Do you ever feel like you are drowning in your own life? I kind of feel that way right now. Between school, being a full time mom, a household to keep up with, and my future staring me in the face I am overwhelmed. Just me self pity for the day. Enough of that.
So I woke up yesterday and drank my tea but within a few hours had a pretty mean headache. I gave in around 4 and had my coffee for the day. Headache fixed. I did well but kind of low on calories because I just felt nauseous and not like eating. I ate nuts and fruit but kind of felt gross. I had a yummy salad for dinner with avocado, chicken, eggs, spinach and a vinegar dressing. I cleaned and did laundry so I burned more calories. At the end of the day I had burned 2700 calories and took in 1300. I did however make my family walk to a school function to get in extra exercise. I ended the day with 10000 steps.
All in all a successful day.
Well I am up to my eyeballs in homework so off to my homework chair I go.
Have a great day,
Ali

before i forget Cody is getting an award for scoring 100% on his math standard testing last year in school and highly advanced in all other subjects. This is a huge deal and not many students in California do it. So yay for Cody.
Day one down
I got up yesterday and started my day with black tea, it's not coffee but it has half the caffeine until I can break caffeine all the way. Even if I make tea for the rest of my life I haven't ever heard of tea addictions. For breakfast I ate 2 eggs over a piece of Ezekiel toast, and a banana. I was doing great and felt really full.
11am I remembered I had to eat a snack so I grabbed some raw cashews (raw is healthier than roasted it keeps all the nutrients) and some dried apple rings. Something that I ate triggered my hungryness because all I wanted to do after that was eat more.
Lunch I made the yummiest salad and I am sure I will eat the same one again today. It had chicken, fresh motz cheese, some tomato, cucumber, avocado, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It was fresh and so good. The avocado made it. It filled me up and I was good once again.
My afternoon snack was a coconut milk yogurt (it's easier for the tummy to digest than milk) and some dried mango's. I am trying new things and mango's was one of them. I always say I don't like fruit and fresh mango's are not my thing at all. Dried mango's taste like candy. I was pleasantly surprised.
For dinner I had a taco in a bowl, I had chicken, brown rice, beans, sour cream, and all the veggies, topped with lime juice. I didn't miss the tortilla or cheese at all.
Now last night after baseball Shawn and I were chilling on the couch watching Castle (one of my fav. shows) this is the time I normally have a Pepsi, popcorn, ice cream, basically my yummy relaxing treat for the day. I was DYING. I wanted to eat sooooo badly. I even went back and added my calories up again to see if there was any wiggle room. I checked my bodybugg arm band to see how many calories I actually burned through the day. I burned 2600 because i was sitting a lot of the day doing homework. I ate 2100 calories. I couldn't really afford to eat anything else so I pouted and then went to bed at 10.
Here are my accomplishments for the day.
- I didn't drink any coffee (ok little lie there, I did take one sip after buying creamer that I can have, it was so bad I dumped it out)
- I didn't drink any soda.
- I took my vitamins and drank 100 oz. of water.
- I didn't give in and eat on the couch.
- at baseball practice instead of sitting on the bleachers and freezing I walked to warm up. It was only about a half of on hour but it was something.
So I made it through day one ( I feel like I say this all the time)
Sorry if this post was boring I needed to journal and keep a log of my food, plus it gives you all ideas, right?
Anyways here's to day two,
Ali

day 1

Well day one is here. I went to Henry's yesterday and stocked up on everything I am going to need to be successful. I am stoked to start getting healthy again. I weighed in this morning and after a weekend of eating and drinking a ton of soda I am actually not wanting to write my weight on here today. I am within a few lbs of where I started in July 2007 when I lost 60lbs. so i may write it later but I don't want to today. So here are the basics of the plan
- no white flour instead you eat sprouted Ezekiel 4:9 bread, English muffins, tortillas, etc.
- no sugar or sugar substitutes. I have purchased stevia which is a natural sweetener that doesn't have many calories and doesn't give you craving like sugar sub.
- I am giving up coffee and taking up tea. I have decided that the amount of cream that I use hinders my calorie intake so off it goes.
- to figure out tour daily calorie intake you take you current weight and multiply it by 13 if you sit a lot or have an office job, 14 if you work out 3 times a week, and 15 if you are really active. Take that number and devide it by .80 and there is your calories for the day. You get a little more than a typical diet but the hope it a lifestyle change and ease instead of killing you. So my daily is 1664 calories.
- I also have a meal plan I must follow so breakfast I get 2 carbs and 2 proteins basically 2 eggs and some veggies in an omelet, and a piece of fruit. or 1 egg, lean bacon, and a piece of toast with sugar free jelly on it. Each meal you have a different amount to follow and they add fat to dinner and lunch which could be avocado or salad dressing.
- last you try to drink half of your weight in oz. each day so a 200 lb. person drinks 100 oz.
I think that is the basics of it.
Anyways I got ready yesterday and made the yummiest chicken to get ready so here is the recipe. I will let you all know how I did tomorrow.
Ali

roasted chicken.
1 whole chicken 5-6 lbs is typical. I use foster farms because there is no added salt.
rinse the chicken and lay it in a roasting pan.
take 1 lemon cut it in slices, place the slices under the skin next to the meat. If you look near the opening you will see that you can life the skin away from the meat and slide you hand in, that is where I am talking about.
take the remaining lemon and place it in the cavity.
next some springs of fresh thyme. Place some under the skin with the lemon and put the rest in the cavity.
next 1 onion, cut in in half and put in the cavity
1 head of garlic cut in half to expose the middle of the garlic ( basically the wrong way) put that int he cavity.
next using butter or coconut oil ( it's better for you and tastes great) slather on the skin of the chicken about 2 Tablespoons.
Last sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees for 1 and 15 min for a 5 lb bird and 1 and 30 min for a 6 lb. bird.
I swear it is sooooo good you will make it again.

Cody and Garrett loved it.

New eating ideas

Ok so if you read my blog you will find a few things 1. I have done low carb 2. I have done weight watchers. 3. I have failed on both of them. I have been really wanting to come up with a good carb, lean protein, and fruit and veggie way of eating. I find that I am starving or don't eat enough on diets. I have been doing a lot of research for some kind of plan that takes everything I want and rolls it into one. After much debating I found something I think is worth giving a try. Monday I will start a new way of eating. It is going to take a little extra work on my part. The "way of eating" doesn't really have premade meals so it's alot of cooking required.
It seems pretty straight forward. Each meal you do 40% lean protein, 50% healthy carbs, and 10% healthy fats. I think it will take some getting used to but I am going to give it a go.
4 months until the annual beach trip and I am nowhere near ready.
Trying to do this healthy and long term.
Ali

Sorry I haven't posted. I have been super busy with school this week. So I wanted to give you all another Grandpa update. On Sat. morning the nurse at the home tried to wake my grandpa up and they weren't able to. The called 911 and had him taken to the hospital. Once at the hospital he was awake and ok. The hospital says he had a stroke. He spent a few days in the hospital again. He wasn't able to go back to the home he was in because he is higher needs than they thought. He is now living in a home with on site medical in Temple City. He is ok but looks terrible. His health is deteriorating really quickly. I am worried but he keeps saying that he is ready to be done. He says he has lived a long life. It makes me sad to hear him talk like that. So that is the newest and I will keep you up to date on anything else I hear.
So for my 32nd birthday Shawn and I took the boys to Disneyland. We had a great time and the kids loved it. We were there for 14 hours and hit everything at least once. The cook thing is we got free tickets to go to California adventure in the next month. Never been there either so Whoo hoo.
Ok well I am off to school yet again.
Have a good rest of the day.
Ali

gardening and movies

What a great week I have had so far. Sunday we went to our good friends Chris and Ali's new house. They bought a house on Monrovia with an amazing yard. Let's just say that after seeing all the work they have done it made me come home and eye my front garden. Monday morning I woke up with a mission. Pj and I went to Home Depot and picked all kids of pretty flowers. We came home and then I looked at the area and remembered I haven't done anything with it in like 2 years. It was so much work but I love it now. I have however spent much of the week trying to recover. My muscles hurt worse than any workout.

     Tues. Pj started preschool. He wasn't thrilled when I picked him up but adjustment time I figured. Well turns out he got in trouble the first day and the teacher yelled at him because he was sticking his tongue out with another little boy (Pj knows him from church and they came to our home bible study) needless to say Pj woke up yesterday and cried because he didn't want to go back. What genius teacher yells at a kid his first day? anyways we pulled Pj from the school after 2 days. The program also prided itself on lots of outdoor time. There "playground" was a cement slab the size of a bathroom with no toys.  So Pj and I are going to be homeschooling for preschool until he starts kinder in the fall.  

     Yesterday I watched a movie that I loved! I honestly think it is my top 5 movies now. It is called Julie and Julia, It is about Julia Childs (the cook) and a woman who vows to cook and blog her way through one of Julia's cookbooks. I highly recommend it. Shawn like it too.
Other than that we are trying to plan something fun for my birthday on Sunday. We figure that since it is superbowl we might be able to go to Disneyland or Knotts and not hit nearly as many people. Well see.
     On a great note my Grandpa is out of the hospital. He was released yesterday and is now living at a more lenient home for senior citizens. It isn't an old folks home. He has his own room with a beautiful patio. His meals are all served in a dining room and they have lots of activities like poker. I hope he is happy there. My grandpa is an punk some times and isn't ready to let go of his independence.  
I am off to work on homework. Shool is going well. I have some great ideas which make it more bearable. I woke up this morning sick with a cold and cough so I am hoping to get stuff done early and maybe email it to a friend to take to class for me. Well see how I am feeling at the end of the day.

so thankful it is Friday

I am so glad it is Friday. I don't know if I could handle anymore this week. My week had some major lows, stress, and self pity.  I know just what you wanted to know. Anyways I have had the worst week and sometimes stress is more than I can handle. I made it through without to much but the diet wasn't all that great at all. I was so bust all week it was a lot of quick and easy between classes and homework. Next week I will be better. Anyways I am just glad I made it through.
So update on Grandpa. He is still in the hospital and it seems like he will be there until Monday. They are looking for a rehabilitation home for him. He can't live by himself anymore but he is to stubborn for a rest home. So he is doing good.
School has been crazy. I have assignments up to my eyeballs and they all take hours. I am taking my first art class since graduating. It is an art ed class so you don't actually make anything but they teach you how to teach kids about art and plan fun art lessons for them. It is great but a lot of work. At least I enjoy it. The other classes I am taking are boring and necessary to teach but boring.
I did have one fun thing this week. Wed. I met up with 4 other girls for breakfast all of whom I went to high school with and 2 who I haven't seen since graduation. It was great to catch up and see everyone. It was a much needed break.
Lets see the other big adventure this week was signing Pj up for preschool. He starts kinder next year and I thought I would help next years teacher out by at least getting him used to sitting in a classroom environment. He will be going 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. Just enought time for me to get a pedicure, just kidding.
Well have a great weekend.
Ali

busy as a bee

I am not ignoring you I am just really busy and don't have time to post a lot today. I will post more tomorrow

Well it's Monday which means weigh in day. I lost .2 which I am pleased with after a long and not so good eating weekend. Sat. I had the chance to go with Shawn and all the guys to a U.S. mens soccer game. Before the game we went out to eat and I ate. I walked a bunch on Sat. but Sunday was another rough day of homework ALL day, stress about my grandpa, and life in general. I ate yesterday as well. I am back on plan today and hope that life doesn't throw me any curve balls.
School is so much harder this quarter then it has been in my entire college experience. There are teachers that seem to thing that their class is the only class you are taking and give you a ton of work, reading, and projects. unfortunately I am taking three classes and all three think that their class is my only class. I am up to my eyeballs in thing to do and don't feel like doing any of them. Bad combo! I worked all day yesterday and it looks like I will be spending today and tomorrow in this chair as well. only a year and a half to go.
So my Grandpa is in the hospital still. He is weak and can't do anything for himself. He had an MRI and they found that his brain is shrinking which is normal but it is causing him to lose mobility sometimes in his arms and legs. With the lose of mobility he trips a lot causing all his broken bones ( rib, wrist, and foot) He also has liver problems, among other issues. He is losing a ton of weight and looks fragile. I am having issues because my grandpa has always been the hard ass, tough one, of the family and I can't bring myself to see him fragile and medicated. Ok enough about that.
I did by the way eat like 2 quarts of veggies soup on Friday to stay on diet. I needed something sweet and thank goodness I had pumpkin and spice cake on hand so I made muffins. I'm really trying.
Well have a good Monday.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Ali

I will get through this without a food crutch.

I decided to take the time to post today because I am having a rough morning. I got a call from my Mom this morning that late last night she and my great uncle had to go pick my Grandfather up and bring him to my Mom's house to live until they can find a home for him. In the last few months his Alzheimer and alcoholism have gotten a lot worse. He has been in and out of the hospital for falling and other medical issues. My Mom was dealing with a social worker trying to decide if should be living by himself. I guess yesterday she got a phone call from my grandpa's good friend that said he was in a ton of pain, can't take care of himself, and it was time for him to live with someone or in a home. My Mom went down and packed him up. I have been on and off of the phone all morning with my Mom trying to help the best I can. He is having some medical issues and needs to be in the hospital but he forgets what is going on and keeps asking to be released. My Mom is having a really hard time being the one to plan and figure all of this out. With my past my natural instinct is to protect my Mom. I have been having a rough morning and want to do nothing but eat. I have a pot of veggie soup on the stove cooking and I am determined to get through this without my food crutch. Anyways I had to share what was going on more for myself as a way to keep busy but also so I can look back and remember that I made it past this without the help of food.
Please pray fro my Grandpa's health and my Mom's sanity. (they have kind of a rough past)
Have a good Friday,
Ali

rain, rain go away.

Boy am I ready for the rain to take a LONG break. The darkness outside makes me lazy and makes my house feel dirty. Yesterday I was looking for a recipe for roasted veggies that I knew I had posted on here sometime in the last 3 years. I started to read all of my blog posts from day one in 2007. It was so strange to go back and read it. It gave me a little hope in the diet roller coaster. Anyways I found the recipe and make it for dinner last night. It is whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I did onion. zucchini, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomato, an some other things I am sure. Toss a little olive oil and balsamic on it and throw it in the over for 45 min at 400 degrees. It makes the veggies sweet and yummy.
well I am off to write a paper for class on why I want to be a teacher. Should be interesting and I will post it later for you to see. I am not sure if I will post tomorrow. We have company coming to town to stay with us and I have a lot to do to get ready.
Have a great weekend,
Ali

oops my bad

Well yesterday was a real day of learning. I was busy all day with homework and didn't have time to eat dinner before school. I stopped at Starbucks for my soy sugar free vanilla latte and decided to pick up a little pastry. They have a sugar free, low fat selection so I decided they would be around 5 points and I would check once I got to school. I decided on a no sugar added lower fat banana, choc. chip muffin. As I was eating it I told myself about 10 times to throw it out the window and stop eating it. I thought low fat and no sugar I will be ok. I got to school and pulled out my laptop before class. My little good for me muffin was anything but good for me. According to the Starbucks website it was 11 points. My guess is 11 points is around 600 calories. So needless to say I learned from my mistake and didn't get to eat a healthy dinner because of the stupid muffin. What is even more shocking to me is that my normal before Starbucks stop with coffee and some kind of goodie was probably around 2000 calories. Holy cow. Funny because we wonder how we gain weight like we do and then realize something so simple as an afternoon treat was more calories than I am eating in an entire day now.
Have a great day.
Ali

the drama of dinner

I am so glad that I had good company at dinner yesterday because the food was terrible. We decided to splurge and go to a place called the melting pot for our anniversary. The cost of the place is just over $100 for a couple without any drinks. I thought for the money that it would be awesome. Boy was I wrong. We decided to start out with a beer and they came warm. The place is fondue style so you get stuff to dip in cheese or raw meat to boil in a little pot on your table. It was gross. The only good part was dessert but it was warm chocolate and a tray of yummy stuff to dip in it. I say save you money. I know we won't be going there again. I was bummed because I was the one that planned it and it flopped big time. Oh well.
Other then that our day was great. I am loving my new couches and can't wait until this summer to pan the walls yet again.
Anyways back on diet today. I did great yesterday and ate very small amounts of veggies before dinner so I knew I could eat and not feel bad about it. Luckily we don't have any big outings with food for at least a few weeks so I can lose some of this weight.
Okwell I am off to do a TON of homework that is due tonight.
The pic is of what our new couch looks like.

Sorry I am a little scatter brained today. I have been staring at a computer since 7:30 am and it is now 12:30. My eyes are all out of whack.
Have a good rest of the day and stay dry.
Ali

Happy Anniversary to me!

Happy Monday and Happy Anniversary to My hubby. We have been married for 13 amazing years.
So since it was Monday I had my first weigh in. First let me say that Sat. we took the kids to mongolian bbq and although I am not sure about the calories I ate really well. Sunday we went to a family pizza party. I ate 1 piece of pizza and a ton of salad. So when I weighed in this morning I wasn't sure what to expect but I weighed in at 198.8 down from 203.6 so yay for me.
As for tonight Shawn and I are going out and not counting any points but we are going to have a great time. We are going to a fondue restraunt. I think it is the first place we have ever eaten that you have to make a reservation. A little splurge but hey it's 13 years.
Lastly I am excoted because our new couches got deliver this morning. They are a camel color and I thing they look great. I will need some getting used to time. The best part is they have a 5 year warrently against stains and rips, tears, broken anything, 5 years with my kids is awesome.
Well have a great day.
Ali