Good Thursday everyone! 135 this AM!

My kids when they were little and cute:)

I wanted to share a few things I was thinking about today. I went through some old papers and some notebooks and found all of my beginning BFC journals. It was fun to read through and see the excitement as I was successful and felt better! I also am excited to use them again for ideas when I get back on track. I have been on a mini vacation from the BFC! I think it is a good thing to do once in awhile to fool our metabolism into thinking we are not trying to lose weight, so hahahahaha metabolism! I am not adding sugar back, I don't want to have to detox on that again, but I am eating too many carbs:( The scale has caught up with me a little bit, but so has elimination issues from eating bad. I figure I will clear out eventually. The muscle relaxants that I was taking cause constipation:( Ugh! TMI
Another thing is to ask if everyone has checked out the Can you stay for dinner blog?http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/ It is so amazing. Right now she is answering questions from readers and today's post was really good. It talks about running/walking and calories burned. Feeling so hungry after exercise and how to deal with it. Exercise alone will never make us thin.
Another thing is the coconut flour. I do want to try it again and I found this website:

...http://www.simplycoconut.com/Coco%20Flour%20Recipes.pdf

Same house with zoom:)

House far away with red and white lights 

For coconut flour recipes. I found it interesting because most of the recipes call for "sifted" coconut flour. I know several of us discovered that the coconut flour made for really dry treats without adding  more eggs or more liquid. Maybe sifting the flour would make it better? Just a thought. I am going to get some more coconut flour when I get back on the wagon:) No bulk bin for me this time, I am getting the Red Mill or whatever the name is.
I got my camera about 4:30 today and had to wait 90 minutes for the battery to charge. I love the quality of pics so far. I wish I knew more. Maybe that will be a New Years Resolution. Learn something about my camera:)
It was very inexpensive as camera's go. I can use it in 3 weeks when I go to Georgia to visit.
Oh, and that's my head in the picture on the left. I was too lazy to walk over to the front door and open it and take the picture so it wouldn't glare off the window!
More proof that I am a dork:)
My hubby washed my car today. It was 43 and  no snow. We are getting really spoiled. It's supposed to rain tomorrow of course. I am going to Zumba tomorrow...I am going to Zumba tomorrow....I am going to Zumba tomorrow:) If I keep telling myself I am going, I will go right?
Thank you all for the nice comments. We are very lucky to have one another to share our days with!
Blessings and Happy Scales! And because it makes me feel good when I read it from others....Hugs to all of you too:)

Hello:) I'm bored!

I was just on facebook and decided to see if there was anything new with my daughter Taryn and she deleted me as a friend! I'm not surprised, but it still stings! We had sent her Christmas box of goodies to her ship even after she left with a note it was from her family. I got a thank you today with a comment that she hoped Taryn would start thinking/feeling positive soon! Deep sigh!

I had PT on my back again today and it feels Heavenly! It almost makes me want to have a full massage. I have always been kind of non touchy, so I didn't think I would like one, but I may be thinking differently. 

My honey!

Hubby and I took about 30 pictures of ourselves today so we could make our New Years card. Seriously a hard thing to do! He is such a trooper! I don't know why I find it so hard to get Christmas cards out by Christmas!

My husband has another 12 days of vacation and we are enjoying "hanging out". He did have a few inches of snow to shovel this morning so that made him really happy....NOT!!! He hasn't even used his new snow blower yet, so he needs to get over it. 

We are kind of waiting to shop until next week when all the kids go back to school and the discounts will be 75% off.

Today is Wednesday, I wrote the above Tuesday night. I am so lazy and such a bad eater right now. I did not go to Zumba this morning and I just ate naughty things for breakfast! I am actually looking forward to getting back on track but I know with my husband off another 11 days, that probably won't happen.
I never thought I would get below 135 lbs, so if that's what I weight now, I need to be happy. My pants still fit and the butt still bags down after an hour or so:(
It rained a ton last night and got rid of all of the snow! Yay!
My unasked for advice for the day...
Love ourselves, count our blessings, look towards the New Year with hope. I love the word Hope:) Let go of hurts or bad decisions, move onward and upward (not weight).
Write down advice that you would give to someone else...example above....and then commit to do it!!! I am so good at what I used to tell my gym friends...."do as I say, not as I do!"
My husband has already worked out an hour, he's showered and ready for the day, and here I sit on the computer. Poor guy!
I did order a new camera that was on sale at Amazon today. My number one priority is a nice zoom, this one is actually an updated model of my last camera and has a 16x zoom. Perfect and I will actually know how to use it right out of the box. I was juggling Kindle Fire, camera, Kindle Fire, camera??? The camera won today!
Dawn and Diana, I would still love to hear about the pro's and con's of the Kindle Fire.
Have a wonderful day everyone!!! 

We made it!!! Christmas 2011 is over:)

Cadence 12, Cy 4

Can you tell this was stressful? :)

My teammate!

• Christmas day turned out really nice. The kids all got here about 9:30 and we had breakfast. I was a little bummed that I didn't have any sleeping children in the house to "jingle" bells in their ears to wake them up. My Mom and my daughter Taryn both came. We all pretend like everything is "peachy". Taryn didn't really talk to my husband or me, but she came. I made the traditional recipe of pancakes and then I made some for me using UVAM and stevia. They were perfect and I felt like I was eating dessert! I am sure that if I had made all of the pancakes that way, no one would have ever noticed any difference. Everyone went their separate ways about 1:00. It was kind of a short time, but worked perfectly! 
• We visited my little sister in the nursing home later in the afternoon. She seemed happy and that makes me happy. She is still not 100% on her health and I notice that she tells the same story several times without realizing it. That makes me worried for her, that was not how she was before her last illness:( 
• We actually took down all of our Christmas decorations today. Are we scrooges? I think when New Years rolls around and our house is back to normal, you guys may just be a little jealous! The outside lights are still up and of course the entry tree that stays until the Spring. It just felt right this year. 
• I did skype with my daughter and grandson last night. He is so cute and was TOTALLY spoiled for Christmas. I get to go see them in about 3 weeks! 



My 2 sons:) 

• Now confession time! I was at 135.1 this AM. I knew I would be up. My lowest was 132.9, so not that bad considering how AWFUL I have eaten.  Since I started eating all of the bad foods, my system is not working properly so I would attribute that to the weight gain. I have also eaten a ton more than my usual. Not really sugar things, but carb laden things. I still feel in control though because I know when the New Year comes, I am ready to be consistent and on track. I may even decide to try and get to 130. That would really be something! I don't think of getting back on track as a negative at all, I think of it as a way to get my system regular again! That's why this is so perfect for me! I don't feel cheated or deprived of the foods I love! 
• Tomorrow is a new day, but I still have a lot of bad things to eat before it is a new BFC day:) I will get there soon. 
• I feel happy and at peace tonight. It feels good. I miss everyone's blogs, but I know you are all busy with family. That is a true Blessing. My husband gets so offended for me because my kids aren't the most grateful bunch, but I will keep them! Everyone of them:) Someday their kids will be older and they will finally get "it"! Marv truly helps me with everything. I cook, he cleans, we are a team! I hope my kids emulate us someday. For my oldest son, sadly for his wife, it is never going to happen! There is still hope for the other 3. Actually my son in law is very good with helping my daughter. So once again it is the twins that have lessons to learn!
• Blessings and happy scales my friends! 

Snow!

Snow!

Right after this picture I got my husband right on the shoulder with a snow ball. Pretty good aim!
I am sure everyone is enjoying family, cooking, eating, playing games....It's just Marv and me here watching the Seahawks game. We were out and about this morning getting lots of last minute things done. I never do anything in advance, a bad habit I need to break someday! We did get all of our gift shopping done yesterday. Everyone will be here in the morning for our Christmas celebration. We always have pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream and Kansas City Bacon from a local butcher. I am going to make 1 batch of the pancakes BFC friendly, and I have some unsweetened strawberries (for me) that I plan to sweeten up with Stevia. It will just be Marv and me tomorrow for dinner so we are doing a spiral ham and my sausage and cheese dip. I should be up about 3 lbs by Monday!
I spoke too soon on my daughter still being here. We had a blow up on Wednesday night and I am not sure she will even come tomorrow for Christmas. For the FIRST time, my other 3 kids told me I was right, so I feel at peace with her not being here, I am not happy, but at peace. My poor husband just constantly tries to make everything better and happy for me, is it a losing battle?!!!
It also seems so strange to not have my Kayce and Karson here. I feel cheated that they are with the in laws:( That is so selfish of me. They are having a wonderful time in beautiful weather in Georgia. His parents had gone to Georgia to watch his officer graduation. He is now officially an Army Officer. I know as our kids get older we adapt to the change, but I don't know if I like it!
Merry Christmas to everyone! Debbie Downer reporting from Spokane WA:)

Getting closer:)

Hubby and I drove to the Tri Cities today to pick up my grand daughter Cadence. It is about 2 hours each way, I hate car  rides, but it was worth it to get this 12 year old going on 18. Notice the makeup??? My 25 year old daughter was appalled that her (Cadence) Mom let her wear makeup at 12. Isn't it funny how they "grow up" (Kayce)? She certainly wanted to wear makeup at 12 and probably did by sneaking it. Cadence favorite food in the whole world is Eggs Benedict at Shari's. Being the good grandparents  and having a coupon, we took her there. It was DISGUSTING!!! Sick, blach, barf! I had a club sandwich, I know...too much bread....but trust me, I didn't eat all the bread or the sandwich....did I say YUCK yet? And my husband wants to know how you can ruin pancakes? Pancakes???
I am still hanging in there on my weight, but I do feel kind of bad about not having Christmas cookies for my hubby and daughter. I still have 2 of my cookies left to eat, I'm sure at bed time my husband will wish I wouldn't have eaten them;) My ex Sailor daughter is still on good behavior. It has been about 5 days with no blow ups. No warm fuzzies, but no blow ups. That's progress!
I started PT for my back yesterday. He thinks it may be a random nerve acting up because the muscles were so tight in there. It felt good after I left and has been tolerable all day. I asked him if he would show my husband the spot and teach him how to work it out. He worked with hubby on his injury for about 6 months so they are buddies!

I told you about the separation package that my husband is getting? It got 500.00 sweeter today. His company actually hired a firm to help these guys get jobs. They are paid to help with resumes, interviews, networking, etc. HUGE benefit, but Marv also gets a 500.00 American Express card to use for items he would need for his job search. There's a website that vendors offer good deals. Pretty cool benefit. Since they take his company computer back, now he doesn't have to budget one in. Now if they would just sell us his company van really cheap:)
It was a beautiful sunny day today, no snow, and it makes me happy! A perfect day for a long drive!
Thank you for listening to my ramblings. I feel happy...sometimes the winter doesn't allow me to be that way.
Pattie, I made scrambled eggs for dinner tonight and I cooked them slow like you had posted...they were fluffy and yummy. I have learned an awful lot from all of you:) Thank you!

Good morning!

I promise this is a short post! I just wanted to share that my cookies have a "cleansing" effect if anyone is needing that. Be careful of eating them when you are around a lot of people. I think it is Amber that talks about how Malitol effects her....me too! It's kind of good though because you find you definitely limit your intake.

I am finally going to the Dr. today for my back. I have been suffering in silence to anyone but my husband for about a month. It is just so uncomfortable all the time and I need to have some relief. It is driving me crazy, which is a short drive anyway! My husband was quite frankly sick of listening to me. I figured the Ibuprophen was not good for me either. Of course it is at the end of the year and our deductible starts over Jan. 1. Hopefully some physical therapy will get me back on track. No Zumba this morning. It was pretty uncomfortable on Friday at Zumba.
Lot's of shopping to do today, but I have a plan! A plan is good:)
Have a great day!!!

Peanut Butter Cup cookies:)

Heaven!

OK, so I was inspired by the thought of peanut butter cup cookies. After 3 stores I found the Reese's sugar free peanut butter cups at Walgreen's. They were spendy little buggers, coming in 2.59 for 10. I ate 2 last night and then made cookies for the remaining 8 today. I did the "magic" peanut butter cookies and cooked them in a mini muffin pan. I actually only made 1/2 the recipe because I knew I wouldn't have enough Reeses. How do you 1/2 an egg you say? Very carefully:) One of the suggestions that I saw online was to put the PB cups in the freezer. I should have let them freeze longer because as you can see they melted pretty quickly. I cooked the cookies 7 minutes, which was another suggestion that I saw online. When you cook them in the muffin pan you cut  aprox 5 minutes off their normal cook time. There is 0 sugar in the PB cups and about 5.4 carbs per cup. It is truly a Heavenly treat. The S/C counts for the cookies are on Dawn's blog.
I was at 133.7 this morning which is not even a lb up in weight from my low. I still feel in "control", but I am finding that I was ready for some Holiday treats. My proud moment....I only ate 2 of these cookies and I could probably eat the whole batch in a blink!

Just wanted to share!

My friend emailed this to me this morning....it made me teary because it felt so good, and somehow validating....
Hey Kay,
 
You look terrific, and you look like you FEEL terrific!
Congratuations on your hard work...
 
What exactly have you been doing?  Are you on a special diet of some kind?
I would like to do something, and whatever you are doing seems to be working!!!

Lifetime friends:)

I sent her back the info on the BFC.
Sharon is the one with blonde hair in the middle. We met the first day of 6th grade. She is a breast cancer survivor and a special ed teacher. She is an amazing women and I am honored that she would ask me! Her daughter, who is a thyroid cancer survivor, is getting married the first week of August. Her husband has a pacemaker and he is 57. Do you think their family has had their share of medical issues? Survivor...that's what she is!!! She is also the closest to my friend Pam that also asked me about the BFC. They could share the journey together!
The scale is up a bit, but I'm not worried or concerned. When I was at my low, so was my life! I am maintaining and I am not even TOTALLY STRESSED OUT!!! Yet! I even invited my mother to Christmas breakfast and she is coming. Unbelievable really. AND my daughter has been home for almost 24 hours and we haven't had a major blow up, even with the list of boundaries that she was given.
OK, here's some thoughts that I put on Rosalie's page. Make the PB cookies from Dawn's website and put the Malitol based PB cup in the middle...yum...and even though it is the "bad" sugar mix, my daughter did not even notice a difference in the no bake cookies. She wondered why I could eat them, but didn't really press for an answer. Woot! As soon as my husband is done watching his FAVORITE basketball team, Gonzaga University,  we are going shopping and to dinner. Kind of crazy to go out on a weekend isn't it? Maybe we should just go to dinner and wait until Monday for shopping? Hmmm....I may be talking myself out of getting stuff done as I sit here!
I am so proud of all of us and I count every one of you as a huge BLESSING in my life. What a great group we are:)
Blessings and happy scales! 
 

What a difference a year makes!!!

Christmas Party 2011 vs 2012. What do you think?
I tried to find other pictures to compare, but I had cropped most of them. I had a piece of homemade toffee...yum...and a huge roll, but that was my splurge. Lot's of cookies, but a determination they weren't worth it. I have to say they make my mouth pucker like a lemon from how sweet they are.

This is my friend Pam. She has been heavy  her whole life and was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. She actually asked me about the BFC. I wish so bad that she would give it a try. I think it would help her attitude! she is kind of grumpy sometimes:( 

Ladies, if you think it is going to take forever, it may take awhile...but it is so WORTH it! I feel empowered! Woot!!!
It is so exciting to read the blogs with all of the triumphs over temptation. We are all still hanging in  there, making good choices and taking responsibility for our treats. We are going to make it to January 1st and we won't have to make a resolution to lose weight, we are already doing it! Slow and steady....especially slow when the scale moves back up, but we have the tools and the friendships to keep on going!
Bedtime...It's 11:00 PM and I have a Zumba date in the morning!
Happy:)

"Kay otic"....my new blog name:)

That was a great suggestion from Cat and the story of my life!
I did Zumba today with my favorite girl:) It made me happy and I smiled a lot. I have a kink in my back though that is slowly driving me  crazy!!! Well crazier:)
Hubby and I went shopping for most of the day. I did not buy one single Christmas gift.  I finally did get some ideas from my oldest son and his wife, so I got a present ordered through Amazon. An argyle Boston Red Sox beanie hat??? Really??? My oldest son is bald (shaves his head) so it will keep his head warm! It sure wouldn't be my style. They both want jeans, so that means gift cards, that works for me! My youngest son is a NY Yankee's fan and my oldest son is a Boston Fan. My poor grandson gets stuck in the middle!
My daughter in law works for a recovery/restoration company. I guess there was a big sewer back up (I don't watch local news) and she has worked 160 hours in the last 10 days. She has been up to her knees in $hit every day for 10 days:( She gets overtime and hazard pay, but would it ever really be enough? Yuck, yuck, triple yuck! When you hate your job, think of how fun that would be.
Tomorrow I am going "downtown" with my girlfriend to shop and look at the beautiful Christmas trees that will be auctioned off. Then tomorrow night is my lifetime friends Christmas party. My "before" picture was done at the party last year. I am excited to see a difference this year.
I think it was Dawn that mentioned that we do not have that much longer to get through before the Christmas Holiday and enticing food will be over. It is amazing to think that it is the 14th of December and I haven't blown it yet! Cool:) For the party tomorrow I am making the Rotel/Sausage cheese dip. I will eat it with tortilla chips, but I can limit the chips. The dip for the most part, even though it is all fat, is BFC friendly. I also broke down and bought fake splenda. I made chocolate no bake cookies last night. They are a hit, because even my husband liked them. The recipe is on my pinterest. I used UVA milk and I did add a teaspoon of Peanut Butter. I don't know how bad the oatmeal is, but people eat it for breakfast? I figure if I am still drinking diet soda, a little splenda won't kill me? Shoot me now...I am a bad, bad girl! But let me tell you, the cookies are GOOD!!! I have to make this a lifestyle right? I have another admission to make. We also ate at 5 Guys Burgers for Linner. I had a bacon burger and it was too messy to only have 1 part of the bun:( I also at their fries which they leave the skin on. That's healthy right? Potato skin? But I only ate 2 meals today and I did go to Zumba. Confession time is over!
Blessings and Happy Scales...

Christmas is coming:)

Tis the reason for the Season:)

Christmas is coming and I have got so much to do!!! I guess waiting until the last minute for everything makes it more like my real life, instead of actually planning! Who does that??? I actually do have some important gifts purchased and we will fly by the seat of our pants on the others! With my husband on vacation, we can hit the stores during the day when others are working...so we think:)

Not very organized yet!

I thought I would share my eclectic Christmas Decor. My kids HATE my stair bears....I used to have about 50, I have whittled them down, so they need to "get over it"!

I wish I had granite counter tops!

Last year at my High School friends party I got this amazing table runner and matching napkins. I think it looks cute this year! I do not have a crafty bone in my body, so I am very impressed!
And lastly, this is the snowman that makes my daughter (ex Sailor) crazy...he is so easy to wrap around all different places to annoy her (which is easy), I think I will wrap him for her this year!

Taryn's favorite! Not!!!

Yesterday I decided to try and make my dark chocolate bars that I still haven't gotten used to, into milk chocolate with heavy cream and stevia. I melted the bars in heavy cream, added 2 packets of stevia, a tsp of peanut butter and a little bit of oatmeal. I then put them in mini muffin tins to cool. You know, with a lot more cream, they would have been better, but they taste like a VERY chocolatey version of chocolate no bakes. My husband again thought they were disgusting. It made quite a few, so I guess I have my sweet treat for awhile.
I am still up a little in my weight, but down a little in my waist. I notch my belt up, and I am thinner in my rib cage area. Zumba is obviously helping. I am going tomorrow because my FAVORITE teacher will be subbing in. I asked her on facebook to go easy on me:)
I mentioned I think on Dawn's post that I have added back in most of the carbs that I took out when I started BFC, in moderation of course. I am eating more potatoes than I am sure I am supposed to, but I have not budged on the sugar. Even when I have a cookie, I make sure that I don't have that addictive feeling wash over me. I can handle cutting back on the carbs again if need be, but the detox from the sugar is not something I want to repeat. Since we all have little sessions of TMI, I am having issues with waste...I don't see that I am eating different, so maybe it is just a stage. Maybe then the scale will drop back!
My Holiday eating advice is to eat what you LOVE, don't fill up on what you should have and then eat what you LOVE....That's double calories!
When we moved furniture to put the tree up last night I found some of Karson's toys, it sure makes me miss the little guy. His Daddy gets to start living with them this next weekend! He also is graduating 3rd in his Officer class. I am very proud of him. They will have a good life! That's all we want for our kids right?
We are having ham and potato soup for dinner tonight! Yummo! Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE my husband? He is such a calming force for my "Kay otic" life! Woot!!!
Blessings and happy scales....

Hi Kay, jorge cruise mentioned you in a comment. jorge cruise wrote: "CONGRATS Kay M Rasmussen!!"

Woo hoo!!! Isn't that just the coolest:) It was probably Jorge's assistant, but I will take it! I was going to blog daily and boy did I get off track! I was at 133.8 this AM, so that is up just under lb. That's OK, I was up 2 lbs yesterday. It hasn't been because of changing my eating patterns, although I did eat 3 of the molasses cookies. I think it was the exercise. Truly. I went to Zumba 3x last week and I think that our muscles retain water if we don't stretch properly, which I don't, and it just took the weekend to get the fluids back out. I even had to notch up my belt a hole. When I was at my low last Monday, I hadn't worked out more than 4x in 2 months. So....exercise is worth it, but if you see the scale go up a little, hold on, it will come back down!
I hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas? Our house isn't even decorated yet:( Today for sure! My husband is on vacation now, he doesn't have to go back to work until the first week of January. Woo hoo!!! I am really glad that we can shop during the week when it won't be as crazy out!
We are taking lunch to my little sis today at the nursing home, oh joy:( We went to visit on Saturday but she was asleep. What a sad, depressing place they are.
My ex Navy Sailor daughter is in full "witch" mode and should be out of the Navy forever by Friday. She's mad at me for suggesting that she start her own cell phone plan instead of committing my husband and me for 2 years. She is 23 years old, will be 24 in 4 months...Was that unreasonable? I can feel the acid bubbling in my tummy already.
Have a great Monday everyone! I am headed to Zumba this AM. I am so glad to be back in the exercise mode. It really does help my mental attitude. That and that we have been COLD, but no snow!!! Yay!!! I don't like snow:(
Blessings and happy scales!

I ate cookies!!!

Well, because the blogs are slowing down, I will just add mine daily and make you all crazy:)
OK, so last night was my bunko and for the first time, it was mostly desserts! Crazy right? There weren't even chips to chow down on. So I actually....are you ready for this....I ate a couple of bites of a casserole that had mushrooms visible (mushrooms are gag food to me). I of course worked my way around them and only ate the beef out. (I think it was like a chinese burger casserole) and....I ate the most delish salad that was pasta, bacon, grapes, walnuts, and broccoli! I again picked out the broccoli, but those are HUGE accomplishments for me. I then ate 1 gingersnap cookie. Yum. If you could have seen all of the desserts I didn't eat...homemade sugar cookies, apple crumb pie, 7 layer cookies, M&M's. Geesh...I was actually very proud of myself. There is something to be said for grapes and bacon in a salad together. I know grapes are high in sugar but they were 1/2 grapes and I probably had 4 total. My friend got the recipe of pinterest!
Today I went to Zumba...another HUGE accomplishment. That's twice this week and I am meeting friends there on Friday so I know I will go then too! Yay Kay. I forgot to eat before I went so I had  1/3 banana. It is NOT good to not eat before a workout like that. I was a bit light headed. Then I came home and had scrambled eggs with spinach (about 2 cups full) and little smokies. It was filling and good. Dinner with hubby was a burger on a whole grain sandwich thin (grilled with butter) mayo and green pickles. A couple of bites of leftover mashed potatoes with spinach mixed in. Not too bad!
I did eat another cookie today:) We traded my brownies for some of her cookies. If the scale jumps, I will throw them away.
I did get lots of nice compliments on my weight:) At Zumba today my FAVORITE instructor came because she is on a break from college. She said "Oh, you are getting so thin". That made my day. I miss her:(
So that's my day. Boring, boring, boring....more playing on Pinterest and I started a new Lee Child book called The Affair. Life is good, but I wish I lived near Rosalie so we could be bored together!

My skinny hubby on the beach. I got a beach chair, he layed on an air mattress! 

Blessings and happy scales!

132.9 Zumba is helping!!!

Wow:)

I feel good, I feel less stressed, I feel successful. I really think going back to Zumba helped! I also think this beautiful sunshine that we have had makes a huge difference in my attitude. I love, love, love sunshine!
As bad as it was to quit working out for awhile, I think it may help re-energize the metabolism now and then to shake things up. Yesterday's class was great. It felt good to have people notice that I hadn't been there and ask why....my answer to each one was the truth....Lazy:) The instructor is the one that was playing hard rock kind of music that would make me crazy, she changed her entire class, and it was perfect! Yay!!! I had not been to her class since the first of October. Wow, time flies!
Today is a challenge day for food. It is lunch date day with my former gym friends and my bunko. I always have the same thing for lunch. A small canadian bacon/pepperoni pizza and my friend and I exchange a piece of sausage and black olive. I put all the toppings on 2 of the pieces and chow down. I don't overdue my carbs and it is very filling. Now bunko, that may be interesting. I am not going to go without if there are lemon bars there tonight! I do hesitate to eat sugar laden foods away from home, they can play havoc with my tummy and I don't want to rush to a bathroom. I remember when the diet pill Olista? I forget the name, came out and a lot of women at the gym were trying it with OK results. The reason, as soon as they ate anything with fat they got  diarrhea, fast, wrecked clothes, totally embarrassing situations. It's like Pavlov's dog, eventually (key word) you will learn to quit eating fat...but how long until "eventually" you quit wanting to? How many episodes of embarrassing does it take? Not one person lasted more than a couple of weeks and 42.00 down the drain. They did lose weight, waste, but it all came back.
There's my soap box for the day, if it sounds too good to be true....it usually is!
I am really missing seeing blogs come through. I know I have more time than most people, believe me, too much time, but I really do love sharing thoughts and life. Come back...share...tell us where you are...even if it isn't in the best place. That's what we all blog for, support, encouragement, kudos. I feel like I am part of a secret little club that knows my food/weight thoughts better than anyone, it feels good! I quit posting my weight loss on my facebook status, it felt lame after awhile (although I did get a lot of people asking me what I was doing). Maybe I will if I feel like I am at a magic number or totally done. Are we ever totally done? When we want to or when the scale quits budging. Will I be satisfied? I really think I will. I really hope I will. As with everyone that starts it, maintenance seems daunting.

Duke's Waikiki Sunset. Beautiful!

For those of you that think I am losing weight quickly. On September 14th I weighed 139.4. It has taken me 3 months to lose 6.5 more lbs. That's only about 2 lbs a month. Slow and steady Eddy!!! It takes a long time, and it is effort, and good choices! So hang in there. Every 2 lbs adds up and eventually we will all be at goal. Together, in our secret little club:) Of course all new members are welcome with open arms!!!
Blessings and happy scales:)

133.4 and after the weekend no less:)

Today is going to be a good day! Not because of the scale, but because I am going to Zumba! I have been so bad about going for 2 months, and after going Friday and having such a good time, it brought back my zest for the fun. I hope that adding the Zumba back will allow me a few extra things over the Holiday season.
If you all haven't seen this blog,
http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/about/
you just have to check it out. It is so well written, heartfelt, real. She is 26 years old and has lost 135 lbs. There are great looking recipes and lot's of encouraging words. And for you Rosalie, she walks, that's her exercise. She has done more, but she loves to walk. It is really a cool blog.
My soon to be ex Sailor daughter has made it back to Bremerton WA and is being processed out. I still don't know what that means, or how soon? I do know that I have talked to her several times and the conversations have ended with her saying "I love you too" and my heart has hope.
HOPE....what a beautiful word, truly!
I "hope" that all of you have a wonderful BFC friendly day! I feel happy today and it feels really good!

My 2 grandsons at Halloween:) This made me happy!!!

Blessings and happy scales!

I had to share...this tasted sooooo good!!!

http://realmomkitchen.com/7439/minute-blueberry-cake/

I made this microwave cake again tonight and it was heavenly. Thick, dense, but not too spongy like some microwave cakes. I used usweetened almond milk for the milk, I used some maybe 5 frozen raspberries with a packet of stevia that I nuked for 10 seconds to soften up a bit and absorb the sweetener and then smashed them up. I used 2 more packets of stevia in the batter instead of the sugar. I crushed the walnuts small. Yes it does have white flour. I had Dawn calculate using Truvia it was 4/2, I would assume using all Stevia it may be a little less.
Just saying, for a quick treat. It was really good.

Uh oh:)

UP a lb today! I'm not surprised, but it did motivate me to return to Zumba! I had my high sugar lunch/dinner on Wednesday and then ate at The Olive Garden with my Dear friend yesterday. I actually ate the leftovers for dinner, but I did not  eat the breadstick that I brought home! That made me feel successful. Today before Zumba I made scrambled eggs with spinach, bacon and tomatoes. It was yummy, but bacon is not your friend when you hit an aerobic heart rate! I loved the work out today. I felt like I got a full body workout and not just a dance session. Lot's of squats, which is what I NEED to lift my butt! I have only gone 4 total times in 2 months. I hope that by getting back on a regular schedule it will help with my maintenance.
My sister got out of the hospital today! Thank You Lord! I have not heard from my Sailor daughter and I just wonder where in the world she is. She said it could take up to 5 days to get back to the states. I hate thinking of her in foreign countries, but I guess she would be well protected. I guess I will have to take the Navy Mom decal off the back of my car:(
I totally wasted a digiorno pizza today. It was a thin crust 4 meat pizza. I cooked it regular and then put all the toppings on 1 corner of the pizza and ate it and threw the rest away. I figured it was 5.00 and if I went to lunch I would waste that amount too! Dinner was hot wings, and a couple of potato chips. I know...crazy:(
Has anyone made the flourless chocolate cake yet? I really would love to hear what you think? I have found a lot of interesting recipes on pinterest. There is also a gal that I pinned that has lost 135 lbs. Her insights and her writing was BEAUTIFUL! I urge you all to read her story. It is poignant and real.
And I really, really would like an answer to my question about the carbquick flour. It is no more expensive than coconut flour? I just want to start having some treats that I will feel good about.
Pattie, I love the netrition site. I go there and put a bunch of stuff in my basket and then don't order. There are so many options. I also need the best no sugar maple syrup? Rosalie? I think their prices are better than local on the Nature's Hollow jam. There is some really high rated pancake mixes and I am ready for some pancakes and syrup!
Wish me luck on the scale tomorrow:)

This is my certified Nutrition Sports marathon etc.etc. friend. I know weigh less than she does:) Woot!
She was holding up a chip to show me she eats one sometimes!
Last Christmas!

Blessings and Happy Scales!
I just wanted to remind myself of last Christmas....what a difference a year makes:)

Another Last Christmas pic with my Dear friend.