Sorry it has been awhile again. The last few weeks have been crazy. I was in finals which is always tough but the kids were on spring break and wanted to go do stuff. We had a good week and went to the beach to my grandpa's house and got it clean and ready to turn the keys over to the new owners. We stayed until Friday and when we got home Shawn called and I had to drive back to City of Industry because he had lost his keys while golfing. Once we got home again I got a phone call from my Mom that my Grandpa had passed away. So all in all it has been very busy, hectic, and sad all rolled into one.
I am on spring break this week so I am spending my days sewing a few things for a baby shower that is coming up in a month. I sat down to sew yesterday and my machine (which is from like 1960) wasn't working right. I had been saving up to buy a new dining room table but decided that my table is fine and I went and bought myself a new sewing machine with the money. I am so excited to sit down and see what this baby can do.
So the last few weeks have been tough but I am doing well. I am glad that my Grandpa had a great life. He dies peacefully and he was ready to go. He had gotten tot he point where he couldn't golf, drive, go out, or even watch tv. He said he lived a very fulfilling life and was't able to live the quality of life he wanted to be living anymore. So I am sad but I am relieved that he went peacfully and without pain.
Well I am off to sew. We are going out of town for easter and to get away from life for the weekend.
Have a very Happy easter.
Ali

I attached a pic of my grandpa with my brother and my super cute niece Emily. I have ones with my family but was being lazy and didn't want to dig them out and scan them. We will miss you Grandpa Don.

I broke the plateau of 199.8, I got stuck for over a week. (yes I weigh in everyday) anyways I am down 2 pounds this morning. What a relief.
So with that said I did my first teaching demo last night where I had to show a class of my piers how to do an art project as if they were students. I think I rocked. I think the teacher loved it as well and she is hard to please. She loved that I had options for the kids and lots of fun and unique ideas using recycled materials. All in all it was a success.
I am in my last 2 weeks of school and my house, family, and I are all feeling it. I have been doing homework pretty much non stop. I have managed to keep up the laundry and the dishes but I need a maid to keep up with my kids and everything else. I keep apologizing to Shawn and he keeps saying don't worry about it I haven't had tome either. Shawn has had baseball for the boys every night since last Sat. and we don't get a break from that until this coming Sunday. Life is hectic but when we have down time we aren't sure what to do with ourselves.
So I can't think if I mentioned this or not but my Grandpa is back in the hospital. He has a bacteria infection in his blood and a bruise on his head from falling. The bruise is making him moody and irritable. Yesterday was his birthday and he spent it in the hospital. I so want to go break him out and taking him golfing or something I know he loves. Maybe when he moves back to the home he will be well enough to come out and play:)
Ok well off to do more homework,
Ali

What is happening to education in the state of California? Last night while in class the professor shared a news article with us about the terrible test scores some of the local schools have on standard tests. I was very pleased that not one of the schools was in Etiwanda where our kids go but many of the schools were in Fontana and the surrounding area. I woke up this morning to the same information on the news. We also got a phone call from our school district yesterday saying the 80 teachers in our districts are getting pink slips in the next few months.
As a future educator who is currently in school to be a teacher what does this mean? Well first I can't ignore it because every time I go to class it is talked about. I am currently spending thousands of dollars to pursue my dream of being an art teacher. I can't let all of this talk convince me to do something else. The one thing I am relying on is
1. There has to be an upswing in jobs eventually. The state cannot keep firing teachers because we still have kids that need to be taught.
2. I have a specialized credential. As a teacher you have two choices. The first is to get a multiple subject credential and teach elementary. The second is to get a single subject in a certain subject like I am doing. This means that if a teaching job in art opens up they must hire someone with an art credential. They cannot hire someone with a math credential to teach art. So this is good for me if a way.
3. Many of the local art teachers are reaching retirement age and looking to be replaced in the next few 1-5 years. So even if I don't find a job on my first year I know there will be one in the next few years.
So as I face this everyday I know that the future in teaching isn't ideal, I know that teaching is always a necessity, and I know that teaching is what I really want to do. So as I go deeper in debt to fulfill my dream pray for my future job because I know it is out there waiting for me.
Ali

So I am a little frustrated. I have been sticking to my diet 100% except for the Islands burger this weekend. Even with the burger i was still within my calories for the day. Despite all if it I gained a pound this week. I know week 2 can do this but it still doesn't make it feel better. So anyways I will stick to it and if next week I haven't lost I will rethink the diet. I can't complain over all because I still am down 9 pounds in 2 weeks. So I am looking at the up side and getting on with the week.
Last night the kids had their first baseball games of the season. I threw on my thermals, 2 sweaters, a big jacket, gloves, scarf, and down blanket and sat at the park for 5 hours. It was still cold but both kids won their games so it was well worth it.

This week is a busy school week. I have to present an art lesson to the head art lady on campus. I am nervous but excited. I have some great ideas. My art project is recycled art which means that all of the items have to be used items or things that you can recycle. So far I have made fish using 2 liter and shampoo bottles, a mobile using fused plastic bags, and my favorite a light bulb vase with soda can flowers (See above image) I have to teach the other students in my class as if they are high school age kids how to do an art project. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Ok well I am off to do some more homework.
Ali

Did you know that on most diets you are allowed a cheat meal and it won't affect your results greatly? I am so thankful that I get a cheat meal once a week. I did great all day Sat. and packed snacks for the baseball field. Sunday I actually got to spend the whole day with my family. It was perfect and much needed.
Sunday we decided to take the kids bowling. We had a free coupon so off we went. The kids love bowling. After bowling we decided to go to lunch/dinner at islands. Looking at the menu there were a few choices that would have been good but they were all vegetarian and I was in the mood for a burger. I got a mushroom hamburger on a wheat bun. It was delicious. I ate a few fries but they weren't that great so it made not eating them easy. The burger was great and it was the only meal I ate for the day. I had a pear and some dried fruit, nut, but did great to keep my calories low before and after the meal. Cheat for the week done!
So on Friday I was saying how I was going to make trail mix. I did and it is yummy. I got raw cashews, peanuts, organic raisins, and yogurt chips threw them all in a ziplock and done. he kids love it and have eaten more then I have. Shawn even ate it as a snack at the baseball field and was impressed. I think we have a winner.
So my other fun adventure this weekend was making my own dishwasher soap. I heard it was easy and much cheaper to make you own dishwasher soap but was always leery on actually doing it. I went to but some on Friday and decided to buy the ingredients to make my own instead. The box I was going to get was $6.00 I got all of the stuff for mine for $3.00 and it makes twice as much as the $6.00 box. I got a plastic container to store it in and it worked really well. I was surprised.
 So here is the recipe.
equal parts borax and baking soda mix it in a container. Use 2 tablespoons for a load of dishes. Its really tough I know. So if you want to save a little money try it.
Ok well off to get some homework done for the week. The kids both have baseball tonight so figuring out a portable dinner to take or something filling to eat at 4pm to hold us all over for the night.
Ali

Thank the Lord that it is Friday. I think adding up all the time I have seen Shawn since Monday the total is about an hour. It has been a heck of a week. I do have homework yet again today but it is only one chapter so not too bad. I am eating my breakfast of sprouted wheat english muffin with sugar free peanut butter. Mmm warm peanut butter is so good. So as of this morning I have lost 10.4 pounds in less than 2 weeks. Yay!!! I was starving at school last night, I guess my fruit dinner on the run just wasn't enough. I had calories that I was going to use when I got home but my tunny was grumbling. I had a 10 min break and 1 vending machine close enough on campus to go to. I normally pack snacks but forgot. So I go to the vending machine and I was pleasantly surprised. There were stickers by the cost of some of the items that said "healthy choice" now beef jerky that is flavored is loaded with sugar so I knew that was a no. I looked around and they had the perfect snack. I got trail mix with peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, and yogurt chips. It was no sugar and everything I could have. I was so happy. I liked it so much as a throw in the purse idea that I am going to make my own today. It wasn't super low in calories but at around 140 for 1/4 cup it is perfect for a quick snack. I think I am going to leave out the sunflower seeds because they all sunk to the bottom of the bag and were hard to eat so out they go. I also might add carob chips if I can find them.

So as you all know my good friend is moving back to New York. She had this thing called a lovesac that she can't take with her so she gave it to me. It is basically a really big, unpopable beanbag chair. I got it in the house this morning and it is HUGE. The thing is a 6 foot circle. The kids love it and I am trying to figure out how to fit it into the kids playroom doorway. So my exercise for the day is lifting this 70 pound thing around my house.
As for the hula hoop I am getting the hang of the waist thing. I can keep it up so that is a step. Soon I will work on doing more with it. I wasn't sure about it but I wake up and my abs and legs are really sore so I guess it is.
Ok I had too much coffee so forgive the lang post.
Ali

Hey everyone,
I feel great today. I had a ton of homework but it wasn't bad because I was in a great mood. Isn't it funny how if you eat the right things you body feels so much better. If I stuff myself and eat terrible stuff I feel terrible so why do I do it? No idea. I just know that I have been on this for 11 days and I have energy and feel good.
So how funny is it that I say I love something on my blog and the people who make the product respond. I really do love the Coconut bliss bars:) if you ever go to Henry's pick them up, unless you don't like coconut and then maybe don't. Or do and if there not your thing you can pass them on to me:)
As for the gross quinoa my friend Ali explained that it may have been gross because it sprouted. I think she may have been right. I am going to give it another try once I go buy a new box.
So what else is going on..... Hmmmm. My good friend Nicole who I went to school with is moving back to New York. Last night I went to dinner with her and I did great. I had a steak dinner. Why is that so good? I ate half the steak which is protein,  half of my dinner salad(would have had more but it was swimming in ranch), some steamed veggies, and a half of a baked potato plain. I say that was a success. I didn't gain this morning so yay for me.
Well I guess that is it for today. See y'all tomorrow.
Ali

I am down 9 pounds today. I feel great and I eat all the time. I think I found something I can do long term:)
I sound like an infomercial. Sorry!
I eat a ton of dried and fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, eggs, salads, chicken, avocado, and a few new choices. I did try something called Quinoa it's like a grain you use instead of rice. It was terrible! It wasn't good at all. So no more quinoa for me. My favorite treat is called coconut bliss bars. They are coconut ice cream bars that are healthy. Mmm they are really yummy.
So other than the diet like is busy as usual. Seems like Shawn and I see each other on the weekends and Monday and then the rest of the week we literally see each other for about 1 hour at night. Next quarter I go back to two nights so life will be a little easier. Right now it is crazy because Shawn has baseball every night while I am at school so non stop.
On another note I have a sister in law who showed me hoop exercising at Thanksgiving. I thought is was cool. I talked to her again and she keeps inviting me to come to her classes. For the fun of it I made a hula hoop and tried it.  That thing fell right to the floor. No kidding I couldn't get it to stay on my waist for anything. I have been trying everyday since last Thursday and I think I am finally getting somewhere I can keep it on my waist for about 2 minutes. No tricks yet but I am addicted to figuring this out. So check this out I attached a video of something similar to what my sister in law does and it is amazing.http://hoopstasy.com/ It isn't the best video out there but it's the easiest to see and she isn't wearing a bikini which seems to be common because it helps the hoop stay up. So that's the newest fun in my life.
Ok well have a great Wed.
Ali

I realized Friday night while talking with a friend that I forgot to post. I just forgot, it slipped my mind. It kids of surprises me that I forgot.
Anyways so for so good. My main problem is that following the plan I feel like I eat all the time so I have actually modified it because I was eating all the time. I just don't have the time or need to eat every 2 hours. The hard part is it was full meals with prep and all every 2 hours. I have purchased a ton of dried fruit and nuts and eat those for snacks now. I also was supposed to eat around 2000 calories a day which is high for a diet. I have decided to cut it down and I haven't been going over 1600.
Friday night we went out with Matt to Applebee's  looked online ahead of time so I knew what I could have. I had a chicken dish with mushrooms over it, steamed veggies, and potatoes. It was really good and under 550 calories. I did chase it with a mini hot fudge sunday but I had the calories to allow for it since I had been really careful all day.
Sat. I was good we went to El Torito for lunch/dinner. I still picked really carefully having steamed fish and shrimp in corn tortillas.
Sun. we went to church, cleaned the garage, pay int he yard and enjoyed the weather. For dinner we made homemade sushi and watched a family movie.
It was a great weekend. I should have been working on homework and stuff for school but wanted to enjoy my family so I did. Today I will work on catching up on everything.
I forgot to weigh in this morning. I was out of it when I got up at 6am. I love Monday blah. Anyways I will weigh in tomorrow. I know I was down 6 pounds between Mon. and Wed and Sun. I was still the same as Wed so I will just say 6 for the week.
Ali

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