2 weeks

Just a quick update. After 2 weeks I am down 4.8. I feel like this is minimal, but then I think about the single tiny tweak I have agreed to. I am not eating after 7:30pm. That's it. I won't complain. And maybe next week I'll step away from the sweet potato chips and lose a little more!

This Thing On?

Whoa. It's been almost exactly a year since I've written. I'm feeling inspired by this little thing I am doing, Biggest Blogging Loser. See, I have 12 weeks to lose some poundage and get svelte again. My goal? 20 pounds. It can and will be done.
After I had Harper 4 years ago, I lost a lot. I was ready, I was nursing 186 times a day , and it was easy. But I have gained a lot of it back. Not all, but a lot. This time I'm doing things a little differently and I am confident it'll work. I know my problem time for bingeing. It is specifically from 7:30-10pm. I go from one snacky thing to another until I'm certain I've consumed enough calories for an entire meal. Then what do I do? I go to bed. The perfect recipe for growing a large ass.
Despite running for the last 2.5 years, my eating has just been so mindless and I've used the excuse "I ran today, I can eat whatever." Not so. Running 3 miles a few times a week doesn't take the place of eating like a heifer.
So here is my plan. I am watching what I eat from morning until dinner. I am eating things like plain oatmeal with blueberries and a dollop of vanilla yogurt on top, for breakfast. For lunch, a turkey sandwich, without cheese, and a cup of vegetable soup. Snacks, I am really trying to resist. But, If I am hungry, I'll count out 10 almonds and a banana. Or have a string cheese. For dinner, I'm not changing a thing. I cook for my family and typically we eat really well so I'm not messing with it. Last night we had a Greek Salad, marinated and grilled chicken breast with roasted veggies and garlic Parmesan couscous. So my biggest commitment is that after 7;30pm, I don't eat. Not a single morsel of food will cross my lips. I can do this. It bugs me that I even have to think so much about it - I have a degree it this stuff for crissakes.
I weigh-in on monday and I'm not getting on the scale until then. Hopefully my plan will work. Wish me luck!

Out with the Old

Whew!

After, the whirlwind that was Christmas, I couldn't wait to start the new year. Well guess what? Things haven't slowed down yet. I'm trying to get my bearings-and that may take a while-but I wanted to tell you about some of my ideas for 2010. Call them resolutions if you'd like but I feel too much pressure that way. So here they are...

My Ideas for 2010

*to take a tropical family vacation

*to create a business name and become a little more structured with the business I am currently doing.

*nearly eliminate crap sugars (refined sugar).

*to continue running at least 3x per week.

Hopefully by having just a few I can stay focused on them. So what are your ideas?

Woah Mom Guilt.

I think I am a confident person. If there is one thing that can shake it, it's this whole parenting thing. Tomorrow my sweet boy turns 6. Again, I am scrambling for someway for him to feel special. This time of year it's impossible for me to muster up some sort of party. I can't add one more thing to my laundry list. Who pays the price? My little boy, the one who I want to give the world to.

So for tomorrow, he requested peanut butter cookies for his school treat. They are ready to go. We'll have a special dinner and open a few presents. I hope it's enough. If he can feel even a portion of how much he means to me, It'll be enough.

Me and My Guitar

Last Tuesday was my birthday.
I turned 32.
Woah.
My parents forgot.

It was also supposed to be my first guitar lesson but I cancelled so I could go out for Mexican food and Margaritas with my husband and kids. It was a great day. I resceduled my first lesson for Wednesday. I was excited all day for it. Mike bought me a guitar two anniversaries ago and even though I was eager to learn, I could never come up with the time to do it. I found the time now and I am doing it!

I walked in to meet my instructor and I was both relieved and dissapointed that he wasn't a twenty-something, hot musical genius who smelled a little like patchouli. Instead, he was a very patient 50 something man that knows how to play a guitar. I've been practicing a few minutes each day and I think I like it. I think I like it, a lot. Me and my pretty girl.


She's totally a girl, don't you think?

The GG Famly Update.

My Boy. He's getting so old and independent. He's handsome and the sweetest, biggest hearted boy I've ever known. The person he's turning into makes me so proud to say that I spent every minute raising him until he was four. So very proud.



My Girl. She's not quite as shy anymore. She's in love with her Grandpa, my dad. She's feisty and knows what she wants. She gets prettier every single day.



Somedays I can't believe that she's my baby. My little girl.


Together they are like wind and fire. They need each other. They annoy each other.

They love each other.

I'm thankful they are mine.
I love them, more than ever.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

Without a doubt, the one physical attribute that gets the most attention on me are my teeth. I have huge, relatively white, straight teeth. Oh my god you guys, what you don't know...my mouth is a big hot mess.

What I am about to tell you will probably make you run directly to your dentist. I've always taken pretty good care of my teeth. I brush twice a day, floss a few times a week. I had braces when I was in grade school and would go to the dentist when my mom would take me. I actually liked going and having my teeth gleam when I left.

Around my sophomore year in high school, I remember my dentist starting to comment on my gums and how they were receding. They began watching them, closely. The next few years they talked about surgery on my gums. I just kept saying that they weren't that bad, that I could wait another year.

Somewhere in there, I went on a spring break trip to Miami Beach to visit my favorite cousin. While we were there he told us that he had just had gum surgery. He hadn't been able to eat much besides super soft foods. His mouth was starting to feel somewhat healed and he was ready to eat! He took us to one of his favorite Italian restaurants and we started with bread. Crusty, delicious, Italian bread. He was being so careful. And then he wasn't. He told us that his stiches had opened. I promptly stood up, walked myself to the restroom, and passed out. On the bathroom floor. Out. My imagination had gone wild and I could just picture what was going on in his mout. Blood. Pain. Gross. But also, I knew I had the same thing in store.

I went to the dentist a few more times, each time with more anxiety about what I'd hear. Then, I stopped. Straight up, just didn't go anymore.

I moved to Florida and didn't want to search out a good dentist.
I got pregnant.
I was busy with a toddler.
I got pregnant again.
I had two kids at home.
I was too busy taking my kids to their dental appointments.

I had all the excuses. I have run out of excuses. It's been 7 years since I've been and I 'd like to keep the teeth that are currently living in my mouth.

Tomorrow I'm starting over. I am seeing a new dentist and I'm ready to face the music. I'll do whatever I need to do- It just better not entail dentures that click when I chew.