I'm back:)

I miss him already!

I got home yesterday about 2:00PM and I feel asleep about 4:00PM. I barely made it up to my bed and then slept until about 8:00AM. The 3 hour time difference killed me!!! 

I had such a wonderful time visiting my grandson. I love my daughter too...don't get me wrong, but Karson is just so full of joy every day. He was so funny and loving. I am so glad that I get to see him again in 2 weeks. They will be here for about 2 weeks, but I think they may spend part of the time at the in laws.

This was like Heaven to me!

The weather in Georgia was wonderful the last 2 days. I sat outside in a swing and just absorbed as much sun as I could possibly get. We have ugly wet snow here:(

I was a very bad girl when I was gone, but way better than I used to be. I am surprised that I didn't gain more. I finished a pecan praline today and now I will get back on track and I am ready to try and lose again. It feels kind of good to have a goal. I think I said before, I want to see if I can get down to 130 lbs. If I lose inches instead of weight, I will take that too. I will be curious to see how my body adjusts back to low sugar ...Detox again? I hope not:( 

My sister and her husband are doing great on the BFC. I am excited for them. She has a goal to start showing her new horse and I think she will make it!

OK, so I am really not functioning and probably totally boring...so I will bid goodnight! I hope everyone is doing great and I am excited to get back in the game:)

Blessings and happy scales!

Kayce and me:)

I'm in Georgia:)

What a process it was to get here. My last connection from Atlanta to Columbus was beyond a nightmare. I finally realize what people must think when they find out something is wrong with the plane! Long story and I don't have my good computer to type on. After circling Columbus for about 45 minutes we were sent back to Atlanta. My daughter/husband and Karson picked me up in Atlanta about 12:30 AM and we got back to Columbus at 2:00AM. When Karson woke up and realized that I was finally in the car he just giggled and was so excited. It made the nightmare worth it! I truly can't believe how much he has changed and grown in just a few short months. It has been incredible to spend time with them. I LOVE the  food here. I have been pretty good with sugar, not so good with carbs. I'm on vacation for gosh sakes.
I am still not adjusted to the 3 hour time loss. My mornings are a hurry up and rush out the door to do something fun instead of my leisurely read the paper and play on the computer. We are usually out the door before I would even be up at my house. It's 10:00PM and everyone is in bed, but it is only 7:00 back home and I haven't even had the last talk with my hubby yet. Weird! Hopefully by tomorrow it will be better.
I just told my daughter when she asked what I was doing that I was blogging, but it was mindless and dumb so I probably wouldn't post. Well...I'm going to anyway:)
Blessing and happy scales. I feel like I am missing out on my buddies! I'll be back!!!

Quick update before night night!

I am leaving in the morning for Georgia. 7:05 flight so it will be a 4:15 wake up for me. I just hope I sleep well. I have cut myself off of water and food and I am ready!!!
My sister had great news today! She has lost over 20 lbs and her husband a bit more. They are so excited and I am really, really happy for her.
I blew/shoveled for the 3rd time this morning. I can not wait to get the heck out of this snow.
I will definitely check in through the week. I am not taking my laptop, it is too heavy, so it may be interesting!
Eat healthy while I am gone, I know I won't be!!!
Blessings and happy scales:)

Yummy food ideas!

I am sitting here aching from all the snow removal I did again today:( As soon as I was done, it was covered again. Right now there is probably another 6 inches and it is still snowing. Ugh!!!

Finished product!

I took pictures of my lunch and dinner today. I kind of switched the way most people would eat them. First for lunch I made the chicken parm again. It was yummy!!! Potatoes are gold as far as S/C values, so a big salad would be better. I would have eaten a spinach salad, but I am almost out of spinach and the snow did not make me want to go to the store!

Dinner was yummy too. I made a sandwich with Canadian bacon/pepperoni/mayo/spinach grilled on a multi grain sandwich thin. A few chili cheese fritos and a few dill pickles. The paper plates were part of my Christmas present from the in laws:)
I am really excited to leave on my trip. I am in Minneapolis for 3.5 hours, anyone want to come visit me? I just hope that I get out of here OK. This will only be my second time traveling alone on a plane. The first time was going to North Carolina for Karson's birth. I got to go first class the whole way that trip, once in a lifetime, but it was really nice! I used flier miles for that trip too.
I did my measurements today to see where I was compared to my last time in November. I was exactly the same, but lost a little in my bra band area and my arms. I will take it. The waist was 29.5 so it wasn't as bad as I thought. Tell that to my pants!!!
For those of you with no snow...lucky you! I wouldn't really mind it if my husband was here to deal with it. It is quite pretty!
Blessings and happy scales!

Zumba and snow...lots of snow!

Removed with a shovel baby!!!

Not a bad job right?

Day 2 of Zumba this week and I even went out in a snow storm of sorts. We haven't had very much snow and I certainly haven't been driving in it, so when I got done with Zumba and went to my car, I didn't have a scraper. I used a baseball hat! It worked! The snow was really coming down so I didn't go out until late this afternoon to do the driveway. Of course my husband is not here and he did not want me to use the brand new snow blower because he hadn't used it yet! So I used the dinky, wimpy, snow blower and guess what? I finished and was headed back in before some of the men that were out! Our driveway is 3 cars wide and 3 cars deep. I do it as fast as I can so I don't think about how much I hate doing it.   I felt STONG:) A dear, dear neighbor man with a "big" machine does the sidewalk that goes all the way around our house. We love him! I love him!
I made potato soup when I got home from Zumba and had it for lunch and dinner. I can eat the same thing over and over and over and if I like it, it doesn't bother me at all. For dinner I added a sandwich thin with crunchy peanut butter. OMG, it tasted Heavenly. I am a bad example, for good examples of food...that's Rosalie! I have kind of been on an eating binge. I think that in my head I know I am going to eat my way through Georgia, so why stop now? By adding in the Zumba, I feel like I am taking some control. I know, I am not thinking clearly, but I am being honest! We do not have Chick fil a in our area so I am so excited to eat there! I also love Cracker Barrel pork chops. They only do them on Monday's and there is a Cracker Barrel about 5 minutes from my daughter's house. Woot!!! My grandson who could talk clearly, but with a limited vocabulary, left me a phone message today that he can't wait to see me Saturday! In just over 2 months he can say Saturday??? He is only 26 months old! I am getting really excited!
I decided that I absolutely do NOT want my sister reading my blog. If in fact she does figure it out, I will make it private. She isn't very computer savvy so I am hoping it won't come to that. I referred her to "can you stay for dinner" and to Jorge's page.
I am setting a goal for myself for my 1 year anniversary on the BFC of 130 lbs or a 29 inch waist. I started on March 7th of last year! I can do this!
Believe, Hope, Share, Laugh, and Love ourselves....I feel happy!
Blessings and happy scales!

Hmmm...no pictures of the scale lately:)

I decided to try a new look for my blog, just because! If everyone doesn't like it, I can switch it back. Easy peasy! All you do is click on the picture and the original blog that went with picture comes up.
I did go to Zumba today!!! Success:) It was an instructor I have never had before, it was interesting:) I really think exercise was key to getting the waist measurement down. There  is a picture from awhile ago with jeans and a tee shirt and there was no belly roll:( Dang, dog gone it, what the heck, lessons???? Beat me upside the head! I want that back again. 
My sister and husband are having huge success and really loving their choices on the BFC. I am excited to hear the excitement in her voice. I don't want her to follow my blog, it is too personal to me, so I don't know how I can refer her to Rosalie? Amber? All of you? I didn't like my own daughter to read my thoughts. Am I being mean? Let's just say we are not like Sherri and her sisters!!!
http://heartofacountryhome.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/chocolate-oatmeal-no-bake-cookies-sugar-free/

Only about 1/2 the batch.

I made these cookies again tonight. It is really easy to cut the recipe in 1/2 because it does make quite a few. Let's just say that I used Stevia in the raw by the bag:) I did not use Splenda. I also used UVAM. I did not use even close to the amount of peanut butter it called for either. In fact, I used only about 2 1/2 cups of oats and 1 cup when I cut the recipe. I don't like them really oaty. You do have to boil them for at least 3 minutes. I usually do 4 just to make sure they will set up. Dawn was kind enough to figure out the S/C value for me because I couldn't figure out how to do it on myfitnesspal.com. It was pretty good if I recall!
May all of our weight loss dreams come true:)

DANG!!! DRAT!!! POW!!!

DANG!!! FREAKING BELLY!!!!

OK, so I just got ready to go for the day and I found my pants to be extremely tight in the waist? Really? These were the pants that gotten a little loose so I had to buy new ones??? So this is me screaming!

Ugh:( I was so excited not to have this roll!

Then....I took a picture so I can remind myself that working out helps! I have fooled myself into believing that since I had only gained about 2 lbs total for the last month, that I was doing really good! Well...the fat grew and the muscle left and my pants aren't fitting right:( The new jeans stretch out so bad that I hadn't noticed:(
I KNOW that exercise is good for me, I know that muscle makes us leaner, I know that I have been lazy, I know that I have eaten way too many carbs, I know I have eaten too much sugar at times, I know what I have done bad:( But I really think if I would have kept the exercise up, this wouldn't be happening. I am so mad at myself!
So my goal is to go to exercise at least 3x this week. I need to quit making excuses and get my butt off the couch and out of the house! My goal has always been, for years, to be able to just put on a pair of jeans and tee shirt and not have a fat roll. Well I will succeed! I need to quit looking at the scale and thinking how great it is, and look at how I feel in my clothes.
I am loving myfitnesspal, I think I have my food pretty much under control, so it is toning, exercise, movement, walking, anything but sitting....It isn't food right now...it is movement....I have to start moving!!!
Well, I feel better!
Another thing, I was really excited to see Jorge mention Ideal sugar on his facebook today. I have been using it to make chocolate no bakes and they are so good!!!
Amber had mentioned the F Factor diet on my blog. I went to the site and listened to the whole spiel. It sounds interesting, especially if you don't think you should have to limit fruit and veggie sugar. It was really reasonable price wise. Like 47.00 for lifetime membership and it had a 30 or 60 day money back guarantee. Just saying if anyone is interested in other ideas. It sounded very much like the BFC except for fruit sugars. It starts with Sugar is our enemy!!!
Have a great football day! Finally I have a team that is winning. Go Giants!!! For my kids:)
Date dinner, my husband is willing to miss the game because he wanted Green Bay! If my luck holds from yesterday the Giants will lose!
I love Tim Tebow, not because of his Faith or his Football abilities, but because of the morals that he is putting out there for young people. He brings(pays) families who have had tragedies or illnesses to his games and visits with them and inspires them. What if every professional athlete did that? He gives in big ways! Go Tim:)

Christmas 2009 when the twins were opening their Giants gifts!

Love you all!!!

Zumba Zumba!

I FINALLY went back to Zumba today. I swear it felt good and I don't know why I sabotage my efforts by staying away. I will go back next M W FR. I will!!! I talked another Dear friend into go W and Friday so I will have to go.
I am LOVING myfitnesspal.com. I am surprised to see that even though I think I eat a lot, my calories aren't really that high. Cool!
I made the best chicken and potatoes for dinner. I dredged chicken breasts in egg/parmesan/panko bread crumbs and the fried in a little olive oil until browned up. I then transferred it to the oven. With all the pan dripping I slice up 2 potatoes really thin, with skin on and then fried them up. I added some red chili flakes to jazz it up and it was really, really good. Hubby loved a home cooked meal since he was on the road all week. It was quick easy and yummy. I saw the idea on pinterest for the chicken.

It's night night time!

I feel happy tonight! My sister decided to start the BFC right away instead of waiting for her food to run out and she was really happy when I talked to her a bit ago. I really think it may be the answer for her and her husband. I also ordered Jorge's new book today and it will get here on Tuesday. I can't wait to see Rosalie in all her glory!
I am so bummed because I told my husband I ordered a Kindle Fire today and he didn't even get mad! I can't afford a Kindle Fire, but I want one:( I hadn't really bought one, but I  wish I would have ordered it since I wouldn't have been in trouble...now I feel too guilty since he was so sweet about it:( Ugh...I need to earn money or sell some things.
I'm going to bed early:) Sweet dreams!

Back down to 134 today!

Learned how to do this from Rosalie!

First let me say that I have gotten a grip on my out of control sugar binge. I removed all temptation from my world, but I want to follow up what Rosalie blogged... I have still been able to eat about 80% of the  things I used to eat and still lose weight, because I follow the 15/6 as closely as possible 95% of the time. Take away everything that we have learned about weight loss, bad foods etc. I don't know if you have been watching "live with Kelly" this week (food makeovers for weight loss), but Jorge was on  Monday I think.  Since then everything they have said for the most part is in direct opposition of what the BFC allows. I have been able to lose back down to 134, (all time low 132.9 but during an extremely stressful time) and I even went to The Olive Garden on Tuesday and had the Chicken Parm and Zuppa soup. I put everything into myfitnesspal and I did not really go over for the day. It is portion control and mind set. I simply do not eat as much or as often as I used to. I went out to lunch again today and had a bacon burger (no cheese) and fries. I ate about 10 fries with tarter, 1/2 my burger, 1/2 the bun and  all the bacon. I was completely satisfied. (except that it was an overprice "yuppy" restaurant)  For dinner I had a pork cutlet and a spinach salad with ranch. Yesterday I really cut my carbs back because I knew I had been overdoing it,  so that felt good to know I was in control and did not crave anything. I am loving myfitnesspal. I don't really like seeing the amount of sodium I consume a day:( That's bad, but I will work on that gradually. So the moral of the story is, you can still have a life with food!!!
Here is a sad story:( My sister, even though she has seen the success I have had, went to a weight loss spa a month ago and paid 2300.00 Yes you read that right, 2300.00 (refer to my comment about Oprah and if there was an easy way, she wouldn't be heavy) She has only lost 8 lbs in 1  month. She is so pi$$ed that once again she got caught up in the hype and wanted an easy way. She had gastric bypass surgery several years ago and has regained a good portion of her weight. Long story, sad ending. I am so sad for her, but she did it! Her husband is heavy and he has been doing BFC since Monday. When I talked to him last night he had lost more weight in 3 days that he ever imagined he could. I am excited for him, but sad for my sister. She will start BFC when she finishes the pre packaged food that she bought from this place. To add insult to injury, she still owes another 400.00. CRAZY!!!
I do not drink alcohol of any kind so I do think that helps too.
I do know these small weight fluctuations are NOT healthy and I need to get to a weight and stay there. I think where I am is kind of doable, but am thinking if I could get to 130 eventually I would buy some jeans that are around 200.00 a pair! Woot!!! I actually saw Amber's new jeans at a little boutique today. They are spendy little buggers too! Amber:)
Blessings and happy scales from a very happy BFC girl! I am back in control ladies!!!

Ugh!!!

Water toffee:(

Well we went to our Family celebration yesterday and I was doing so good. There were all kinds of candies and cookies and I didn't budge. Then I saw the Russian tea cakes...I love them...have craved them, ate 3 that were stale over Christmas....and these were cooked perfectly....and I ate them....many of them! Then my sister in law gave us cookies for part of our gift. This picture is of the homemade toffee that she made. I ate it on the way home, I ate it when I got home, and I looked at it this morning and I knew we couldn't exist in the same house. I filled the bag full of water, poured it off and threw it in the garbage. I was slightly afraid that if I threw it away intact it would still be calling me. THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT SUGAR STILL HAS AN ADDICTIVE LURE TO ME!!! Dang....
So my excuse for not going to Zumba? I was too tired because we spent about 8 hours in the car??? I have to say I slept until almost 9:00 and it felt really good.
I know that each day will bring challenges, I know I have been really good and strong most of the time, I know that there are things that I can have around and things that I simply can't. I am good with it. I will get back on track and this sugar high will eventually be a blip.
Lifetime....today is a new day. I am doing great today, now that I threw the toffee away!
My twin son came over today and reaffirmed my decision to have his twin sister live with her dad. It feels good when I have my other kids support. He is such a happy/good looking/fun/funny guy, I hope he finds his path soon. He makes me happy!
I also cleaned out cupboards today in case we decide to put our house up for sale. One full of junk cupboard at a time!
I hope everyone else is doing better than I am. I am going to Georgia on the 21st, so I need to get back in the game and back to where I was pre Christmas.
Blessings and Happy Scales....Still thinking of Pattie:(

My thoughts are with Pattie.

My heart is so sad for Pattie. I know it feels like when you lose someone, you see everyone else out there enjoying life, laughing, and you just want to scream..."don't you know I just lost someone I love?" So for Pattie, you are not far from my thoughts. I also shared the story with my husband, showed him Beth's picture, shared your sadness. My prayers are with all of you.

It feels strange to talk about mundane things, but I know life goes on. So here is my 2 cents of thoughts.

Pecan cookies

This morning I weighed 136 lbs!!! On Thursday we went to the Texas Road House for dinner and I could not quit eating. I ate tons of peanuts...tons!!! I had ribs, rolls, mashed potatoes and a couple of bites of caesar salad. The left overs I ate on Friday...and then I ate, and I ate, and I ate, and I ate some more. About 7:00PM I ate some of these cookies that I found at Trader Joe's. And then I ate some more....I think I ate 12 of them before I cut myself off. It was like I was a bottomless pit.
Today I woke up with a realization that I needed to get a grip! I have been pretty darn good all day and hopefully my system will be better soon. If I had stopped at 4 cookies, it wouldn't have been too bad. I don't think I have been that ravenous since I started the BFC and certainly not for something with sugar in it. Weird:) I keep the cookies in the freezer and eat them 3 at a time.

Yummy potato soup

So we did not go out today. I wanted to stay home and regroup. It is typically date dinner, that is the LAST thing I wanted! So I made my potato soup! I started adding some red pepper flakes and it gives it some zip.
Tomorrow we are going to my husband's family to finally celebrate Christmas. It will be about 8 hours in the car:( Yuck! But, I will be happy to see the family and enjoy the day.
I am excited for Monday and my commitment to get back to normal! Hubby goes back to work Monday, my distraction will be gone. We did see 2 movies this week. 1 was free....thank goodness since it was awful.
The adventures of Tin Tin 3D. I guess it wasn't awful, but close. The second one was the Mission Impossible 3. We were going to do the Imax like Rosalie did, but there is a theatre 4 minutes from our house so we just watched there. I swear there was one part that my hands were dripping from tension. I really enjoyed the movie, I would even watch it again.
Blessings and happy scales:)

134.7 Another .1 down:)

Yummy Cuties!

Blame Ree Drummond and the Pioneer Woman blog for my new obsession. She posted about these Cuties and of course they were at the store just waiting for me. They are only 3 sugars for the whole teeny orange! And I know they are healthy, so it is a win win! It feels good to put fruit in my body. I joined myfitnesspal yesterday and that is where I got the sugar count, so I trust them. I also found that I really don't eat that many sugars a day, but I have a TON of sodium. I was almost over my sodium for the day at breakfast! Ugh:( Does that explain the gross bags under my eyes when I get up in the morning?

Flat butt:( 1/02/12

I have said before that I have a really flat butt:( I really do, here is a picture to prove it. I know some of you may say I am lucky, but it is in no way attractive for the butt of my pants to be hanging down all the time and my butt looks like I am sucking it in. This is a GREAT reason to get back to the gym and start doing some squats. If it is sunken in at 54, oh my gosh it will be hollow at 56. Well, that's saying I will never gain again. Even when I do gain weight it is all around my middle and I still have a flat ass, cracker ass, etc. etc. etc. Double ugh...but if this is the worst thing I have to stress about, I am blessed! Did you notice that "gain" is a part of again? Hmmm???
My hubby and I are meeting my sister and husband and going to The Texas Road House for dinner tonight. I  am going to eat what looks good, but I worry about my system on the way home. The restaurant is in a smaller city about 45 minutes away, close to Dawn:) That's a long drive if I eat something that doesn't agree with me. Sad that I have to think about those things, but at least my body doesn't like it either!
I got FABULOUS news yesterday. My daughter and grandson will be here for about 10 days in February. Her sister in law is getting married around Valentines day (she's preggars:)  and so they will fly in to Spokane. I go to Georgia in   a couple of weeks and then I will see them again 2 weeks later:) I miss my Karson. I can't even watch videos of him without getting teary. I don't miss the mess! Kayce, if you are reading my blog, I love you dearly, but I hate a messy house!
Continued thoughts and prayers for Pattie and Beth. Deep sigh, count our blessings.

My last stress is over!!! Bunko 2012 done!

The bunko bear is ready to be passed around:)

My dining room that I don't use as a dining room, until bunko!

I just wanted to share a little about my Bunko. We only have it at our homes 1x a year, so I am done, done, done!!! My husband helped me a ton because I always wait until the last minute for EVERYTHING!!! We pay 10.00 to play and we buy prizes with that money. I found some really cool canvases that had inspirational sayings on them, I included a gift receipt in case it wasn't their "thing". Also Bath and Body wallflowers and hand wash....love, love, love. I am a sweet pea girl! For the  3 lowest prizes I got Donut makers. I am so excited because I won one!!! Woo hoo...I am going to make some donuts! I may be wrong, but I would think they would work for most baked goods.
Coconut or Almond flour baked goods. I will let you know.

Food:) And 3 more people brought food!

Family room table, seating for 12 total

I had lunch with my gym friends and bunko at my house. Yesterday was a very Blessed day with wonderful friends. I am happy:) I really think this beautiful sunshine weather is helping a lot too. I love, love, love sunshine!
I had lots of compliments on my weight last night, that was inspiring and felt really good. This time last year I was "thinking" about losing weight. Thank God for seeing Jorge on Rachel Ray! He will be on Live with Kelly next Monday, I have the DVR set.
My weight was back down to 134.8 today, less than 2 lb gain. I will take it since I still am not fully back on track. Still sugar free even with bringing out my chocolate macadamia nuts from Hawaii! They needed to get eaten!
Today is finally movie day! My husband and I get to enjoy the day without having something else that we have to do. It feels good!
My thoughts and prayers are with Pattie and her family. Life can change in an instant. That my friends, is a reminder.
Blessings and happy scales!

I'm almost ready to be a "Loser" again!!!

Happy New Year!!!  What an exciting time 2012 will be! With my husbands job ending in 2 months, changes are a coming. I know that together we will be OK, and that feels good! It's kind of exciting really, I mean who doesn't dream of being 56, working at the same place for 26 years and losing your job??? Kidding...It will actually be 26 years in February. No seriously, he can't help but smile when he thinks about it. One of the guys from the Seattle region texted "Happy New Year" today and my husband texted back "Happy New Years from one happy loser to another happy loser". They are both sadly thrilled to look for new opportunities because the job had changed so much. We have all kinds of decisions to make and it will be fun to do it together.
We had a great day today. Hubby got all of the Christmas lights put away and then we went to visit my sis at the nursing home. Dinner was KFC and it was good:) Jorge allows it!
So back to the "I am almost ready to be a loser again". As I write this I look down where I used to be so excited to not see an extra set of boobs, and I have acquired a set again. Maybe a B cup instead of the DD that used to be there, but it is back! Proof of what Rosalie said, this is a forever thing! I have "only" gained a little over 2 lbs, but it decided to become boob rolls, so it is obvious that it is time to lose them again. I will be conscience of what I eat this week, but I'm not sure if I am ready to hit it hard until hubby goes back to work next Monday. I will take each day as it comes. Wish me luck! Tell me to get over myself! Tell me to quit procrastinating and making excuses! Remind me of how hard it is to lose 5 flipping lbs!!! Ugh! I am such a non loser! I really did do good on the sugar, I just eat way too many potatoes. Dang potatoes. Oh and Frito scoops....have you ever had the rotel/Jimmy Dean sausage dip? Well I have, twice in the last 2 weeks. And lots of Fritos scoops....
Happy New Year! Bring it on!!!