Dec. 22nd, 2008
As I am baking cookies and have a fire in the fireplace I am reminded of what a great adventure this year has been. From starting the new year last year in my skinny little 150 pound body to the stresses of school, another fantastic beach trip, my 30th birthday, my kids growing and learning so much I am stunned everyday by their talents and unique personalities, each day another crazy day.
I am taking a break from bloggin until after the new year. have a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Look for New Blogs Jan 5th as I will start yet another weight loss attempt in 2009.
Love to you all,
Ali

Dec. 15, 2008
Have you ever had one of those days that was perfect in every way? Sat was that day for our family. We woke up in the morning and Victoria gardens was having a snow festival with ice skating and snow play for the kids so we headed down to that for a few hours. While we were there is threw pennies in a fountain and later found out that we all wished for the same thing, the best day ever. After the snow festival we headed to get some shopping done and even though it was really busy we had fun and made the best of it. Cody had perfect attendance in Nov. so he got a free bowling coupon for our whole family that included shoes, soda, and bowling for free so off to bowling we went. We got there and it was cosmic bowl so the boys were thrilled. After bowling we had lunch/dinner and headed home for a litle break before heading off to our busy evening. In the evening we had a hockey game to go to, when we walked in the door we decided to buy a raffle ticket to support our local high school. Well in the end of the game they announced the winner and it was us. We won over $600 which we really needed to get us through all of our christmas shopping. After hockey we went home and put the biys to bed and I went shopping at midnight to get some of the kids gifts purchased. It was a great day, busy as can be, but awesome. It was Godsent.
Hope you all had a great weekend as well,
Ali

Dec. 10, 2008
I got this from my friend Ali and thought is was perfect for my blog. Enjoy!

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who putscarrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Have a great Wed.
Ali

Dec. 8, 2008
What a fantastic weekend. Sat. we went to two birthday parties and then hung out at Shawn's parents for the evening singing and watching the fight. Sun was the best. Garrett had a karate competition in long beach at 7am. I have to admit I was not looking forward to the hour I had to be there or the hour drive but his awesome day made up for it. garrett did fantastic, he ended up with 2 second place trophies one in hardest punch and one for hardest kick, he also got 2 3rd place trophies one for sparring which is fighting with another child you age fully padded, the other event was forms which is who is the best at their moves as far as how sharp you are and hoe precise you are. I was most excited for forms because he was against about 12 kids and it was girls and boys. It seems like girls always sweap the events where it is boys and girls. So all in all it was a great day and Garrett was so proud of himself.
What else is going on. We have yet to finish decorating, get a tree, or purchase one gift. We thought we would do a marathon even when we get time. Ok not fun but that is the way we ended up doing things this year. I am in finals all week and then life slows down next week. I have 1 month off of school and let me tell you I definitly am ready for a break. I am burned out and staring to hate school. 6 more months until I am done.
Abby, lets just say I am tired. I get up 2 times a night to take her potty, I thought I was done raising babies. She also is a biter of everything. I am not sure how this is going to end.
_______the best news of the weekend. When we were at Shawn's parents my brother called to tell me that he and Brandy are going to have a baby. I am going to be an Aunt. Yeah!!!!! They just found out and they thing she is due in Aug. ______
Have a good Monday,
Ali

Dec. 5, 2008
My poor Mom. She called me last night in melt down mode. After talking to her for a few hours I think she felt a little bit better. She came home to a broken fence a few days ago in her back yard, she fixed it and talked to neighbors to see how it had broken, it was a mountain lion. My mom had a mountain lion in her back yard. She is freaked out and can't take Abby out in the night time because she is really scared to get attacked. She also reallized that a puppy was more then she can handle right now so we now are the proud owners of a new puppy. We are going to take her for a week and see if she fits with our dogs and family. So for now we are not telling the kids that she is ours we are telling them that she is visiting until they find the mountain lion.
Well I am off to get our visiting puppy.
Have a good friday,
Ali

Dec. 3, 2008

Happy Holidays. I decided to revamp the blog for the upcoming holidays. I am really torn as to what I should do about dieting over the holiday. I can either go really crazy, eat well, exercise, and just all around be really good over the holiday. The other option is to live it up during the holidays and while I am out of school for Christmas, eat cookies, enjoy eggnog lattes, and do the normal holiday activities without guilt. I am leaning towards the later. I don't want to torture myself and not eat like the rest of my family. I am thinking that After the 1st I will be 100% commited to dieting and getting thin for my graduation, beach trip, and all that good stuff that is coming up in the near future. I may gain a few but I am going to start in Jan as a whole new dieter, exerciser, and I am going to get my family involved.

I had my ceramics sale yesterday at school. I made $100 bucks. Not great but better then nothing. The necklaces did well but my gingerbread men ornaments went so fast I ran out at about 11am and had people asking me to make more before Christmas for them. I have 2 ideas either I should have made more or charged more for them. So I am going to try to make about 25 more to sell before the holidays are in full swing.

What else is going on in life. My Mom got a puppy for her boyfriend for his birthday. The best part was the dog was at a shelter by us so we got to go pick her up and spend a day with her before we took her to Bob on his borthday. He named her Abby. If the shelter had more of her I might of come home with one for me. She is the cutest little dog and the kids had a blast with her.

Last we started decorating for the holidays. We are actually late this year. We almost always decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving but decided to use our Seaworld season tickets one more time before they expired. We had fun and the kids love it there. So we are not decorating and getting lights and trees up this weekend.

Well off to study for finals next week,

Ali

Dec. 1st, 2008
I can't believe that it has been so long since I have posted. Sorry about that. My life is crazy as normal but with ceramic sales, projects, papers, resumes, thrown in the mix. I am in my last week of school before finals.
The best part in life is the holiday season is now upon us. We pulled all the holiday stuff down from the attic and are putting it up tomorrow night. The music is now on in the car and it actually feels like sweater weather. Life is good.
On the diet front I am not doing anything. I need to. I am thinking of being really strict from now until Dec. 20th. I am going to the market but we will have to see what makes it into the cart.
Have a good Monday,
Ali

Nov. 17, 2008
I am happy to report that all of our friends and family are safe after all these crazy fires. We know it affected our brother and sis in law but also Shawn's friend Matt and his brother scott. Everyone is fine but I know it was a little scary there for a day.
With all of the crazy fires and weather all of our plans changed for the weekend. We went to Shawn's work and worked on Sat. morning then we were supposed to have soccer but it got cancelled and we ended up watching the news all night. Sun. we were supposed to go to a bday party but because they got evacuated we ended up staying home and I got the chance to get a few necklaces done.
So today I am going to the market and filling the house with "good food" My plan was to do it this weekwnd but never got to it. So today I am looking up some recipies and all that jazz. Shawn is going to be joining me in doing w.w. so I will be planning for both of us. Our plan is to make it to Thanksgiving with no cheating and then cheat as much as we want that day and then get back on.
I follow a blog of another person and she says every once in awhile that she feels like all she is doing is blogging about failing. I really feel like that right now. I really don't have the energy to do a diet. I feel like I can't handle one more thing. I am hoping that dieting will give me some energy back so I can handle all of this.
Ali

Nov. 14, 2008
What a week. I just keep having weeks where I just cannot keep up with life. I am up to my eyeballs in house, kids, life, and especially school. TGIF is all I have to say.
In 2 weeks we have our big ceramics sale for the year. The good part is it is a chance to make a but of holiday money. The bad part is I have nothing, not even one thing to sell. I am going to be spending the weekend making up some necklaces and ornaments to sell. I am in real need of a ceramics wheel here at home. I love going to school but with kids and life I just can't go there whenever I want. I am hoping to sell enough stuff through the holidays to raise about $500 bucks. So wish me luck.
Ok so as for dieting it hasn't gone very well this week. We ran out of food in the house that was healthy and went on a hot dog and macaroni diet for the week. I am going to the market this weekend and Monday will be a whole new day. So Monday I will weigh in a start over again.
Ok well I am off to get dirty and clean the house and put away my laundry from Monday.
Have a good weekend.
Ali

Nov. 10, 2008
WE FOUND DUSTY!!!! We got a phone call on Friday night that a woman had Dusty. We went and got him and the kids are so happy. He was over 5 miles from our house and he was on the other side of 2 freeways. We are so happy that he wasn't hit or hurt. He does have a few bite marks like Harley but much fewer of them. So our weekend was much better then I had anticipated.
Sat. we went to Cody's soccer game and they had their first win. Yeah and finally. Sat night Justin and Brandy came over and baby sat the kids and Shawn and I went out and used the gift certificate to Northwoods that we got last Christmas. It was a nice quiet time and we enjoyed just eating in quiet together.
Sun I had to go to school and get some work done. I feel like I am always behind and trying to catch up this quarter. I went to school and worked for about 3 hours and still feel like I didn't get much done. The rest of Sun. I enjoyed a nice family day. I cooked lunch, dinner, and dessert. I enjoyed my boys and the couch.
Ok so for the diet I didn't do it all weekend. I have been terrrible since Friday. When I get stressed I like to eat to feel better so with the whole dog thing I ate. I didn't weigh in because I didn't want to.
So today I am going to try to get back on the diet wagon.
Well have a good Monday.
Ali

Nov. 7, 2008
This week has sucked.
As you know we lost the dogs on Tues. well after searching all day I finally came home and our girl dog Harley had made her way home. She was freaked out and growling when I got close to her she was covered in blood. We washed her and she had gotten attacked ny another dog and is covered in bite marks. She has 3 that are really deep and bad so she is sore and having a hard time getting around. We have been giving her asprine and keeping her clean. So the good news is she is home the bad news she is freaked out by all noises, most people, most everything and she doesn't want to be alone. So she is basically our baby.
As for Dusty we still have no wird on him. We have been to ever shelter, posted signs everwhere, seached every neighborhood, even walked the local fields to even find a body. The kids are starting to give up and are very upset. I have to admit I cry when I think about it. I just don't know what to do next. You don't relalize how attached to your pets you are until stuff like this happens. We are going to the 3 shelters tomorrow to look again. The shelters told us check back every 3 days and don't give up for at least 2 months.
On top of the dogs school has been hectic, Shawn has had a toon of work to do, and the house is trashed because I haven't been home to pick up the mess.
Diet has still been ok. We have had fast food the last few nights. I have been good all day and then I am careful at dinner. I have stayed the same weight so at least I am not gaining.
Well off to a busy weekend.
Ali

Nov. 5, 2008
I am done with midterm. Yeah! I am not sure how I did but I am done. I think it went well.
I got home yesterday and our dogs broke the gate and ran away again. We looked all night and some this morning but nothing. I am going to spend the day making signs and going to the animal shelter to look for them. So once again the kids are all upset. I am just mad that the dogs keep doing this. Oh well.
With all the craziness we did get fast food for dinner and sit on the couch watching election results. I was good all day Mon and most of the day yesterday. I did weigh in yesterday at 178 so I am still in the same little 1 pound range so good news for me.
Well I am off to do dog searching
Ali

So I added twitter.com back on here because I finally figured out how it all worked. You can also follow my weight watchers buddy Roni. Look on the side of my blog and I will post from my phone through out the day. Hope it works. I am thinking of posting my foods as well as kind of like a journal.

Nov. 3, 2008

Unsuccesful, that is what I will officially title this weekend as far as dieting. I totally blew it. Fri. in Oak Glen I was ate a little smaller portions of everything but still ate alot in those small portions. Dinner we had taco's and a few margarita's with the margarita machine that my brother rented for his Halloween reception. I chose not to weigh in on Sat. because I didn't want to get discouraged before a very long and busy day. I ate a few candies, food, margaritas, you know party food. Not terrible because I worked all day to get ready for the party. The party was super fun and we saw alot if neat costumes. Sun which should have been my redemption day turned into another funfilled eating day. I woke up and was too sore and tired to go to school like I was supposed to. Instead we slept in and then got McDonalds. Then we munched on chili cheese chips for lunch and dinner. In between chips and stuff was candy and leftover margaritas. Don't worry almost all of my margaritas were virgins. Today I chose not to weigh in again because I know I did terrible and I really don't need the scale to discourge me today. I am going to have a few good days before I brave the scale again.

Ok well I have a final tomorrow which I have not studied for yet so off to study.

Ali

Oct. 29, 2008
What an adventure yesterday was for our family. I was at school all day. When the kids got home from school they realized our gate was broken and the dogs had gotten out. We got a phone call that someone had found Dusty so Shawn and the boys went to go get him but there was no sign of Harley. We looked for her until about 8pm and finally gave up. The kids cryed themselves to sleep. Shawn and I felt terrible. I got up a few times through the night to check outside but I still couldn't find her. Shawn left for work at 5 am and Harley was roaming down the street towards his car. She has been resting on the couch and is exhausted. The kids are thrilled and won't leave her alone. So a good ending to a long evening and night.
Yesterday was also a huge day for me. I turned in my graduation check. It means that I am close enough to graduating to have them get my diploma ready and add me onto the list of people that will be walking in June. Doesn't seem like a big deal but it means I am so close. I have 7 classes left until I am a college graduate. June 20th, less then 8 months to go.
With all the craziness this morning I didn't weigh in. So no change on the little ticker for today. I did keep on track even with our evening. I do need to work on drinking more water but that shouldn't be to hard. All in all I am still loving the weight watchers diet and feel like I am not dieting but just being careful. I am a little worried about this Friday and weekend. We are going to Oak Glen and we love to get a big yummy breakfast and pie at the end of the day. Apples should be a problem so I will fill up on those. Sat. I am not to worried about either I will just eat small portians and be ok.
Well I am off to do a bunch of getting ready for my brothers Halloween reception. I will not be home Thur. or Fri so I am doing most of the cleaning and work today. Hopefully the kids will help me keep it clean. I can dream.
Ali

Oct. 27, 2008

We had a super fun and really busy weekend. Sat. we had soccer, a pumpkin patch, and then a hockey game. Sun. we didn't make it to church because we didn't get home from the hockey game until super late and couldn't get the kids up on Sun morning. We went to a park where I got to chit chat with the girls while the kids played and the guys played football. It was fun. After football we went out to dinner with some of our family. We got home and relaxed after a busy weekend.

After all of the fun I still managed to lose a pound over the weekend. I did really well. It was somewhat easy because I was able to eat everywhere we went, it was also hard because I did want to eat bad stuff everywhere we went. I am still loving the diet because it is so much easier to eat then on the low carb. I was a little discouraged on Sat. because I feel like I should have lost more by now or at least feel thinner. I talked to Shawn and he was very helpful in talking to me and getting me through the moment.

I have the busiest week ever. We have to get ready for a wedding reception for my brother at our house next weekend, I have school. we are going to Oak Glen, and halloween. Should be fun but man I am already looking forward to next Sunday. Well off to get Cody off to school.

Ali

Oct. 24, 2008

I am so glad it is Friday and this week is almost over. You know the kind of weeks that just go forever and you never seem to be able to catch up with everything you need to do. I had a paper for school due so the housework fell behind and my art at school fell behind. I am more then likely going to go to school this weekend to catch up on everything. Today is all about laundry and housework. I wish I could just bring a hose in the house and wash it all down or get rid of everything hire someone to clean and then bring everything back in.

So I have some exciting news after the classes I am taking currently I only have 7 classes left until I am totally done with school. Seems like there is an end in sight. I also have some new ceramic work that has been turning out pretty cool. I had a bowl and started cutting at it until I ended up with a bowl that the people at school are now calling the happy bowl. SO I attached a pic so you could check it out. No it isn't done so it will not be that color when it is done. I also threw a really big thing that when I am done will be a water jug with a spout on the front. I attached those pics at the top. It was a 3 step process so they are all the same thing just as it got bigger. I am having a really good quarter in ceramics with lots of new ideas.

As for weight loss I am still going strong. I did have a bean burrito last night for dinner which is totally terrible but I only went over the points by a few so I am not going to beat myself up over it. I am still losing and loving that I can eat real food.

Well I am off to clean and get ready for a busy weekend.

Ali

Oct. 22, 2008
We are all fine. There is a fire and it is about 2 miles from our house. It stinks but we are safe and fine. There are some schools closed in the kids district but theirs are both open and safe. We have all the windows closed and the air is on to keep the ash out. We have already gotten a few phone calls and wanted to clear it up for all but thanks for all of your concerns and prayers.
Diet wise I am still doing fantastic. I haven't cheated at all becasue I can't. The only thing I can do is go over points and I have eaten all my points each day. I have been eating so much healthier on weight watchers then I was before. So 1 week in and still going strong.
Update, My dad is home from the hospital and resting. His blood pressure was out of wack and they got it back to normal.
Well I have a ton of homework and housework to do. Have a good day,
Ali

Oct. 20, 2008
Cereal, bread, burritoes, I feel like I am cheating. I used to thing Weight watchers was so strict. I did my low carb diet which was really strict and now w. w. seems like I am cheating. It is fantastic. I had a cheat free weekend which I never do. I was able to go to Chuck e cheese for a b-day party and have a big salad, yesterday I had taco bell and we all know I have issues with that place. The best part is the scale has gone down. Yeah! I got to open my 35 gift this morning. I got a $15 g.c. to Starbuck, another one of my favorites. Thanks Ali. 10 more to go and I will get that christmas wrapped gift off of my kitchen counter:)
I had a super productive weekend. I got a big art history paper done before it was due, wrote my resume for another class, did a research paper for yet another class, and made pomegranite jelly for my father in law. It was easy and I feel so on top of things, well at least for today.
On the other hand I had a tough mental weekend. My Dad was rushed to the hospital on Fri. night. He has issues with getting dehydrated even if he drinks a ton of water, and also with his blood pressure. As many of you know I have issues with my Dad and stuff that happened in the past. I am not sure how I should feel about him and our relationship. I wan't to forgive and forget but he left my family with nothing when we were very young. My Mom got screwed by him for many years and worked her butt off to care for us when he wouldn't even send child support. I feel like I should care about how he is doing but I really just don't care anymore. I know sad. I have given up on resolving anything with him and I am ok with that until things like this happen. So mentally I have been in a blah place all weeknd. I haven't even called for updates. I know I need to work on resolving the issue but my way of fixing it is eating and for once I am not going to let him win. Ok sorry about that I had to get it off of my chest. So please pray for that situation.
Well I am off to get a skinny vanilla latte at Starbucks!
Ali

Oct. 15, 2008
I have come to the realization that low carb dieting is really hard. I can't go out to dinner with my family and eat anything normal. I have a really hard time at school or any occasion when I have to pack food to go with me. Low carb works fast but 1 burrito and I go up 2+ lbs. I need something slow that teaches me to eat properly and that I can live on long term. I am going to the market today and switching to weight watchers. I know it is much slower but my hope is that I don't go off of it for a weekend and gain 5 pound. I also need a little flexability and that plan allows for a little treat here and there. I know Shawn would also like to lose some weight and I am hoping that if the food is in the house maybe he will lose a little without trying. So look for weight watchers posts from here in out. I would also love recipies and ideas if you have any. I know lots of people do weight watchers and have good info for me.
School was cancelled yesterday beecause of fires and wind. I took the whole day to catch up on homework, projects, and papers i have to write. It was a nice break but I was sad to not be at school and working on stuff there I need to get done. Back tomorrow.
I will weigh in tomorrow and start over from scratch with the new plan.
We have a super busy day today. We have homework then soccer and after soccer we have 45 min to get dinner and drive 25 min to church for our Wed. night bible study. Should be hectic but hopefully worth it.
Have a good Wed.
Ali

Oct. 13, 2008
Man is it windy out here in Fontana. When we first moved here we had no idea that it got as windy as it does. We made a comment to a neighbor after our first night of wind and they made it clear that what we had that night was nothing. Man was he right. I used to hate wind when I was younger it scared me the noises the house would make in the night. Now I enjoy it, it is part of where we live and I get a kick out of this season. So far in this wind storm we have had very few breaking issues or damage to the house. In the past we have lost our gates, they have ripped their bolts out of a concrete wall and blown down a few doors to the neighbors, or broken roof tiles, or bent satellite dishes. Yesterday we woke up to a broken mirror. When we redid the bathroom 2 years ago we had a giant like 6 foot mirror we didn't know what to do with so we put it on the side of the house. A few weekends ago Shawn and I were talking about what to do with that giant mirror. Well the wind took care of it for us. It fell over in the night and shattered all over the side of the house. The clean up wasn't fun but no more mirror:) So I went in the backyard at 7am this morning to take a video of the wind for all of you but realized I looked like an idiot blowing away and freezing so sorry no video.
We had a great weekend. Shawn was supposed to go deep sea fishing on Sat. but drove all the way up there and they had cancelled the boat due to wind. We ended up going fishing with Justin and Brandy, Brandy's sister Jess and her two boys, a friend of theirs and all of our crazy family. We didn't catch anything but it was fun to hang out. After fishing we went to the rodeo with all of Shawn's family. Pj came home wanting to be a tractor, not a cowboy or a horse, but a tractor. The boys had so much fun. Yesterday we went to church in the morning and then a nice day at home with the boys and of course football.
Diet wise I only did ok. I watched what I ate and stuck with diet soda but I did have 2 burritoes and a few cookies. I ate kind of whatever but only a few bites of all of it. I didn't weigh in today. I am giving myself a day back on before I get back on the scale. I definitly could have been better but I also could have been a whole lot worse. So back on today.
Ali

Oct. 10, 2008
I have a fantastic neighbor who is Italian. Even better her Mom is 100% Italian. She loves to cook and makes everything from scratch. Every once in awhile she loves to drop off some yummy food to give to the boys. Bad part is She decided to bake us a pizza. Sauce, dough, everything homemade and smelling amazing. So I on Tues. night did eat 1 very small slice of her pizza and it was so good and unlike any pizza I have ever had. She had grilled onions and mushrooms. So I did have 1 small slice and that is the only cheat I have had in the last 3 days. I have done really well.
I had my first clay club meeting at school for the year yesterday. I was put in charge of picking food for everyone to eat that the club pays for. I decided on this Thai place that is one of my favorites. I didn't have one bite. Cool part is since I was running the meeting no one noticed that I didn't eat so I didn't get the are you dieting questions and comments. Another cool part is I am currently vice Pres. and I was nominated as Pres. which is cool but alot more work. I think I if elected will take it because it looks really good on resumes.
I haven't last as fast the last 2 days. I had my pizza mishap and other then that have added in carbs ( like lettace, corn, beans) the last 2 days so that I wasn't exhausted form all the sugar withdraws. Once my body fells a litle more normal I will cut back on some of those again. I have been really good about getting in 3 meals plus 1-2 snacks and staying in my calorie range.
My first concern- we pick up our cookie dough order from soccer this weekend. When we placed the order I was not dieting so I know I ordered some yummy stuff I can't eat. Good thing it is frozen and a little harder to eat.
Well have a good weekend.
Ali

Oct. 8, 2008
Well I am still here. I made it through 2 successful days. I did really well but was busy so it was alot of snacks like string cheese and hard boiled eggs. I am journaling to keep on track and not go under in my calories.
Yesterday was a crazy day. I went to school at 7am and did the school thing. I got home at 6:30 and the kids were not done with homework. We worked on homework until 7:45, ate dinner, and were nonstop until the kids finally got to bed at 9pm. I was so tired that I melted into the couch with a hot cup of tea and a tv show with Shawn. Our life is crazy but 8 months more of this crazy schedule and then I am afraid it might get worse. I found out that I will be student teaching during the day and doing my credential classes at night. I know I can handle it but man am I going to be busy.
I have .6 pounds until I get to open my 35 pounds lost gift. So tomorrow morning should be an exciting time to wake up.
Have a good day everyone,
Ali

Oct. 6, 2008

Let me start by saying that my life is totally nuts between school, soccer, karate, life, etc. that it has gotten very hard to post everyday. I am going to do my best to write at least 3 times a week but Thus and Thur. there is just no way I can fit in blogging.

With that said I went back to school last week. I wasn't thrilled with going back but now that I am back I am loving it. I am taking fun classes and get to see all the people who give me great ideas on how to better my art work. I did have one bump in that my photo class didn't have enough people so they dropped the class. For me this meant that I wouldn't graduate in June because I wouldn't have that one class. Good thing is I have befriended the teacher and went and explained the situation and he was willing to work one on one with me so that I would still be able to graduate on time. Awesome. well enough about school.

Now that I am back in school and can't wear the same t-shirts and short day after day I have realized how much weight I have really gained. I have been really good about maintaining all summer at 185ish but I have got to get back down again. I am uncomfy and can really see a difference between 160 and 185. I have been saying for weeks that I am going to restart but never really wanted to.

Sat. I went and refereed my first game and when I came home my bestest friend Ali had stopped by with my 35 and 45 pounds lost gift. After staring at them all weekend I am restarting today. I didn't realize what a motivation those little gifts are. How funny that after months all it took was a box wrapped in Christmas paper to get me going again. So thanks Ali.

As of today I am 100% back on plan. I have already mapped it out and the only day that will be a cheat day is Halloween. We will be going to Oak Glen and I will be careful but a little more leanient that day.

I am going to Henry's today to get veggies and lean chicken and turkey. I found these new ziplock steam bags and love them. All you do is put your veggies in them, throw them in the microwave and dinner is ready in like 5 min.

I will post on Wed. to let you know how I am doing. 4 pounds until I get to open 35 lost and my guess is 2-3 weeks before I get back to 45 lost.

Ali

What a fantastic weekend. Everything went great and we made it to all of our events with no problem. My brothers weeding was awesome. Brandy and j wanted simple and small and that is what they got. We met at a park where they looked around for a tree they liked. We all stood around them while they exchanged vows. We went to dinner at a cool little bbq place where they had a cute little patio we all fit and hung out on. It was nice and simple.

I am off today to go buy a bunch of photo supplies for a class I am taking. This quater I am taking art history(yes another one), advanced photography, advanced ceramics, and senior project. A full load but I just keep reminding myself 81/2 months and I am done.

Well off to take care of the house and life,

Ali

Well life is back in full swing. I started school yesterday. I am going Tues. and Thur. from 8am-6pm. Long day but 8 months 3 weeks to go.
This weekend is going to be super crazy. We have 2 weddings on Sat. one of which is my brothers surprise wedding planned in 3 days. We also have soccer, church, and a million other things.
Well I wanted to check in because I have not blogged in awhile. I am doing good but still not dieting.
Well off to make 9 table centerpieces for tomorrow.
Have a great weekend and I will try to blog on Monday,
Ali

Sept 18, 2008
It is strange how weight can change you whole image of yourself. I went to get dressed for back to school last night and my pants are tight. It changed my whole evening. I went from being happy go lucky mom to feeling depressed and sad that I have let myself go again. Then to top it off I watched the biggest loser and made me feel all impowered to change. I wike up this morning with a new attitude. My clothes don't fit, I don't likt the way I look or feel so instead of complaing or feeling bad I am going to change it.
Now the hard part, sticking with it.
I am going to do a really intense 1st week. I want to get the headaches and tired part out of the way before i go back to school next week.
One of my goals was to be at my goal weight by my college graduation day. Well I graduate on June 20th, 2009 9 months from tomorrow. I better get my butt in gear.
Off to go buy diet soda, alot of diet soda.
Ali

Have you ever had zero motivation to do something. That is how I have felt about everything for the last few weeks. I am up to my neck in soccer, kids with tons of homework, back to school, life...I haven't dieted, I haven't done my one house project a day like painting my front door. Nothing. I am in recouperation mode from my long school year and nonstop life. I actually got bored yesterday while the kids were at school and made a candlelit dinner for the family. It is nice to actually have the time to make a nice dinner and eat as a family. When school starts next week it is back to get home at 6:30 try to have something to eat and kids in bed my 7:30.
The great news is I have a date, June 20, 2009 is my graduation day. I have 9 months until I am done with school. I have to turn in my graduation paperwork next month and this year will be about getting my credential work figured out and all of the state testing I need to have done by next summer. So I guess it is bitter sweet, just when you are almost done you have more to do.
But all in all life has been good. Time with my family, soccer all the time, lots of being a mom.
Well I am off to get the ids ready for school.
Ali

The newest update on Brandy
Well I finally have some good news regarding Brandy. She had surgery on Friday afternoon and it went great, they ended up having to open up the cavity around the right lung to get to the infection and clean it out. She was on morphine for a couple days but once they took her off of it she began recovering rapidlly. They put in 2 chest tubes after the surgery to drain any remaining fluid. They pulled one of them yesterday and the remaining one today. Once she gets a final x-ray tonight she may be cleared to come home. She might be home tomorrow, but most likely Thursday. I will hopfully only have to send one last e-mail, to let you know when she gets home.Thanks for all your thoughts and support through the past three weeks. We are very greatful for having such a great group of friends and family during this time. Thanks, Justin

As for the diet we will just say day one didn't go so well. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a little sick. When I got up yesterday I felt aweful. I have a UTI. So I am in pain and drinking a ton of juice which is loaded with calories then last night shawn brought home chinese food and soup to make me feel better. He didn't know I had started my diet or at least thought I was going to start yesterday. So a few more days to get back in running condition and then I will be back on track.
ok well have a good Wed.
Ali

Today is the day. I have been "restarting" my diet over and over. I keep thinking I want to sit in my clothes before I restart school. I looked at my school stuff last night and I have 16 days. That isn't enough time to lose a ton but hopefully I get on the road to losing. So today I am eating right. I know the weekends are always tough but we don't have major plans this weekend so it should be managable.
Update on Brandy......
I talked to J yesterday and Brandy is feeling much better. The surgery was a success. She was on morphine but they took her off ot it because she couldn't stay awake. She is now on like tylenol and the pain is a little more but at least she isn't sleeping all the time. After the surgery they put in 2 chest tubes well one was taken out yesterday and they are hoping to take out the other one today. She went in for xrays last night to see how the infection is doing but I will find out the results of that today when I call. If she keeps improving they are expecting her to go home by the end of the week. Other great news is her job is giving her 1 more week to recover which isn't much but hopefully they keep putting it off until she can make it in. The best news of all is Brandy was approved for medical coverage through the hospital. She is covered 100% for 1 year wwhich includes this hospital stay and surgery si she will owe nothing for being in the hospital for almost 1 month. Amazing Huh?
well have a great day,
Ali

Sept. 8, 2008
What a weekend. We went to a very good friends wedding on Sat. It was beautiful and we are thrilled for the couple. Sun. was the first football day of the season. We took the day off of church becasue of all the wedding stuff going very late into the night for Shawn, I think he made it home about 2am. Our normal Sunday during footbal season is church at 8, back on the couch by 10 am with mcdonalds and a sunday paper. We do nothing the rest of the day but watch football, eat snacks and have a cat nap. I love our Sundays from now until Jan.
What else is going on? I talked to Justin yesterday in the morning and Brandy is doing well. She is up and walking and the pain from the surgery is pain but managable. We are still really worried about her but she seems to be ok from the surgery. Today I will find out a little more on if the infection is still gone or what is going on. I am going to try to swing down to the hospital this evening.
other then that life is no school,
oh my house is so gross. My normal clean and get the house in order big time is on friday but since I was at the hosptial I didn't do my normal cleaning. So today my house isn't to bad but the floors haven't been vacuumed in 2 weeks! Yuck, 3 kids and a wood floor. So this morning is get the house in order day.
Have a good one,
Ali

Sept. 5, 2008
I am so excited. I was in BAD need of new pots and pans. Mine were chipped and about 6 years old. I was not planning on buying new ones at this moment. Thought mine would be fine for another 1-2 years. Well I was walking around a local store and they had a deal I couldn't pass up. I got a 10 piece set that is really nice calphalon normally 399.00 for $50. how cool is that. Last box too. I love when things happen like that.
Nothing new with Brandy I talked with Justin yesterday and she hadn't changed at all. I just want her to get better fast.
Shawn was a a wedding rehearsal last night so the kids and I decided to try a new recipe. Yum. Not diet friendly but just like the stuff you get at the fair and super easy.
Fair style kettle corn-------
in a large pot put 1/4 c. oil, when the oil gets hot add 1/2 c. popcorn kernals(the real stuff), sprinkle the top of the kernals with 1/4 c. white sugar. Put a lid on the pot and start shaking over the heat. If you don't shake it burn pretty easily. We took about 5-7 min of shaking. Once you hear the popping slow down take off the lid and sprinkle with about 1teaspoon of salt and shake a few second more put it into a bowl and enjoy, watch out it will be really hot give it 5-10 min to cool. Enjoy.
Have a good weekend.
Ali

Nothing new yet on my sis in lasw yet today. I am really worried about her. Sounds like if they are not able to get the bleeding to stop they will do surgery. Hopefully it is all figured out before it gets to that point. Also a new prayer request. The job that she got and said they would wait for her to get out of the hospital is now saying that may not be able to hold the job for her. Isn't that sad? Here she is in the hospital very ill and they might not let her have the jobb they gave to her because they cannot wait a few weeks.
Anyways, on the eating side lets just say I went back into old habits of not dieting. I am bad to bad eating. I am 100% for sure restarting on Monday of nect week. We have a very busy wedding weekend and crazyness this weekend. Once life is "normal" again I can concentrate on dieting. I have to return to school in 3 weeks so the pressure for my pants to fit is on.
I think I did well on my final on Tues. night. I am still waiting for my grade. I am so excited to have a few weeks off of school. I was thinking of each day doing 1 thing in my house that I have been putting off like painting the rest of the house trim, or painting the front door, so far I don't feel like doing anything but relaxing. I am sure after this weekend I will get on the ball with some of that stuff. If not, my house isn't going anywhere and there is always Christmas break.
have a good day,
Ali

For my post today I am attaching a copy of an email I got from my brother about Brandy. Please continue to pray for her.
I just wanted to let everyone know the latest with Brandy. She is still in the hospital, going on day 16 and just when we thought she would be heading home, her chest tube continued to drain fluid and blood. She is comfortable but still has fevers, and today her blood count was down to dangerous levels. She received a blood transfusion tonight and hopfully tomorrow she will be doing much better. The doctors are not sure what is going on, they think the infection may have damaged some of the lung tissue or that the body is still just trying to fight the infection and is sending blood to the area that has the chest tube. I just wanted to make sure everyone is up to date and if you are religious, continue to pray, eveyone else keep her in your thoughts. Hopfully the next update is soon and it is about her finally coming home, only time will tell.
Thanks everyone, Justin

Aug. 29, 2008
I feel a little better this morning. I had a rough night of wanting to eat but didn't. I feel better this morning except the scale says I gained .5 pound. I not to worried about it because I know that I didn't cheat so it will go back down.
I am looking forward to a long and busy weekend but I am worried about the food part of everything. There a bbq all weekend. We are going to 3 in all. I am going to try to be really good although I know it is going to be really tough.
Update on Brandy----
She is feeling %95 better. She still had the chest tube in and it is definitly helping. She is ready to go home but the doc. says not yet. Justin said hopefully this weekend she will get to go home. Justin has to go back to work on Tues, and Brandy got a new job which she is really ready to start.
Have a great weekend.
Ali

I feel so yucky. I am doing a mid day report because I feel that bed. I have a heacdache and I am so tired. I feel like I am getting sick:( I am hoping that it is just sugar withdraws. I hate dieting and not being able to fix this aweful feeling by just drinking a Pepsi or eating something with sugar. I think I am going to take it easy tonight and will post tomorrow. Hope I feel better.
Ali

Aug. 28, 2008
I want to go back to bed. This idea of going to bed at 11 and getting up at 6 is catching up with me. Yesterday at about 2:30 I had to lie down for a but because I was falling asleep sitting up. 30 min later I felt a little better. It is hard because I still want my time in the evening with Shawn but have to get up early for Garrett. So my plan is already a nap.
Another good day of eating yesterday. I do need to go buy more grapes but I made it through the day without any cheating. I weighed in this morning at 178.2 so almost another pound.
Today the kids are at school, the house is clean, the yard is clean, the laundry done, it is a me day. Have a good one,
Ali

Aug. 27, 2008
Good morning people.
Yesterday went well. I was really good on the eating side. I have a new addiction to grapes. Everytime I want something sweet, which is all the time, I grab a handfull of grapes. I guess I could make a better choice but it is better then a cookie, or candy. I weighed in at 179 this morning.
I went to visit my mom yesterday and help her get her classroom ready for starting the new school year. In exchange for my help she bought the kids some school supplies. I was shocked when I got the kids supply list of stuff for the year. It cost me over 100$ to get everythign they needed and I already had some of the stuff. Good thing grandma is a teacher and had most of the stuff in her classroom.
Update on Brandy.
Brandy had the cat scan and there are no holes in her lungs. They did however find fluid on the outside of her lungs. She had surgery yesterday morning to have a chest tube put in to drain all the fluid. She is already feeling much better because the pressure is not as bad as it was. She is working on getting her lungs back in shape. They are leaving the chest tube in until they are sure there is no more fluid in her chest. They are also testing the fluid to make sure that they are treating her for all infestions of for some reason they are different. So she is still in the hospital but things are slowely getting better.
Well off to take care of house stuff,
Ali

Aug. 26, 2008
yesterday was so hard. I wanted to eat anything and everything. I had a terrible headache last night. I am feeling better this morning but I hate days like that. I talked a bunch with Shawn about how I am going to need help this weekend with food at all of our events. He is all on board to help keep me motivated and on track.
The kids first day back to school went really well. Garrett had alot of fun. He likes his teacher. He is going to be staying in band this year and is excited because he isn't the only trombone player again. Cody likes his teacher as well. He was a little bummed because he got alot of homework on his first day. They were both excited today because they get to eat in the cafeteria and I didn't pack them a lunch.
On the diet side I did really well. I ate on track with my new plan which is still limiting processed carbs. I am eating as many fruits and veggies as I want and last night I had rice but like a 1/2 of a cup. I did overindulge in one thing yesterday but I am proud to say it was greenbeans:)
I weighed in this morning at 180.2 so down 2 1/2 from yesterday. Just that is enought to keep me motivated for one more day.
Update on Brandy----
Brandy is still in the hospital and continuing to get antibiotics. Everytime I talk to my brother he keeps telling me two more days and then she goes home. She has been in the hospital since last Monday. So please continue to pray for her. They are doing more testing to see if it has absessed her longs so hope that goes well.
Have a good day,
Ali

Aug. 25, 2008
Well there is only one reason I would be up at 6:00 am, The kids are back in school today. Garrett has to be on the bus at 6:45. The nice part is Cody doesn't have to be up until 7:30 so I have 45 min. to myself. Instead of taking me time this morning I started laundry and emptied the dish washer. I guess these are Mom things. Now for the me time I am wrtiting my blog and then I am hoping to get in my devotional before life starts again.
Today is the day I am starting my diet. I can think of ever reason in the world why I shouldn't start a diet. Next weekend we have a special Quakes BBq for people who have season tickets, then Sun we are going to a housewarming for a friend, and then Mon. we have a bbq at my in laws. Instead of putting it off I am just going to be careful with all the upcoming festivities.
I know many of you are aware that I would like to have surgery to fix some of my c-section stuff and just feel better and more like my body should be. I am aiming for next summer. I wanted to do it over Christmas vacation but part of the deal was to get to 160 or lower and maintain my weight for 6 mo. so next summer is the new goal.
Ok well off to wake up Cody.
Have a great monday,
Ali

Aug. 21, 2008
I am exhausted today.
Yesterday went a little different then expected. I babysat my nephew which went really well and then had the chance to hang out and chat with my sis on law for a few hours. Next we went to Cody's soccer practice without Cody because he was at the beach with my brother and sister in law. After practice we went to pick up the kids and eat dinner while watching a soccer game. We got to my brother and sis on laws house and my brother in law was in a great deal of stomach pain. He and my sis in law ended up going to the e.r. while we stayed home with the 6 boys. We got them all to sleep just as my brother in law got home. The e.r. wasn't able to find anything wrong with him but gave him meds to feel better. I am going to check in with them today and see how he is doing. So all in all a crazy night. By the time we got home and settled down it was about 1am. So bed at 2am and my Mom called at 8am to wake me up.
My sis in law Brandy is still the same as she has been since Monday. They still have not figured out what bacteria it is so they just keep up-ing her meds in hopes that it will help. As of late last night she was still in pain and the 2 day hospital stay has so far been 3 and looks like will be about 2 or more days. So keep her in your prayers.
Today I have school and tired boys who just want to stay home and relax. Sounds good to me.
Ali

Aug. 20, 2008
What a crazy day yesterday. My sister in law Brandy was admitted to the hospital with Pneumonia. She is ok but in pain and they are trying to figure out the bacteria so they can treat it. So please pray for her.
The kids are at their cousins house and at the beach for the day. So we got my other sis on law to watch Pj for a few hours last night and we went on a little date to resteraunt hop in victoria gardens. We had an appetizer at one place, another appetizer at another place, and then dessert at another place. It was fun and something we have talked about doing for awhile.
I get to babysit my 6 mo. old nephew today. I am excited but it will be interesting to see how it all goes.
Well off to get ready before the baby gets here.
Ali

Aug. 18, 2008
Wow it has been awhile. Life is crazy busy. The boys go back to school in 1 week. Garrett is at a Junior High tour and meet your teachers day right now. He was scared but I am sure he will be fine. He got to buy P.E. clothes so that was really exciting. Cody is excited because garrett got P.E. clothes and want to check them out. I don't think Cody knows that gym clothes are just shorts and a t-shirt.
With life still up in the air and crazy I have made a date to restart my diet. Monday Aug. 25th. This will be the day the kids go back to school and as crazy as it is the life we live will be standard for awhile. The kids are back in school for 1 month before I go back to school so that gives me a little time to get in the swing of things before I throw my life into the mix.
I am going to really try to take Pj on a walk in the mornings. I have had a sore knee for over a year now. I have no idea what I did but I can't keep living life not doing things because of it. I am going to make a Dr. appt. and get it looked at. I also am going to try light walking every other day and try to strenghten it. My plan is not to go miles but just see how well I can do a little but at a time.
Ok well I will try to post again this week but next Monday I will be back in full swing of diet, blog, and walking.
Ali

Aug. 13, 2008
Sorry it has been a few days. We have been waking up late and going to bed even later. Shawn loves the Olympics. We stay up every night to watch it until 1am. I need to get back on a schedule, I am so tired.
Garrett is still at camp and we are missing him terrible. Cody doesn't like to sleep alone and Pj broke down in tears last night because he misses Buddy really alot. 2 more days.
We started soccer this week. So far the only problem is getting people to the park and on time. Hope it goes better tonight.
Well I have a test tomorrow that I am totally unprepared for. Need to write 2 papers and study before 5 tomorrow.
Well off to put of doing my homeowrk some more.
Ali

Aug. 11, 2008
Garrett is gone to camp. We dropped him off yesterday and he will return on Friday. He was a little tearful when we left but I am sure he will be fine. Cody is a little out of sorts and doesn't know what to do with himself. Pj keeps walking around saying "I miss Buddy".
Cody starts soccer tonight so he is thrilled. I am not sure if I told you but Shawn is the coach and I am the team mom. Should be a fun and busy season. We will be hitting you all up for cookie dough sales soon:).
I was planning on starting dieting again today but I don't go shopping again until Friday and there is no diet friendly food int he house. I am still drinking diet and not going to crazy. So next Monday is the plan. The kids are all back home and life will start to slow down again before school. I hate summer break for dieting, life just throws you to many curve balls to plan well.
So today it is getting ready for our parent meeting and cleaning the house up from our busy weekend.
Have a good monday,
Ali

Aug. 7, 2008
Lets just say I was not good again and am planning on getting back to my diet after the weekend.
Ali

Aug. 6, 2008
Didn't have much to say yesterday so I took a break from the blog. I am in the same boat today. I am hanging out with my boys.
On the diet side I have been really struggling. My mom sent ice cream home with us for the boys. I love ice cream and will find any reason to eat it. I have been eating the ice cream and then last night we had pizza for dinner. I have been making good choices in the morning and lunch and at 4pm it all goes downhill. Today I am going to try to be better and stick with it for an entire day. I am thinking of taking the ice cream and throwing it away so I don't have to look at it.
We all struggle with something, how come my struggle couldn't be with being to thin or being an exercise-aholic, I stuggle with food.
I did have to go buy new jeans and got a 13 juniors. I am out of the 15/15 that I was in for a bit. Now I jus thave to get back int he 12 so I have clothes to wear to school.
Ali

Aug. 4, 2008
We had a fantastic weekend of hanging out with tons of family and friends. Sat. we went to my Grandmothers house to swim and visit with her. When we left her we went to my Mom's and visited with my Uncle and Cousins. We also had the chance to see my Grandfather, his brother and my great Aunt who I have always loved because she is 100% italian and can cook like noone else I know. We also saw a bunch of cousins. It was fun.
Sun we woke up and went to church in Upland. For the first time I feel like I was told where Shawn and I should be offering to help in the church. We always have said we need to get more involved and voleenteer in some way. Well I feel like God has told me and now I need to work on how I should pull it together. So please pray for me in that area.
After church we came home and Chris and Ali came over. We love to see and hang out with them. The kids swam and we chatted about everything and everyone. It was fun and a much needed afternoon of relaxing.
As for dieting I was super good all day leading up the events. I ate very low calorie so that I would be able to enjoy myself and not be the girl who is dieting. I did over do it a bit at the times I did eat with chips and desserts. I am not going to weigh in today. After a weekend of eating somewhat normal I am going to weigh in tomorrow once I know that scale will drop a bit and I won't be discouraged by the number.
So off to do all the Mommy stuff I need to do.
Ali

Aug. 2, 2008
Sat. edition
well I am posting because I had my first terrible day yesterday. I didn't get a chance to eat anything until 5pm and then I had a burrito and a pepsi, then later a bag of cornnuts and a pear Not very good diet choices. I only hope that the cleaning all day will count as exercise. Well Off to enjoy the weekend.
Ali

Aug. 1, 2008
Only 5 more weeks. 5 more weeks and then I am done with this class. It is interesting, it is all about the biological, cultural, and other views of sex and gender. Last night was all about the anatomy of plants, people, frog, etc. 3 1/2 hours of this. By the 3rd hour my head hurt so bad. I know on Tues. I am going to be taking food, water, and tylenol in my backpack. If this was a normal 2 hour class I would really enjoy it but sitting for 4 hours listening is just tough for me.

So we all know that I ate the chocolate kettle corn yesterday. I ate an entire bag of it. I counted it as my dinner even though I ate it at 2pm. Then dinner was a pear. I did fantastic again except for the overdoing it in the popcorn dept. I still stayed right at my 1000 cal. except yesterday was the first day I added carbs back in. I didn't carb count at all. It is much easier to eat this was but the results for my body are much, much slower. It is funny how something that works for one person may not work as well for another. I used to get mad and say diets didn't work for me. The truth is they just didn't work as fast or I didn't get to eat what I wanted. I like this diet, I know it and it works for me.

My Uncle Dan, my Mom's brother flew in from Virginia with my 2 cousins. I was very close with my uncle growing up, he was the only Uncle that lived anywhere near us. He got married when I was 11 and moved away. I have seen him once but I have never met my cousins who are 17 and 12. his weekend we are going to my Mom's house to hang out and visit with them. The food may be a challange. We are having lasagna. My plan is to make my yummy caesar salad and take some chicken. avoid tempation and I think I will be good.
Well Off to clean, what else?
Ali

SUPER YUMMY RECIPE!

Ok so I found this recipe on a blog that I love to read called www.ronisweigh.com
I wasn't sure about it at first but I can't get enough of it. I will tell you now it may be the death of me. So here it is
Chocolate kettle corn
1/2 square of bakers chocolate or 2T. of hersheys cocoa powder
2T. of honey
1 bag of 94% fat free popcorn
in a LARGE pot melt over very low heat honey and chocolate until it is liquid and well combined. It takes about 5 min. They take your already popped popcorn and dump it in the pot. Stir until the popcorn is coated with the chocolate. If you don't use a big pot stirring is messy.
put in a bowl and eat up.
i tried this when hot and wasn't thrilled but when it cooled down a bit yummy. Just a touch of sweet chocolate.

July 31, 2008
well I have about 5 seconds to write today. I have a ton of homework, grocery shopping, paper to write, all while life keeps coming at me.
I did awesome yesterday. I akmost gave in and had a burger at dinner that Shawn BBQ for us but I threw some chicken on and had a salad instead. Yeah for me. I have been staying right at my 1000 calories a day no less and have been doing the low carb kind of diet from last summer. I know how to do this diet and don't have to think about it which makes it really easy.
I weighed in this morning at 177 even. Love to see the numbers leave. I feel energized and sure that I can do it this time. I went back and looked at the reasons I wanted to lose weight and now even more want to lose the weight. One of my main goals was to walk at my graduation at my goal weight. well I have less then 1 year now to got to that one. Also had a reminder yesterday as my knee was in terrible pain for no real reason. I took meds and elevated it and it's better today. I want to be healthy and pain free so the diet continues.
Ali

July 30, 2008
What a day yesterday. The boys were running around driving me crazy and boom the earthquake hits. I have Garrett, Cody and 2 friends in a doorway, ran to the backyard to get Pj (who was very upset I was taking him away from watering the plants) got back into the doorway with the boys all before it was over. I spent the next 35 min trying to call Shawn but the phones were down so no Shawn. Then I finally go ahold of him and he had been driving and didn't know we had an earthquake. Then the kids are freaking out the rest of the day thinking everything is another earthquake.
I started round 2 of my summer school last night with a new class all about gender and what makes us act like boys and girls. I got home from school to a house full of kids that wouldn't got o sleep because what if there is another earthquake. I admit once I got them to bed and went to bed I worried and took a long time to fall asleep as well.
Today I have to write a paper already for the new class. I also have about 30 shirts I need to iron and have been putting off for weeks. Oh yeah, I thought of 2 more things I should have added to the 10 things you don't know about me thing 1. I hate ironing, I would rather do laundry all day then iron, and 2 I hate earthquakes. When I was a kid and we would have them I would sleep with my Mom for weeks and weeks after they were done.
So with all the craziness yesterday dieting was pretty easy. I wasn't humgry so it was easy to be smart and I even turned away soda although it was calling my name.
Ok well of to do all my fun jobs.
Ali

July 29, 2008
Why can't dieting be easy???
I guess if it was we would all be where we want to be with our weight.
I am having a difficult time gettin back to dieting. I was talking with my Mom about it this morning for a long time. Her suggestion was to restart my sponsors and start from square one. I asked wouldn't that be cheating? I mean these people have already done stuff before and I would be losing the same pounds again. So I guess I will be thinking this one through. I know it was a real modivator for me before to look and see how far I was from one of the names. It did help me to keep going. So what do you think?
Shawn is back safe and sound. He had a great time. He was tired by the time he got home last night so we are looking forward to a nice night together with the family on wed.
Well I am starting my new class tonight. I am not looking forward to it at all. I am burned out on school and really just want a break. I did get my grade for my last class and I got a C. This is the first class I have gotten a C in since being at the new school. I am disappointed with my grade but I almost don't care. I am so over these stupid classes that have nothing to do with anything that I am fine with a c.
So I weighed in today at 181.8 I seem to like being in this weight area. I have also decided to make a new goal for myself. I wanted to get to 132 because that is where I was when Shawn and I met but after dieting and looking at my body I now want to get to 150. I got to 153 and was so happy with how I looked that that is the new area where i want to be.
ok well off to think about what I am going to do for dieting. back to my 1000 ca. a day plan, how about low carb, weight watchers, too many choices and I am not sure what to do.
Let me know what you think people.
Ali

Well yesterday was a nice day of laundry and getting Shawn ready to fly to Oregon. He is going to visit Jim and Kim for the weekend. I have a million other things I am going to be trying to get done around here. I have a bridal shower for a friend and the 3 kids running around all weekend.
Do you ever feel like you need a vacation? I know we just got back from fishing but man I need some time away with no kids and just Shawn. I have gone into the Mom mode of daily life and although I love being a Mom once in awhile I just want a weekend for me. We only go away together in Feb. and as much as I love it, it is with friends and just isn't the same. Ok enough about that.
i weighed in this morning after my diet break. I have been pretty good and not going to crazy. I am at 181 so the same as Mon. not bad. I am maintaining and not gaining.
Well I am off to go shopping for bridal stuff,
Ali

well for some reason I don't feel like bloggin today. I am worn out from studying yesterday and my brain just wants a break. I am planning on laying low and watching a movie, then tonight we are going to the Quakes game. Just a nice night with the family. As for my test it went well. I should get my grade by next week. I am just glad to have a little break from school until Tues. with no thought of I should be doing homework. AHHH.
Ali

July 23, 2008
I have to majorly study today so my blog will be short and sweet. Things have returned to normal and everyone is home and feeling better. I however am still on vacation mode with my diet. I can't seem to want to get back on it. I am not going crazy, I am still being kind of careful. Shawn is gone for the weekend and we are doing dinner before he goes so I am thinking that when he returns we will get back on it. Too much going on this week and weekend to be totally on my diet. Ok well I am done for today.
Ali

July 22, 2008
Yesterday was one of the worst days ever. The day went well, the kids swam, we recouperated from our trip. Then the evening came and AHHHH. Shawn gets a phone call from his parents to say that their motorhome had died on the way home from the same fishing trip we were on, they sold the motor home to some guy stuffed all their belongings in with my brother in law and started their drive home, then I go to school to find out t was cancelled, on my way home Shawn calls to tell me that Garrett is screaming in pain because his stomach hurts, I rush home and deal with him, while all of that is going on Shawn gets a phone call to tell us that the brother in laws rescue vehicle got a flat tire in the middle of no where. We are making phone calls to find a spare while garrett is throwing up. Finally we find out that they got a spare so that was done. Garrett ate like 1/2 of a bag of hot cheetos and got really sick so we are calling the family friend who is a nurse to see what we should be doing. He is lathargic and drifting in and out of sleep to throw up. Finallt he goes to bad and stopped throwing up at like midnight, we get a call to tell us that our family is almost home at the same time. Finally we can go to bed at about 12:30.
or so I thought, 2am I wake up to all the lights in the house on. My first thought was garrett, no he is ound asleep, Pj has turned every light including closet lights on and is sitting outside of his bedroom playing. He will not go back to sleep. We finally went and layed on the couch and watched cartoons until 6:30 when he fell back to sleep. I went back to bed and slept until 11am. He woke up about the same time. Lets breath. So finally everyone is up rested and feeling better this afternoon.
What a night. Hopefully everyone get some much needed rest today and everythign returns to normal.
Ali

July 21, 2008

As hard as it is to admit we are back from Bishop. We had so much fun and could have stayed longer easily. We fished our hearts out. Shawn caught a ton. The boys had so much fun. I wasn't sure about camping and fishing but I wanted to stay so badly. We stayed in our tent. We cooked everthing over an outdoor stove. Didn't shower. We camped. We went to 2 different lakes and fished 2 different rivers, and even a hot spring. It was relaxing and much needed time away from life. We went with Shawns parents, his brother and is family, and his cousin and his 2 sons. We had our drama but all in all it was a fun and memorable trip. We are already talking about when we can return.

I had planned all week on being very good on my diet while we were there but once I went to the market and realized how hard it would have been due to our cooking and keeping food cold situation I gave up and decided I would eat normal but be careful. We were so tightly packed in our car I couldn't even fit the extra food that I would have needed to eat. Everything we ate was from cans and bags. I did ok. I did have cookies, and trail mix. I don't think I over ate at all and we walked and stayed pretty active. I mean when everytime you have to use the restroom it is a walk it all adds up.

I weighed in at 180.2 this morning. Now I know I didn't eat normal for the weekend but there is one other factor in my weight. We discussed it while on our trip and everyone kind of agreed so I will write about one thing I said I would never write about. We decided that your body goes on vacation from using the bathroom while you are on trips. I have the same problem anytime we go away. My body doesn't go if you get what I mean. Like the beach it could really be a whole week. So my body was on vacation mode and I think this is partially why my weight is up as well.

Ok enough about that. Today I am cleaning and doing laundry from our trip, I have got to go to the market to get food back in the house that isn't from a can, and tonight I have my last day of the current class I am taking before my final on Wed. I am excited to get this class over and start the next one on Tues of next week. This class has been boring and hard to get through.

Ok have a good one,
Ali

July 16, 2008
instead of weight and my life today I am going to tell you 10 things about me that you may not know.

1. I love action movies, not so much gross and bloody but action, adventure, the ones that make you think.

2. I wear a size 10 shoe. large for a woman I know.

3. My very favorite comfort food is a bowl of cereal on the couch.

4. I love to sing as loud as I can in the car and pretend to be a famous singer but then again who doesn't do this.

5. I have major crushes in much older men. I love Harrison Ford, Dennis Quaid, Tom Skaret. I think men look better with a few grays and wrinkles:)

6. I have a fear of getting water on my face. I keep a towel next to the shower to dry my face off if it gets wet.

7. I am obsessed with craigslist.com, I could go on it 15 times a day. Yet I have never gotten anything off of the site.

8. As a kids and still a little today I thought the way I would die would be a drive by shooting. no idea why and I have never told anyone that.

9. If I could spend a day with any celebrity I would have to choose either Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, or Wynonna Judd. he first 2 because I just think they would be fun. and Wynonna because I find her facinating and think we struggle with some of the same issues plus I love her voice.

10. ok last but not least I hate doing laundry, I would rather scrub a dirty toilet, I do it once a week because I have to and I hate it the entire time. I am not sure why but I don't mind putting it into the machine but I wish it would switch itself to the dryer and fold itself and the worst .put itself away. Which brings one more thing....

NUMBER 11. I always have a pile of clothes in front of my closet, usually a laundry basket with clean stuff that didn't get put away. Then I toss the million things I try on, on top of the pile. Shawn hates it but it is my one messy pleasure. It takes up half of the floor in our bathroom. it is so bad that sometime I get embarresed and throw it in the closet so the pile doesn't look as big.

Ok well there are some of my weird habits, thoughts, fears. Thought it would be fun to change it up for a day.
Have a good one,
Ali

July 15, 2008
I am out of Coffee. This has been a very rough morning. I am trying drinking green tea but I love my coffee.
88%, that is what I got on my midterm for the class I am currently taking. B is fine with me. I just want this class to be done. I have 3 classes left and then I start my new class for the last 6 weeks of summer.
I have a new yummy find. I can't get enough of it. I love Taco Bell, everyone knows this. They have a fresco menu with all items are under 350 calories and 9 grams of fat. I have fallen in love with this burrito it is called the fiesta chicken fresco burrito. It comes with rice, chicken, cheese, and pico salsa for 330 calories and 8 grams of fat. I get it with no rice and no cheese so I am thinking it is about 225 calories. I like it so much I had it for lunch and dinner yesterday. I am going to keep myself from getting it again today:)
I feel a little discouraged today. I made the mistake of looking at my weight charts from last summer. I lost so fast it makes me want to go back to eathing that way. I know it was so unhealthy and I am talking myself out of doing something stupid. I read an article that said diets like the one I did are as addictive as drugs. You mentally know how terrible they are but love the side effects. So one day at a time.
I did great again yesterday even with the 2 burritoes. I stayed at about 1100 calories. I weighed in this morning at 177.8 so I know the pounds are going. I think there is something about looking back at them written down. I just need to remind myself that 1 week ago I was 7 pounds heavier.
Oh yeah I updated my little weight progress thing at the top of the page and it now says that I have lost more then I need to lose. More then 50% to my goal . Whoopee.
Ok well off to the market,
Ali

July 14, 2008
Good morning everyone.
Well I almost made it through my crazy weekend.
Sat. night we went to pizza for some of our families birthdays. I was really good. I packed a sandwhich, and strawberries for dessert. I did have salad with ranch from the resteraunt as my little splurge. I ate very few calories through the day before we went so that I could indulge a little while we were there. I did great. I woke up Sun. Morning and had still lost.
Then Sun. I didn't get a chance to eat until like 1:30 so i ate a salad and granola bar. I had to lay on the couch for awhile because I had been struggling with a headache all day. My tummy hurt from being hungry and I felt terrible with no energy. I gave in and we had chinese food for dinner. I looked up the calories after I had already eaten and ouch! I had a bowl with fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and 1 chicken spring roll and my dinner was over 1200 calores in 1 meal.
With all of this it made me think about 2 things how upset I was I had given in to temptation, and 2 how often before I would eat breakfast, fast food lunch, and dinner and eat like 4000 calories a day. Man they add up fast.
so I am dissapointed with myself but know today is a new day.
We finally went back to our old church. We realized as soon as we got there the that we still love it. It is much smaller and more our style. We really want to get involved in some way in a church and some of the ones we visited had a waiting list, or basically said the need was for parking lot help. At the new church someone already told us they need help with the kids, and another guy told us about a new church that is starting in a garage a few blocks from our house that is members from the church we like that needs people to help it get up and going. I am not sure we are ready to do that much work but to know there is a need at the church makes us want to do more.
So I weighed in this morning at 178.8 and it has been 1 week which means I have lost 6.6 pounds.
Have a great day, today I should find out my grade from that test last week.
Ali

July 11, 2008
Som people find it hard to sleep when they are in the first phases of a diet because the amount of calories that you are eating is so different then "Normal" that you metabolism somehow throws off your melatonins making it either very tired or where you cannot sleep. It can take up to a month to go back to normal.
So this is what I found out about why I have been lying in bed for hours at night. Shawn has had the opposite reaction, he keeps falling asleep on the couch at 9pm. Last night seemed better but I think this was because we didn't go to bed until 1am. So hopefully in the next few days my body figures it all out and fixes it.
We had a great day again yesterday. We swam, and humg out. Dinner was pancakes, eggs with syrup, and mac and cheese. I had 2 little pancakes with jelly for 300 cal. and some scrambled eggs. Shawn ate the same thing I did and we enjoyed staying on track together.
This weekend will be our first test. Shawn has already decided to be really good all day and then ahve salad and a slice of pizza. Me I think just salad and a diet soda no pizza. I am afraid if I do one little cheat this early in that I will go right back to bad habits.
I am in a whole new mindset and enjoying dieting again. I love to wake up and look forward to getting on the scale. I don't think about food all day. I eat when I have to and my body tells me it needs food. I have more energy and physically feel better when my body isn't having to work as hard to get rid of all the junk I eat.
Ok well have a great weekend and enjoy the little things. This weekend is about enjoying my kids. I realize how quickly they are growing up and I want to cherish every min. with them now.
Ali

July 10, 2008
Happy Birthday to my Son Cody. Today is his 8th birthday. I remember so vividly the day he was born. There is no way he is 8.
I studied alot yesterday for my midterm and I think it went really well. I will find out next week.
Yesterday was another successful weight loss day. I stayed right on track. Yesterday was kind of a hard day only because I wanted to stop and get fast food while I was out running around. I did good and came home and had a chicken breast and granola bar instead. I also had the little lingering headache for most of the day that is still there this morning. You know the kind of headache you get when you didn't get much sleep the night before. Oh and I forgot to look up how sleep and diet go together and at 12:30 after lying in bed for 1 and 1/2 hours I remembered that I said I was going to look at that. So today I am going to look into that and I will let you know tomorrow. If you have had anything like that let me know.
Today is a day of getting the house in order. While I study for tests I kind of let the house go a bit and then play catch up after I am done.
I wiehged in this morning at 179.4 so down again. and Yeah again.
Tonight for Cody's birthday we are having pancakes, eggs, and mac and cheese. Should be fun. I am going to look and see what one pancake with sugar free jelly would be. Don't want to miss out on the fun.
Have a great day,
Ali

July 9, 2008

I did so great again yesterday. I made great choices including our yummy taco's. I had a hard night of wanting to eat in front of the t.v. but was strong and only had a fiber granola bar. I don't know if I told you guys but Shawn is also doing a similar diet but mostly calorie based. He was also in a munchy mood last night so we supported each other and got through it.

I don't know if it just me but when I am dieting strictly I don't sleep very well. The last 2 nights I have tossed and turned much of the night. I am going to do some research on it today to see if diet and sleep go together somehow.

It was a big day in our house yesterday. Pj is starting potty training. It has been a battle of fighting with him to even go near the toilet but he is at the age where he has figured out how to take his diaper off so he never has it on. Most of our day is nude Pj running around the house. Yesterday we finally got him to go on the potty 2 times. Yeah. This morning he wants the diaper on and no toilet. It appears to be another battle day. I don't want to push him so we will see who wins the battle. One thing I can tell you is it is going to be me!

I weighed in this morning at 180.2 so down again. I am getting some of the side effects of dieting today. I have a headache that I have taken tylenol for but it is still hanging around and I have the tummy blah going on this morning.

Off to study for a midterm tonight. Oh and the pics at the top are from Cody's birthday dinner on Sun.

Ali