Challenge Weekly Update: Week #2

So after two weeks on my new health and fitness kick, I am officially down 6 lbs. Can I tell you how excited I am?

Things I learned this week:

• Don't forget to eat
  I have a tendency to get so wrapped up in what I'm doing that I forget that I haven't had breakfast or lunch yet.
  
• Add a protein rich snack to my afternoons
  Yesterday I was feeling dizzy, weak, tired. So a friend suggested to have a protein and carb snack. I had some peanut butter and a few triscuits and I felt so much better. Protein, it does a body good.
  
• Starchy, fatty, fast food will affect the way you feel for more than 24 hrs
  On Saturday I just REALLY needed to get out of my house. So the girls and I went shopping and hung out on the North side of town. We went to L&L Drive-inn for lunch and let me tell you that Chicken Katsu, rice and mac salad with a Spam musubi chaser was great but... I felt it during Saturdays and Sundays workout. Won't be doing that again anytime soon.
  
• Buying a new stability ball is cheaper than buying a new pump
  Strange but true. I went to Wally World to pick up a new pump for my stability ball (because I can't find my old one) and that sucker was $10. Curious, I walk over to the stability balls and find one for $9 that not only comes with a new pump but also an exercise chart. So being the cheap-o that I am, I save a whole dollar and bought a new stability ball.

So all in all a good week. I'm only down 2 more lbs but when I set up my challenge, I was aiming at 1 lb a week. So I think I'm doing pretty well for now.

What did I eat this week? Salads, sandwiches, cereal and whole wheat spaghetti. Not very interesting. A new goal for myself for this coming week is to actually plan out my meals and stick with them so that way at 6 pm I'm not scrabbling to figure out what to make for dinner.

Twi-Hard or Why I Love Twilight

So I have been meaning to write this post for a while. I just didn't know how to reconcile the 16 year old groupie within to the 29 year old woman I'm supposed to be...



I LOVE THE TWILIGHT SAGA

Why do I love Twilight do you ask? It's a classic star-crossed love story with a twist. And please it has vampires in it. :) I love Stephenie Meyer's version of vampire lore. I absolutely love the underlying theme of redemption and salvation. I love her "vegetarian" vampires, the Cullen Family. The Cullens, strive to live a "good" life by ignoring their core desires, their evil vampire ways. In essence they are rebelling against their natural instincts (to hunt humans) in order to not be "monsters". I know lots of quotations right. But really isn't that what we all strive to do. If we all acted out of our own selfish desires and natural instincts where would we be? Add to this a sensual yet innocent kind of love story with a love triangle thrown in for good measure and the never ending battle between good and evil, and you have a winner in my book.

My favorite book thematically has to be Eclipse. I have to say that I am a total sucker for love triangles. But in the subtext category I have to say that I love New Moon. New Moon is all about true love and sacrifice and the theme of redemption is heavy in this book.

Plus and this is very sad, but I have to say that I have totally fallen in love with a fictional character. Oh Calgon and Edward Cullen take me away. :)



This is what happens when your husband leaves and all you have left is the fantasy world of books to keep you company late at night.

But in all seriousness I am totally Team Emmett.



I love his character in the book and I just love the actor who plays him. Emmett just seems like he would be a great guy to hang out with and so does Kellan. Have you watched his interviews? He just seems so down to earth. Plus he usually puts in some sort of shout out to the TwiMoms. Btw, I have joined Twilight Moms. So sad. I have a sickness I tell you what.

I don't own any of the images posted here. All images will link back to the original sites.

30 by 30 Challenge UPDATE

Okay so week one is behind me and I'm down 4 lbs!! Can I tell you how excited I am?!

I have been working out daily on my elliptical and doing some ab crunches on my stability ball, that combined with making better choices with the foods I put into my mouth, are definitely making a difference. And that difference is not just noticeable on the scale but also in my skin, my attitude and my sleep patterns. I find that if I don't get my daily workout in, I'm crabtastic the next day.

So what have I been eating you ask? Well a lot of salad and brown rice for one. My husband says that I'm not Asian because I love my brown rice. :)

But also I have been trying some new recipes. And these recipes are not only good for you but good for your wallet as well, if you are shopping smart (watching your sale flyers).

Here are some that I have been trying lately:

Turkey Burgers/Patties
This was really good as a burger. I served it on a whole wheat bun with mixed greens and sliced tomatoes. The girls enjoyed it for the most part. I also had leftovers the next two days with brown rice and a salad. These were flavorful enough to hold up on their own. So good!

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
I thought this was really good but my oldest liked it and my youngest (Ms. Picky) did not. I used regular yellow mustard instead of the dijon that reviewers recommended and I thought it was nice balance of tangy and sweet.

Spinach Quiche
I wouldn't nessesarily classify this as "diet" food. But it was good. I used light mayo and light cheese (a combination of cheddar and mozzarella). If I had used egg substitute it probably would have been even better and more diet friendly but I have to say that this made a really nice light dinner with a salad served on the side. My youngest even asked for seconds!

I've also been doing a lot of baked dinners. Baked chicken, baked salmon, baked tilapia. Again, all served with brown rice (white for the kids, they are true Asians), and salad. Breakfast is normally a bowl of cereal. I'm really liking raisin bran crunch and lunch is typically a very large salad. I'm feeling satisfied and not uncomfortably full which is good.

So 4 down 26 more to go!!

Now I better get in my 30 minutes worth of exercise before my oldest gets home from school!

My 30 by 30 Challenge

So I have this new goal for myself right now. I want to lose 30 lbs by my 30th birthday which is about 6 months away...

I think I can do it. But then again, I have a tendency to start things but not finish them. Maybe that's why I'm blogging about this, to hold myself accountable.

For the last week or so I have been concentrating on eating well. And so we've (or I should say I) have been eating a lot of lean meats and fish, brown rice and salad. I have been attempting to satisfy my sweet tooth with fruits instead of sugary sweets. Well, unless that chocolate craving hits and then there really is no substitute for a chocolate chip cookie. I have "cheated" a couple times this week and my skin is paying the price.

Today I started my workout routine. Which I have to say I'm pretty pleased with. I got maybe 30 crunches in on my swiss ball and about 7 minutes worth of workout on my elliptical. Now that may not seem like a lot but for someone who hasn't worked out practically at all in the past several years, that is monumental. ;)

So join me. I'll be posting some of my frugal diet recipes and my weekly accomplishments. But right now, lunch is calling me.

I Wonder....

This year will be the year that I turn 30. This impending event and the multitude of gray hairs I have been finding lately have me reflecting on my life.

I have to say that 12 years ago, as a senior in high school, I had lofty dreams for myself. I was a graduate of a very prestigious high school looking at my future as a theater major at the University of Hawaii (I was supposed to go to DePaul but I didn't feel ready to leave home yet). I never ever imagined that a year later I would meet Jeff. That a year after that I would be married. That three years after that I would be having our first child while my husband was off fighting a war in a distant country. I never thought this is the course my life would take. I never really saw myself as a mother. I knew I would get married someday but going through high school without anyone showing a hint of attraction my way, I guess I never imagined that I would be married at 20, having kids at 23. I always saw myself on stage. I saw myself performing. I saw myself under lights and in front of cameras. Ahh to be that starry-eyed girl again.

But lately my mind has been wandering toward those teenage dreams. As I watch movies or read books, I imagine exactly how I would portray a particular character, how I would direct a scene. I have been wondering what if... What if I went to DePaul? What if I followed through with my theater major? What if I had really pursued the dream instead of giving up because I thought I wasn't good enough? Would I be a typical starving artist now? Where would I be? I'm not saying that I regret the path my life has taken but I just can't help but wonder...

I have been toying with the idea of community theater. I don't know even if such a thing exists here in Colorado Springs, but if it does I'll find it. I may have to take some acting classes first. I'm sure acting is NOT like riding a bike. I may have to brush up on my mad skillz before even attempting an audition.

An Observation...

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her"
John 8:7b (NIV Translation)

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Matthew 7: 1-2 (NIV Translation)


I had a friend post something on Facebook the other day that got me thinking...

A lot of people, myself included tend to see fault in others but not ourselves. We nit pick at the things that people do or say and take unneeded offense to it. Then because we are so affronted by an action or a word, we judge that person probably too harshly than they deserve.

I'm fairly self-deprecating by nature and overly sensitive. I tend to read between the lines a lot when the implications aren't necessarily there. But I think that a lot of this offense and judgement could be overcome with just a little empathy. Sometimes a person is going through a situation, a season, a moment where they aren't really themselves. They have given themselves over to their emotional state and just need space. Sometimes that makes them make decisions that may not be the best for themselves or others but that doesn't mean that anyone has the right to judge them for it. I'm sure each one of us (as the first passage indicates) has had a time in our lives that we weren't the nicest, most pulled together person. For me this is a frequent occurrence when I'm just driving around the city.

My point is, people are just people. We all make mistakes. We are fallible. We are imperfection. Should we judge others because of something they did when in our heart of hearts, we know that it's probably we have done ourselves in the past or could do in the future?

I think one point the second passage is really trying to make on judgement is not just about how we will be judged by our Father. But how we will be judged by the people around us as well. If you judge someone for something and you turn around and do the same thing, what does that say about your character?

I'm not really one for New Years resolutions or New Years goals. I don't always stick to things like I should, I'm a rebel after all. Ha-ha. But I think that one goal I will have for myself this year is to try to really put myself in another persons shoes before I take offense, before I judge. To try to see the world from their perspective.

Adjusting...

At the start of this new year I find myself in familiar and not entirely welcomed territory. I am a single parent...AGAIN.

Don't get me wrong, I am so very very thankful for the job that Jeff has. It will provide for all our needs and some of our wants too. He had been out of work for so long and was lost and rather depressed. He had a hard time sleeping at night and because of this was rather irritable during the day. But for all of that, he was home. After years of deployments, I had him here and he was able to get to know his kids again. But...

Because I had him home for 2 whole years, I feel sort of lost right now. Because our relationship was going so well before he left I feel really lonely and now I am the one thats having a hard time sleeping (1 or 2am seems to be the usual bedtime for me now). I feel all befuddled and cornfuseled. Right now I have a deep, deep desire to just hide with a good book for a while and with two small children, that's not going to happen.

I struggle even with the day to day of just running this household and not going brutally insane. There are two small girls here who are having just as rough a time if not more so of adjusting to our new living situation. I know they miss their Daddy as much as I do.

Right now I just need to find some kind of balance to all of this. I need to find new ways of dealing with my stress and frustration. Maybe that's why I'm now turning back to this blog.

I am feeling utterly antisocial right now. I don't even really want to spend time with my kids (I know horrible thing for a mom to say right). I just feel like I can't breathe.

Despite all of this, I find myself trying to put on a brave face again to those around me so they don't see the true extent of my emotions. It's a skill I learned all to well in my years as an army wife. But I know that after the adjustment period the sun will break through the clouds again, I will feel more like myself. I know I just need time. And once that time is over, I'll finally be able to breathe again...