Ugh! Swimsuit season...

I'm taking my DD swimming today! Thought it would be a nice change in activities for her. I was excited to try on my two brand new tankinis!!!! But, ugh!! You can really see my stomach! It looks like it's been enlarged!! LOL! Those extra 4lb I gained a few weeks back are really showing! This is ridiculous! I have to pull down my top constantly. :o( It's almost like my stomach has expanded!

I've been just terrible at keeping a food journal since I hit maintenance. Then when I decided to lose some more weight I haven't even opened my journal!! I do sometimes keep track on my white board on my fridge, but I need to keep at it - and CUT down on eating again!! *eyeroll* I just love food too much and am finding it extremely difficult. I am feeling quite down about it. (Ok, I should mention that I've lost 1lb so far! I haven't gained any, so I guess that's good. LOL!)

I'll be starting a homebased exercise program (if all goes well)! I really wanted to join a gym again but couldn't afford it. I also checked into Curves, but it was even more expensive and just not what I was looking for. I want to lift weights again. I used to do some weight lifting at home years ago and it worked wonders and I'm hoping it will work again for me. I have some great books that I have had for years and will devise a workout plan from that. I also have a great video (from Usana I think?) and LOVED it. I'll have to dig that out and see if it still works. The video was starting to blackout in spots, maybe I should see if they have it on DVD. (If anyone out there can help me out with that, I'd be forever grateful! ;o) I also need to open up my iPod and download some tunes to listen to when I go walking. (Which I STILL haven't started to do yet!) Such the procrastinator!

But on the homefront, we are getting tons done!! We are in the middle of landscaping and it's coming along nicely. Now I am trying to get the inside all organized and clean. It feels sooo good to do that! The walls are in terrible shape and need a paint job in a bad way, but we have so much going on right now that we just can't afford it. Soon I hope.

I've got a pretty good base tan going (ok, pretty good based on having fair skin and never tanning much)! I've been going to those stand up tanning booths and love it! I'll keep it up until summer hits.

I've been very busy preparing for my DD's third birthday party - it's a princess party and so many details to work out!! It's going to be so much fun. Bouncy castle (which we bought at Toys R Us), face painting (we've hired our babysitter to do that), royal feast, slaying the dragon pinata, and of course the castle cake that I designed & am having made! Our cake lady does a super job with cakes, we use her all of the time...actually we've been using her since our wedding 8 years ago!

:o)

I'm A Star!!

Ok, not really! LOL! But I think it's pretty neat! I voiced a radio commercial for Herbal Magic at the local radio station and it aired today at 9:50am and will air again at 6:40pm.

That's so cool that Herbal Magic called me to do this! I am apparently one of their "model" clients. I love how they use real people for their ads!!

:o)

What's For Dinner?

Mmmm, meatballs! Another favorite recipe! I'm waiting for it to cook as I type.

Cabbage Meatballs

3 slices Melba toast
8oz extra lean ground beef
2pkg artificial sweetener
2 cups shredded cabbage leaves
2 cups cubed tomato
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water

Crumble Melba toast extremely fine. Mix with ground beef. Roll into small meatballs.

Combine remaining ingredients in a sauce pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add meatballs and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serves two.
One serving equals 1 protein, 2 veggies, 1/2 starch

I use the pre-shredded bags of cabbage found at the grocery store. It just makes it so easy!

Enjoy!

:o)

So sad :o(

I am still so very sad about the abduction of little Madeleine McCann. My DD is almost three and it just breaks my heart to know there are people out there that want to hurt these little innocent children. It's been three weeks and she still has not been found. :*(

The McCann's have a website that I urge you to check out. Donate if you can and help spread the photos of Maddie to all of your contacts.

http://www.findmadeleine.com/




Thank you.

Withdrawals...

Over the last three weeks, I have been going through horrible withdrawals from stopping my medication. I was just so scared (it's so scarey not knowing how long this will last and if you'll ever feel "normal" again). It was a very difficult time during the first week or so, but DH was extra supportive and I decided that the best way to deal with it was to get out of the house and be with my friends.

So I started calling and emailing all of my friends to have that contact I needed. It's been wonderful, I feel so much more social now than ever!

I went on the internet and found natural ways to ease my withdrawal symtoms. I also went to see my Naturopath and he had some more suggestions. I am still taking these supplements and will do so until I no longer feel the effects of the withdrawal. Terrible I tell you!! You have nothing if you don't have your health.

I'm still not 100% but I've definately come a long way indeed!! I still haven't unpacked from my scrapbooking retreat three weeks ago, I wanted nothing to do with scrapbooking...just way too ill!! Going through this has brought a renewal to my life, so I am very happy about that.

I have signed my DH & I up for ballroom & latin dance lessons starting tomorrow night! My SIL is getting married in 6 weeks and I thought it would be fun to actually learn how to dance!! It's something I've always wanted to do. I've also started doing stand-up tanning sessions to get some color before the big day, too! And it always makes me feel good! I am a redhead and have very fair skin - I've only tanned once and that was when I was living in Australia for a year!! LOL!

My DH & I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary on May 8th. :o) We hired our babysitter and had a marvelous night out including dinner at our favorite restaurant, Gina's Mexican Cafe. Luckily I felt a bit better by then, but was nauseated by the end of the night. :(

And finally...drum roll please...I have decided to lose the last 10-15lb. I figured why not? I've lost 40lb, why not keep going until I'm satisfied? If I don't do it now, when will I?? So I'll need all the help I can get! LOL! I'm giving myself 6 weeks (the wedding is July 1st), so hopefully I can lose at least 10lb.

I still have the jiggles & just not happy about it so I will be trying to tone up by lifting weights (something I enjoyed doing before DD) & boosting my metabolism by going for walks. Boy, was it ever a gorgeous day today here...so HOT! It's 23C right NOW and it's 8PM! Whoo hoo! Welcome to summer (ok, almost!). LOL!

I have tons of scrapbook layouts & little projects I've done over the past couple of months. I have added a slideshow (top right) of some of my most recent work. I hope you enjoy it!

I participated in & won (YAY!) an 8 week contest at Scrapable Moments (www.scrapablemoments.com). There was a challenge every week, plus a few bonus challenges thrown in. I admit that I was challenged on most of them, but that is when I feel I work my best. When the pressure is on and a deadline is looming! I am so glad I stuck with it, during the 8th week was when I felt my worst and was so close to quitting. But I love a challenge and couldn't pass this up!

So, that's what I've been up to! I hope to blog more often, especially now that I've outed myself and let you in on my further weighloss goals! Eekk!

All is good.

:o)

What's for dinner?

Another favorite recipe of mine! I'm making this tonight. :) Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

1 cup whole wheat spaghetti
16oz beef, slightly thawed
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion
1 cup mushrooms
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp mayonnaise
6 oz water
8 Tbsp fat-free sour cream

Cook and drain whole wheat spaghetti.

Cut beef in long, thin strips.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute onion, mushrooms, black pepper, coriander, parsley, nutmeg & garlic. Add beef & mayonnaise. Dilute with water. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until beef is tender. Add sour cream. Stir well. Pour over spaghetti.

Serves 4.
1 protein, 1/2 vegetable, 1 starch, 1 fat, 1/2 free exchange

*** NOTE: I use regular sour cream in this recipe and just don't put in as much, to me it makes a huge difference. ***


*** This is so delicious!! The herbs really make a huge difference, if you don't have these herbs consider making them a regular in your spice rack. ***

:o)