Hot! Hot! Hot!

This is the hottest weekend of the year so far. It feels like an oven outside. Boy, did we pick a good time to have solar panels installed on our house!!!

Yesterday was pretty boring. I just made a trip to Target, then I met the hubster and some of his friends for an early dinner at Gyu Kaku, a Japanese grill it yourself bbq.

Saturday's Menu

Breakfast: 1 egg, 2 turkey sausages, 1 piece low carb toast (half of this went to the dogs)

Lunch: brown rice and chicken breast with sriracha

Dinner: bbq meats, salad, rice, spinach, calamari with sauce, 2 and a half mugs of beer

Workout: skipped b/c hubster had a massive headache

Sunday started off great, with making up our missed workout from yesterday, Ripped Conditioning! 41 minutes of upper body work - biceps, triceps, shoulders, and chest with resistance bands and push-ups. My arms felt like limp noodles when I finished.

Took some time to give myself a pedi

I love me an accent toe (pink on orange this time!)

Later, we joined our parents and my brother and his wife with my niece for shabu shabu. The hubster and I shared the Thai coconut broth with beef, veggies, and noodles.  We shared a bowl  of rice, I took a little for myself and there was still half a bowl left when the meal was finished. We topped it off with red bean ice cream.

 Today's selfie :)

Sunday's menu:

Breakfast: protein shake made with vanilla powder, skim milk, chia, half a banana, and some frozen pineapple.

Snack: 2 tbs peanut butter on low carb bread

Lunch/dinner: shabu shabu with beef and veggies, rice, ramen noodles, and a few bites of red bean ice cream

Workout: Ripped Conditioning and Ultimate Abs XT  

Pond Life

Happy Friday, everyone!! It was a balmy 105 here in California today.  The heat is on, and someone is going to crank it even higher tomorrow and Sunday!

The hubster and I took on some errands and yard work today.  Super fun---NOT!

First, we had to buy a new pump for our pond. The one we had was 8 years old and had been repaired once.  Ka-ching!! Our account is now minus $422. Perfect timing, since we are off to Vegas next weekend :(

Then, we dropped off a bajillion bags of clothes at the Goodwill. Seriously, I am a shopper, ya'll. We still have a ton of stuff we need to go through, my drawers and closet are overflowing.  Seeing the effects of my consumerism gathered in those 2 big rolling blue tubs was sobering. I don't need to buy half the crap I bring home. Why is it so hard to stop shopping???

After that, we had dinner at Wahoo's Fish Taco. I had a Wahoo bowl with Cajun fish and white beans and brown rice. I only ate half, because it was huge!!!

Then, we came home to install our new pond pump. It should have been as easy as connecting it and turning it on, but haha, not so much!  We spent an hour monkeying around with it, and the hubster jumped into the pond (eeeewwww, fish poo water) in his manties (men's panties LOL) to clear out the drain. I wish I had my phone so you could see him in his soaking wet boxers.

In the end, we realized we were missing a seal, so we found it, put it in and voila! Our pond is back in business!!

Happy note: our son C is coming home on leave tomorrow for a couple of weeks. He is serving in the Army. We are super excited.

That's him, smiling for the camera as he runs by!! After writing this, we found out he had to change his flight due to weather and he won't be here until

Monday, boo!

Today's menu (so far)

Breakfast: chicken sausage, rice cakes, salad with light Asian dressing

Snack: lowfat cheese with 5 triscuits

Dinner: half a Wahoo bowl (fish, beans, brown rice)

I will need to eat one more meal after I work out, probably the other half of my bowl. I had a protein shake with pineapple and chia seeds instead of leftovers.

Workout: plyo XT :*(

Operation Clean Pantry!!

Today is the day I had set aside to clean my pantry (as opposed to all the other days that I have set aside for sitting on my butt!)

At about 10:00, with The View blaring in the background, I began to work. I took breaks to eat lunch and to go to buy baskets for organizing. H helped a little, by throwing things out and cleaning a shelf. At 4:00, I finished the job. 

Here it is!!! So beautiful and spacious. The floor needs to be mopped, but H can do that when she gets home. 

I am ashamed to admit that I cleaned the pantry not because it bothered me that it was full of old food, but rather because I had a bad case of pantry moths. Eeeeeewwwww! I threw away a lot of old food, and I threw away a lot of good food that was infested. I really feel like I have accomplished something.  Last time I tried to do this, I only got the floor and one shelf cleaned!

If you have had pantry moths, you know how hard they are to get rid of. I wiped down every shelf, can, box, and bottle in that pantry today.  I have to be super vigilant to keep them from reinfesting.  They are so gross. 

Now that you are sufficiently grossed out, here is today's menu:

Breakfast: French toast made with low carb bread, topped with sugar free "maple" syrup.

Snack: banana with 1 tbs peanut butter. 

Lunch: chicken breast and vegetables

Snack: cheddar rice cakes

Dinner: chicken salad with avocado and light Asian sesame dressing

Workout: rest day :)

This weekend is going to be hot as balls here in California. Hope the weather where you are is comfortable!!

Bored to tears

I have been on summer vacation for almost an entire month, and I realized today that I am absolutely bored!!

This revelation came to me as I was flipping through the TV channels for the billionth time and checking Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter repeatedly.  What the heck??? I almost want to go back to work, just so I have something to do.

I also think that I would be losing weight faster if I was working, because I am on my feet all day at work, burning calories instead of sitting my fat butt on the couch, with these two clowns for company:

That's Charlie and Bruce, by the way. Great lazy day companions!

Today's menu:

Breakfast: one egg scrambled with turkey sausage

Snack: banana with 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Lunch: chicken breast with veggies

Snack: iced coffee made with stevia and skin milk

Dinner: salad with steak and yogurt-based blue cheese dressing (Bolthouse Farms brand. I love, love, love this stuff!!!) and a small handful of pretzel crackers 

What's up for the workout??? Cardio XT. I've only done this once so far, and I don't remember what's in it. Gotta knock this one out, but my legs are still sore from Sprawl and Brawl yesterday.  Thank goodness tomorrow is rest day!!! I need it. And that will be the end of month one. 1/3 of the way there!!!

Back on Track

More than once a cheat meal has turned into a cheat weekend.  (Can I get an amen?!?!) Even though I know this slows my weight loss, it also helps to keep me sane and able to continue a healthy (for the most part) eating plan.  

This is no diet.  It is supposed to be a lifelong change in how I eat on a day to day basis. I have been doing this for the past 3 months.  Cheat meals make me feel less deprived and are a continual reminder of how one bad meal does not mean the end of healthy eating.  I always go back to healthy habits in the end.

Yesterday was back on track day.  I had bear naked fit granola w/coconut milk for breakfast, followed by tuna and triscuits with carrots for lunch.  The hubster brought a tiny container of leftover Thai food that I had as an afternoon snack, and dinner was shaved zucchini "pasta" with homemade tomato sauce and turkey Italian sausage.  After my workout, I had hummus and carrots as a snack. Not too bad for the day, especially since I hadn't been to the store in a while and was limited on food choices.

This was my workout last night:

I have to say that so far in the program (day 24) this is the most fun.  A full 40 minutes of kicking, elbowing, and punching, with a little core work in the form of planks with walk-ins.  It ended with me all sweaty and tired as usual!!

I also tried some new food choices:

Have you heard of bulletproof coffee?  It's coffee with unsalted, grass-fed butter stirred in.  I figured it couldn't hurt to try, so I whipped some up, sweetened it with stevia, and drank it down. It tasted surprisingly good, rich and creamy.  It is claimed that it gives you energy and helps you lose weight.  I don't know about all that, but it could make a good snack, since I felt full after drinking it and that full feeling stuck with me for a few hours.

This morning, I tried a new breakfast.  I found this low carb bread at Fresh n Easy (only 2g net carbs and 5g fiber per slice)

I topped it with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and had a banana on the side.  Very yummy!  The bread is a little dry, but I think it will make good French toast, and it tasted great with the peanut butter!!

Have a healthy week!!!

A Day at the Races

Saturday, we went to Hollywood Park to celebrate a friend's birthday. I hadn't been to the racetrack before, and the hubster and I had a blast picking our favorite ponies for our bets.  We managed to win once out of the 6 races we bet on, for a grand total of $6.  I will do my best not to spend it all in one place!

While our day at the races was fun, it did a number on my eating (and drinking) plan.  The hubs and I shared a Reuben sandwich with fries and a basket of wings. I also helped myself to the breadbasket more than once.  I had expected to have my cheat meal anyway, so that wasn't so bad.  The drinking I probably could have done without, but I had several beers, a shot of tequila, and a rum and diet coke.

After the last race we wandered over to the onsite casino, where I lost $80 playing blackjack. Boo!!! 

On the way home, we stopped at Randy's Donuts for a sweet treat,and we shared a donut.  Then, we stopped (again!) at Taco Bell where I had Nachos Bell Grande (this was just over the top).  

I totally left my phone in our friend's car, so I am feeling a little lost. How did people ever make it through extended periods of time without smartphones???

After spending most of Sunday recovering from the previous day's festivities, the fam headed out to Buca di Beppo for my niece's graduation luncheon. 

We arrived early and were starving, so we had a stuffed mushroom appetizer while we were waiting.  It was delicious!!  

Then it was time for lunch.  I haven't had pasta in over 2 months, and boy, was it yummy!!  There were two salads, rigatoni, chicken parmigiana, and for dessert, we had cheesecake and tiramisu.  This was washed down with diet pepsi and coffee.  So for this weekend, we are 2 for 2 on cheat meals.  

I left Buca feeling like quite the fatty.  I am sluggish and remembering how much I dislike the feeling of being stuffed to the max with heavy foods.   Gotta hit our workout tonight, since we missed yesterday. I know workouts aren't punishment for bad eating, but this one feels like it.  

And in case you were wondering, I did get my date night on Friday.  We want to Applebee's and I had jalapeño shrimp from their under 550 menu.  Applebee's has the best light menu of any restaurant I know of.  Everything on it is full of flavor and sensible in terms of calories.

Mama Laughlin: Blog Advice Giveaway

Mama Laughlin: Blog Advice Giveaway

I love Mama Laughlin, and since I just started my blog, I could really use the advice. If you blog, maybe you could use it, too!!

Grits n eggs n haircuts oh my!

This morning, the hubster and I tackled Competition Core (TapouT XT wk 4 day 1).

Before this, I ate two(!) bananas with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and a cup of coffee with coffee-mate.😱 

I still need to take breaks, but I end each workout covered in sweat and panting!! Gotta love planks and mountain climbers!!!

Me n my workout buddy at Xmas! (Thank goodness for the blogger app or there would be no pics in this blog!)

  Lunch was cottage cheese-parmesan grits with scrambled eggs and turkey sausage.

Topped it with salsa! Woot! Today, H notified me that she was on the last episode of My Name is Earl on Netflix. This represents an accomplishment of hours upon hours of doing nothing productive, and so I must salute her on completing her journey. In her off time, she enjoys sleeping and eating .... teenagers!

  Off to Fantastic Sam's for haircut day. H hasn't had her hair short since she was two and had that unfortunate scissor incident (you moms know the one I'm talking about) and we had to even it out. Today she went for the full crop. Her hair was shoulder length when she entered FS. 

  The only thing worse than actually getting a haircut is waiting for someone else to get one.  Oh, the hard plastic chairs, the terrible anticipation (will it come out right?), the Dr. Oz playing on the TV. 

 Today, Dr. Oz revealed his revolutionary plan for monitoring your poop, complete with downloadable poop tracking chart and picture examples! My life is forever changed.  Here's a link, in case your poo is concerning you:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/printable-poop-log

Then his accomplice doctor discussed how to do kegels using a tampon. How did I make it through 40 years of life without knowing this vital information??? (I should probably do the kegels thing, I leak a little during jumping jacks, and don't even get me started on bounce houses!)

   Ta-da! The final product:

After the big reveal we hit up Starbucks for a venti skinny vanilla latte, yum!

When we got home, Mr. C informed me that he had a shrimp burrito. So, I did the sensible thing and ate some cheddar flavored mini rice cakes with water to wash it down. Clearly, I was hoping for some date night action, so I delayed dinner as long as humanly possible. But Mr. C ignored my silent pleas and insisted I rub his neck until he fell asleep. I got tired of waiting, so I had a heavy snack:

This is triscuits (6 of them) and a packet of Starkist Tuna Creations herb and garlic tuna.

Still hoping for that date night, though!!

Welcome!

And here it is, day one. My main objective here is to keep a virtual food diary, visible to anyone at anytime.  I am hoping that this will keep me accountable to healthy eating and working out.

What you will find here: pictures and daily menus of exactly what I ate. Detailed accounts of my workouts.  Fun stories about the crazy crap that happened during my day.

What you won't find here: calorie counts, preaching about specific eating plans, or bullshit.

Let's be brutally honest, here.  Working out and eating healthy is NOT fun.  Not by a long shot! At least, it isn't for me.  If you love working out and eating healthfully, more power to you.  I am one of those girls that would rather sit and watch a Keeping Up with the Kardashians marathon than get up off my lazy ass to work out.  Hence, the spread of said ass to a proportion that I am finding less than pleasing.  So I decided to do something about it.  With the help of my trusty hubby and workout partner, Mr. C, I have begun a workout program (TapouT XT) and reformed my eating habits (meaning no more late night Wienerschnitzel corn dog runs). Today is week 3, day 7, a rest day!

I don't have any pics ready to share.  I'm not even sure how to get them into the blog at this point, so that will be a learning curve for me.

Let me just tell you about my day.  Today, my delightful hubby handed me a package to take to UPS and a letter to mail.  So it was off on errand day for me.  (I am in stay at home mom mode, because I am out of school for the summer.  I would love to quit my day job of teaching and have full stay at home mom status, but apparently money doesn't grow on trees and we have a mortgage to pay. But I digress...) Anywho, those errands should not have taken more than an hour on a busy day at the post office, but of course, nothing is so simple as it seems. But first, breakfast: sliced strawberries with fage Greek yogurt, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of Bear Naked granola, with coffee (and yes, Coffee-mate, I am hanging my head in shame.  Coffee-mate is not a natural substance!)

I carried my happy self off to Target to buy some packing tape, because of course, the package wasn't sealed.  Then I headed to the UPS store to ship the package.  When I got there, I was politely informed that they were unable to ship my goods from their store, and I had to go 2 towns over to the hub to ship it.  I grabbed my package and slunk out the door.  Damn, add another 30 minutes to my errand day!

I take the package to the UPS hub, and am given instruction on how to print a label.  I input the address my hubby gave me, and of course, it was wrong.  So I had to look it up on the Internet and input it correctly.  I paid, took my receipt with the all important tracking number, jumped back in the car and off I went, to lunch.  I had a number of choices of where to eat, but I picked Chipotle. (Yum!) I had a burrito bowl with brown rice, pinto beans, chicken, mild and corn salsas, and cheese.  When I go to Chipotle, I choose either cheese or sour cream, because both is just overkill, don't you think? I also had Coke Zero, because I haven't managed to break the addiction.

Then I went to the post office, mailed my letter and went home.  The end. (I am lying here, I actually went to two different Kohl's and bought a pair of shorts and a top.  I am also a voracious shopper.)

I went home, caught the second half of the basketball game, and for dinner I had red pepper hummus with a few carrots and pretzel crisps, and an instant Starbucks iced coffee with coconut almond milk.  Now it is 10:30 and I am hungry, so I think I will have some Thai coconut soup that I have leftover in the fridge (it's homemade) and some water or maybe green tea. Nom nom.  Then it will be off to bed, I suppose.The hubby gave me a shot of crown royal and buttershots. Delish!