (in the 6yrs we have lived here). We usually have a mini (18 in tall) fake tree. We let the girls decorate it and we put it on top of a table. It looks cute, but def. not the same as a real tree like when we were kids. So as we were chit chatting and making plans, Yadira said she wanted to make things to go on the tree. Unfortunately for Yaya that is not gonna happen this year. It's our first year and we want to do a fancy one. BUT that's when my light bulb came on!! I can do 25 days of crafts with the girls. Isn't that a cool idea?? I think so. It could be a new tradition. So I have till the 1st of Dec. to come up with a list of 25 things to do for our craft days. I have this site that I have fallen in love with. It's TerriO she has soo many cool ideas. I also remember seeing somewhere about a button wreath and a 3D snowflake. I gotta look into those again, but I'm excited!! Lots of fun stuff we can do. I don't have a list yet, but once I have done it I will def. post it on here. Very cool!

Time to Vent

Okay, today started off not too good. And I know it's a very dumb thing to be irritated at but I can't help myself. I went into the living room and saw that Eli put the projector on so the girls can watch the new UP movie that my sis bought. Well I had known that he had put that on last night b/c I could hear the movie, but what has me annoyed is that he unplugged the DVR! And see I know this is dumb it's a very small thing to get mad at but I just can't help it right now. So since he unplugged the DVR none of the soaps or shows got recorded! I live off of my DVR. I think I hardly watch real time tv. It's all pre-recorded. UGH! Very annoying. He didn't' have to unplug it. It was unnecessary. I'm soo annoyed. And see I think my sis was watching the movie too so that makes me even more mad. She finds every little thing to get mad a me and so I feel like I should chew her out for doing that.

Sigh...I know this is dumb. I know I shouldn't be mad. And i'm actually listening to music here in my office and in my playlist is Christian Music and it is kinda helping, but I still feel like I need to vent. I don't want to be mad, b/c it's just not nice. I have been trying to do work and not think about it and it works for a bit but then it pops up in my head and I get annoyed again. I have to tell them what I think, but I need to get this anger out before I say anything b/c I don't want things to get out of hand.

Does it happen to you, that when you are mad everything else just seems to snowball with it? I was irritated with myself b/c I have to go pee so darn much. I know that I'm drinking more water b/c of the dieting and I have been loosing weight, but I go potty like 8 times a day. This reminds me of when I was prego. See I get grumpy for one thing and then i get grumpy for other things that I shouldn't get mad at. Very dumb. I need good vibes.

Okay, I feel a bit better now that I have vented.

Reminder List

Credits : Paper - KimB "Party Wench"
Brush - Border Corners Vol. 2
Fonts - HutRutRaltson & Initial

I did one of the three lists I wanted to do. I still have to work on the grocery list. I don't know how to cook many things so I need to find some recipes to make that are healthy and that we can all eat. I don't want to cook for the kids and then for myself, but I also don't want to put them on a diet. They are in no need of loosing pounds. It's just the momma.

Oh I am soo hoping to be good for Thanksgiving. So much tempting food. sigh...long road ahead of me.

Challenge Update

I'm baack! I've been sick. Actually the kids got sick then I did. Being a mom and having sick kids means i'm not allowed to be sick. It was very draining taking care of myself and the kids. I did have help from Eli so that was nice. Usually I'm alone on this boat and he just stays away but this time around things have been different and he has been helping. I love that our relationship has changed and is soo much better.

So I am still doing the skinny jeans challenge. Since I started, I have lost 5lbs. I feel like I cheated though. I was sick and well that's really why I lost so much weight in one week. But at the same time I didn't get sick on purpose. But now we are all over being sick and now it's up to me and not to being sick to lose the weight. *gulp* lots of pressure :p

Today is Tuesday and I started off the morning doing good. I had oatmeal and a slice of bread with strawberry jam. Two hours later I had a mini salad (basically lettuce with a raspberry walnut dressing) and then like an hour after that it started to go downhill. I had a chocolate muffin, then a blueberry muffin, then a soup in a cup and well i think with what I ate there was enough calories for the darn day. :( BUT I did go pick up Yaya from school and took the long route back that had an incline. so that was good. And since I feel bad b/c of what I ate I hope to do better the rest of the day. And I will workout before I go to sleep. I have also been drinking my water. So I guess I haven't done too bad.

I still haven't created some kind of meal plan. My fridge is basically empty right now and I need to go grocery shopping so i'm gonna take advantage and make a healthy shopping list. I had set a goal of not drinking soda, eating better, exercising, no more drive thru food and drinking more water. I need to print this list out for myself to have a reminder. I need like a reminder in my office, in my room, on the fridge, in the car :p everywhere b/c i'm finding that it's really hard to stay on track. I really want to lose this weight and i keep sidetracking. Ok after posting this i'm gonna make some lists. One for groceries, another for a meal plan, and one that reminds me not to do stuff.

Ok, off I go.

1st week I lost 2lbs
2nd week I lost 3lbs

wish me luck to loose at least another 2 lbs this week.

Recap on Day 2 - Skinny Jeans

According to The Daily Plate I ate 1506 calories yesterday. They suggest I eat 1785. so I was under. That was b/c I didn't have a real lunch.

I did get to do some exercises last night. I put on my sweating band (goes around my waist and helps me sweat) and I did some half seated leg circle - well they were more like mini circles. I gotta start slow. I'm not used to doing exercises. I also did alternate leg dead lift, lateral shuffles, the goodmorning bend (these ones I really felt), single leg plank, and the stability lunges (these ones are the culprit of me being sore today).

Here is the link that one of the ladies posted and I followed and got the ideas of the excercises.

Today plan on doing the salsa exercise video. Let's see how that works out for me. I think it will be fun. I also plan on taking the long route to go pick up Yaya from school so it's an extra 10 min walk and it has a long uphill. so that should help too.

I still haven't come up with a meal plan, but do hope i can at least find what to eat that's a bit more healthy. I think I will have to go shopping.

that's my update for yesterday. Hope today I can keep it up. :)