Reading A-Z

I want to try this.




Sooo...I am going to list the alphabet here and fill it in as I go along!

A- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery
B-
C-
D-
E-
F-
G-
H- Harry Potter (all of them) by JK Rowling
I-
J-
K-
L-
M- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
N-
O-
P- The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald
Q-
R-
S-
T-
U-
V-
W- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
X-
Y-
Z-

diet day 5

Yesterday was quite eventful.  Both of my boys were sick, and so I spent the day nursing the two of them back to health.  I was so busy that I was quite happy to have already portioned food that I could grab quickly.
I was down another .8 lb!  That brings my total to 5.5!

My favorite recipe of the day:

Fried Zucchini

Take a zucchini and slice it thin.  Dip each slice in olive oil and then parmesan cheese and sprinkle with garlic.  Place on a hot skillet and cook until brown.  Delish!

Seriously, how did I not realize how fabulous zucchini is until last year???

diet update!

Okay, so I am on day four of this new eating plan, and I have to say that I am fairly pleased with how things are going at this point.  As of this morning, I have lost 4.8 lbs.  This blows my mind.  For realz.  I never lose weight.  So, I am super excited that this is going so well. 
Yesterday I had a diet Dr. Pepper, partly because my head was hurting, and partly because I wanted something other than water (I drink between 80-100 oz of water daily).  I have to say that adding that in really made me feel that I wasn't missing out on anything.  That is awesome.




In other news,  I have joined Mary Kay.  I really want to stay home and raise my son, but in order to make that happen, I must have some income somewhere.  Joshua and I talked about it at length and decided that this was a good opportunity.  It seemed as though God kept dropping it in my lap.  So, here we go on that adventure!

new diet...

So, the other night I went for a walk with a good friend, who told me about her experience with the south beach diet.  The longer I considered it, I realized that I had been toying with the idea of cutting out carbs/sugar for a while, but I was entirely too wussy to go through with it again.  I had given them up during my pregnancy and never felt better, but I really did not care to stick to such a strict diet again.  However, I had this creeping suspicion that my body did not process carbs properly.  I have gone on rather extreme diets in the past, worked out a ridiculous amount, and not lost a single pound.  That bummed me out.  At this point, I had been doing weight watchers for about five months, and I lost about 12 lbs, which was awesome.  But I lost 10 of those pounds before Christmas.  And I had hit a plateau.  Which was not cool, since I wanted to lose an additional 30 lbs.
When I mentioned trying south beach to Joshua, he surprised me by being all for it.  His only stipulation was that I needed to read a book he found, called Why We Are Fat, And What We Should Do About it.  The book lined up pretty well with my ideas.  The author argues that not everyone can properly digest carbs, and for some, this makes it nearly impossible to lose weight. 
I decided to follow the south beach diet because it gave me an easy to follow, straightforward plan to follow.  I need the discipline and regiment.
So, here we go.  I just finished day two.  So far, it has been fairly easy, all things considered.  I have had a pretty bad headache and been pretty sleepy, but other than that, I feel pretty good.  And I am down 1.4 lb already!  Not too bad.  Hopefully it continues!

tossed about

I feel like a wave tossed about in the ocean.  Unsteady.  Out of control.  Strangely, it's not the worst place to be.  But it is definitely uncomfortable.

My good friend Erin needs your prayers.  She is battling some wicked cancer.  You can follow her journey here if you would like.  She is amazing.  And her family is amazing.  I know God can use this situation for His glory.  And so does she.  I am praying that His plan matches up to ours.

Change is inevitable.  I just wish it was not so painful.  I am thankful for my family, and for my health.  Both are an amazing gift from God, and I pray I never take either for granted.

How bad do you want it?

Once again, I have a ton to say.  But I do not want to babble on incessantly.  So I will have to file some topics away for discussion at a later time.
One thing I will come back to once I have done a little more with it is all natural beauty products.  I want to try using some homemade (read: cheap) beauty products.  So far, I am looking at shampoo, face wash, and hand scrub.  I am curious to see where this will go.  I am not sure if it will be life altering, or just a fad that I will have outgrown by next month. But I will keep you posted.
Mostly what is on my mind these days is weight loss.  I started weight watchers about 10 weeks ago.  So far, I have lost 10 lb.  That is over 5% of my body weight, which I feel pretty good about.  But, if I am being honest, I know I have not tried my hardest.  And I still look in the mirror and get depressed.
And so, recently, I have started asking myself "how bad do you want it?"  This question refers to the weight loss, not whatever I am thinking of eating or doing at the moment.  It stands to reason that if I stop and reflect on how badly I want to achieve a specific goal, it should motivate me to work harder to reach said goal.
And what it boils down to is: I want it badly.  I want to wear clothes confidently, not always tugging at this or trying to hide that.  I want to feel attractive for my husband.  I want to stop staring at my stomach when I pass a mirror.
A while back, my friend posted a picture of me on facebook.  I was standing in between three gorgeous ladies, all taller than me with amazing figures.  And I was short and dumpy looking.  The picture literally made me cry.

This is what I refer back to when I feel that losing weight requires too much discipline.  I am tired of being ashamed.
I need to lose 8 lb to reach 10%.  I really want to do this by New Years.
How bad do you want it?

Holy Moly!

Has it really been that long since I last posted?  Life has a way of getting away from you, that is for sure!  Between taking care of my sweet nine month old boy (when did he get so big???), grad school, and training for my very first triathlon, time seems to have evaporated.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?  I am blessed with a WONDERFUL baby.  He has such a good nature.  Except right now.  Because he is teething.  Nine months, and not one tooth.  My poor sweetheart is a bit miserable.
Anyways, I have so much to catch up on.  I started weight watchers (and have lost 5 lb!), I start a new job next week, I competed in a triathlon!  But currently, I need to go to sleep!  I will try to be more consistent with my posts.  Scout's honor :)