Random thoughts

This post should have been about my week 4 weight loss, Power of One Challenge at the shrinking jeans. I don't feel like reporting my 2 lb. gain last week. So there, you have it....I'm still chubby and the bag of valentine's gummy hearts were not worth it. I'm not feeling sorry for myself because I control what I eat and so I messed up. Maybe you will see a post about week 5 next week, until then, I will bore you with my random thoughts.
1. It's been snowing all day, it looks like a white canvas on the ground...I still love snow...
2. My new favorite food is quiche..
3. I am proud of myself for continuing with Curves, even though my eating still needs help...
4. I like going to Zumba at Curves....
5. I like the fact that I can wear house shoes in my office...
6. I am really enjoying this season of American Idol with the new judges...
7. I am hooked on the Housewives of Atlanta, Beverly Hills & Orange County...
8. I love my new box set of Will and Grace from my daughter....
9. I love getting off work at 4...
10.I switched facial cleansers to Neutrogena and am liking it...
11.I still love my Vera Bradley purse I got on clearance for $12...Coach is taking a break...
12.I love watching The Duggars...The Little Couple and Little People Big World....
13.I guess you could say I like reality t.v.
14.Can't wait til Celebrity Apprentice starts again...
15.I love the new Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN...

Saturday at the Movies with 4

I invited my 4 oldest grand kids to the movies to see "Tangled". Abby didn't want her picture taken but I managed to sneak in a few. Aren't these some handsome boys? Noah, Gray & Carter.It was such a fun Saturday with Gray, Noah, Carter & Abby. This was my first try at taking all 4 to the movies. I stocked my Big purse up with treats. The ride over there in my van was entertaining enough. They giggled and made each other laugh and just had a ball. I looked in the rear view mirror and thought to myself, how blessed I am. The cousins don't get together as much as they should. Usually just for Birthday parties or holidays.

After the movie was over I tried to sneak in a few pictures and you can see Abby not liking me sneaking them in.
I treated them to McDonald's after the movie and we came back to my house and played some more.

Abby is saying "hey, don't take my picture". She loved being around her boy cousins and asked me if they could all have a sleepover some time. It was so cute, when we were walking in the theater, her and Gray were holding hands. It was the sweetest thing. I know, my camera was buried in my purse, or I would have snapped a picture.

So, Abby finally let me take her picture. She made herself a birthday cake. She will turn 4 in March...she wanted me to lite the candle and sing to her.

Then it was time to take the boys home. We stayed for a little bit while Abby and Ivy played so sweet together. On the way back to my house, Abby said she liked Aunt Steph's house because it has an upstairs, like a castle. She wants to go back she said. Her daddy & mommy picked her up and I hopped in the shower and called it a day. I loved hanging out with the foursome!

Skype buddies

What's the next best thing when you live over a thousand miles away from family you love? Skype! I am so thankful for Skype. I am able to visit with my sister as much as we want to. This is Aden with his daddy, Rob. (sorry about the distorted picture) They are my niece, Dayna's hubby and son. Aden's brother, Evan loves to Skype with me. He points to their computer and says "Aunt Ronna". My grand kids met their cousins through Skyping. When they come over, we try to see if anyone is on and we visit. One of the things Abby loves to do when she is over is run up the stairs to the computer room and see if Aunt Diane is on Skype. It just warms my heart to visit with my loved ones and watch the little ones grow. Today is Evan & Aden's Birthday party. They were born 1 year and 3 days apart. My niece said she would turn on Skype during the party and let me see what's going on. It's like being there. This is just one of the things I am so thankful for!

The Power of One - Weigh in # 3

So, here we are at week 3 of this Challenge. I have great news to report. I am down another 2 lbs., making my total loss at 5 lbs. It really blows my mind cause my food choices have been very strange, but I have stuck to my smaller portion sizes and No night eating. I have also changed the snack choices and am drinking more water. I am enjoying my Zumba class at Curves and I have been sticking to my 50 sit-ups before bedtime.
I dumped out my candy dish at work that contained my favorite hard Christmas candy and replaced it with dried fruits and healthy nuts. It's a great feeling to know that I can still have chips (baked lays) and desserts (half frozen choc. covered banana's) and still lose weight. The secret for me is giving up the night eating and eating more protein. I feel like the power is starting to come back and I can continue on this journey of making healthier choices and lose weight. Summer is just around the corner!

The Power of One - Weigh in #2

So, I am a few days late in posting this, but I have a good excuse....I thought my Weight Watchers scale was broke but it only needed batteries. When I went to put the batteries in, it still wouldn't work, so hubby fixed it...turned out, I had the batteries in wrong...oops! So, I do have good news to report. I had a 1 lb. weight loss last week, making my total loss at 3 lbs. Hey, I will gladly take this. I had a very rough week foodwise. I found myself wanting to munch at my desk at work. I had some kind of nervous munching thing going on. So, I went to the healthfood store and got some dried fruits and nuts and made a mix. I did pretty good on my portion sizes, but my food choices sometimes weren't the best. I did make it to Curves and even did a Zumba class. So, my goals for this week are:
1. Make it to Curves every day, including the Zumba classes.
2. Substitute my raspberry ice tea for water.
3. 50 sit ups on the exercise ball before bedtime.
4. No night eating! cut off the eating at 6:00 pm.
5. More fruits and veggies.
I hope to report another weight loss on Wednesday at the 3rd weigh in.

New Year's Eve 12/31/10 with A & J

Abby & Jack came over to party with me for a while on New Year's Eve. I wanted Abby to hold up this sign and she didn't want to for some reason. I think she's saying "why are you making me hold this"?

The party got started with the big pink exercise ball. Jack is carrying his cup in preparation for the toast.who knew that an exercise ball could be so much fun?
Ok, so the highlight of our evening was when I passed out rolls of (cheap) toilet paper and said "Go for it". Who knew I would be the one to get all wrapped up. It was so much fun and the clean up was not bad at all. I bribed them by saying we would get dessert as soon as it was all cleaned up. It works every time!

I was a very tired Mimi by the end of the night. They left before we rang in the New Year. I made me a pina colada and relaxed. Grampa was downstairs in his lazy boy snoring the whole time the party was going on. It was a fun party if I say so myself. Thanks Abby & Jack!

We Celebrate 34 Years of Steph!

She's Beauty


She's Babywearer
She's a Teacher, Writer, Encourager....

She's an Entertainer, Chef....
She's a Wife
She's a Mommy
She's a Best Friend
She's a Daughter
She's a Sister

She is Stephanie and we Celebrate Her today. Thirty-four years ago today, on a Saturday at 5:17 p.m. a princess was born. I knew the very moment our eyes met that she was special and God had great plans in store for her. I am so proud of the person she is and my wish for her is a day filled with blessings beyond all measure. Happy Birthday Steph!

Much Love, Mom

The Power of One - Weigh-in Week #1

Drum roll please.....my first week of the challenge weigh-in produced a 2 lb. loss. I will gladly take this number. This has been a very rough week for me all around. I started getting sick last Friday and was on the couch most of the weekend and a visit to the doctor on Monday showed I had a Virus "Bad Cold". But, the doctor visit also gave some great news from blood work results from a month ago I had done. She said my cholesterol was perfect and everything else was great. My blood pressure was even normal and it had been high for so long. I felt like she gave me a clean slate to get this party started in the weight loss area. She was thrilled that I am continuing with my Curves work-0uts and I decided to start doing Zumba along with the Curves. My first Zumba class is Saturday morning. Curves is offering the Zumba classes along with the Curves work-out. I am really excited about this new work-out.

If I could say one thing that was a Challenge for me this week that I overcame was the left over cookies and specialty chocolates that was in my work place that people would bring in. I walked past the Fannie May Pixies and decided that I would choose a yogurt as my snack instead of the little chocolate enemies. This for me was a huge step! I am so proud of Me for this. I kept thinking, what would Nancy and my sister think if I told them I gave in to these little devils? I also pictured the candy on my hips.

Although this was a rough week for me with being sick and not getting to Curves as much as I could have I am still happy with my results.

I do have to say that I did watch my portion sizes during meals. My hubby and I went out to eat one time and I ended up giving him my twice baked potato because I decided that I really didn't want it. Now, that's another step in the right direction. And I ate only 1 slice of the homemade bread at dinner instead of half the loaf.

I feel like the Power in me is back and I can do this. I hope to report another loss next week.