Weekly Weigh In

Well technically I am up .2-but I weighed first thing this morning and that weigh in is usually a little higher than mid morning. So even though technically I am up I am not considering it a gain since it is only .2 pounds.

This week is going to be a challenge as we are on vacation now and won't return until Monday. So along with that goes a ton of junk food. Although I packed apples yesterday I also made chocolate chip cookies to bring along (my chocolate chip cookies NEVER turn out right....this time they did and they are delish). So needless to say I have already eaten too many of them. Our hotel does have a fitness room maybe I'll take advantage of that while we are there and burn the extra calories I'll be eating. So when we get home next week I'll have no gain to report. Hmmm, we will see how it goes.

I had really hoped to be ten pounds lighter for this vacation but I cannot beat myself up about it. Can't change it now. Will just have to work hard on my next goal.

Good luck to all you out there trying to lose. Have a great week.

Menu Plan Monday 1/29

Well I only have two nights to plan for this week. We will be leaving Wednesday on vacation and I won't have to plan menus for the rest of the week. But I did sit down last week and planned a menu for the month of February! Made out the grocery list for each week too, now if I actually stick to the menu we will be doing great!

So for this week it will be easy. I have pork chops marinating in the fridge for tonight and tomorrow I am thinking salad and sandwiches. Something easy, quick and won't require much cleaning.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Some of my latest Layouts

I have finally been scrapbooking!! I have a friend on bedrest and I've made a few visits to her house to scrapbook. I've also organized my scrap area so hopefully I'll be able to get to scrapping again. Here are my latest layouts. I copies most of the designs from Scrapbooks Etc magazine.

Tales from the Scales Weigh In Day

OK so I am a day late blogging about my weight loss but not my fault-the boys ruled the computer yesterday. I am (somewhat) happy to report no gain and no loss! You'd think I'd be upset about that (and I am a bit disappointed) but considering the week I had I am thrilled that I did not gain any weight. I ate whatever I wanted this past week. I didn't go overboard but if I wanted it, I ate it.

So I won't reach my goal by the end of this month, but I have myself to blame. I am glad to say I am back on track so hopefully I'll see a loss next week. I cannot wait to get a few minutes to go back and visit all the other "losers" blogs and read about their success. Unfortunately my 3 year old is nagging me to get back on the computer. And frankly-while he is occupied on the computer I can get so many other things done. So I will gladly get off so he can play a bit.

Good luck to everyone-hope you have a great week!

We got SNOW!!!

Baby sister with the snowman

baby sister in her first snow


Mommy and J


J throwing a snowball

Yeah! We got snow!! Haven't had snow in about 7 years! Woke up this morning to a little bit of snow on the ground. As I was getting dressed and getting J ready to play outside it began to snow again. It was coming down heavily! It was so much fun. J and I left baby sister upstairs playing and Daddy in the bed. We made a snowman, threw snowballs and slid down the hill. We had so much fun! After we had been outside a while Daddy stuck his head out the front door and we asked him to snap a picture of us. Daddy was obviously not as excited about the snow as Mommy. After playing I got baby sister dressed and took her outside for a few quick photos. This was baby sister's and J's first snow, so we had to take lots of photos.

Here is a video of J throwing a snowball. The snow is really coming down!!



Here is a video of J sledding down the hill. I am behind him trying to give him a good push and video at the same time-didn't work too well.

Little Photo Shoot

I got the camera out today and took a few pictures of baby girl. She wouldn't smile for me but I think I got some really cute ones. Of course I am a little biased!

No More Excuses

Someone had this listed on Calorie count Plus. Thought it was a good eye opener. Hopefully it will get me motivated to stop making excuses and start exercising.

weigh in day!

Woohoo! I lost two more pounds!!! That makes a total of 30 pounds!!!!

I'll have to blog more later after I get baby girl to sleep....

Ok so I had to wait another day to finish blogging about my weight loss, but better late than never. So I lost another 2 pounds!! HIP HIP HOORAY! I still have ten more pounds to lose to get me to where I was "pre kids" which was my goal for the end of 2007 and I didn't meet it. Again better late than never! I still have a ways to go to get to my ultimate goal but I will get there. I seriously need to get into an exercise routine though-that would so help my weight loss. I do plan on taking up tennis soon, just have to coordinate with hubby on watching the kids on nights that my sister is off work so we can play. Also need to get my stationary bike back to the house so I can ride it. Where to put it? I have no idea. I hate it being where the kids can get to it so I will have to come up with some way to keep J off of it.

Well good luck to everyone at Tales from the Scales on the journey to better health. And congrats to all the losers this week!

Menu Plan Monday 1/14/08

My menu did not go as planned last week either. My problem was also getting things thawed in time to prepare dinner. So this week should be a breeze to come up with since I have so many menus from last week. I am doing alright with the weight loss-still only losing 1-2 pounds a week. Which I know is good but I miss the 4-5 pound losses per week.

I got a surprise in the mail Friday. My very own copy of the Weight Watchers 5 ingredients 15 minutes cookbook, thanks to my in laws! So now I can rate each recipe and mark the ones I've tried and the ones I want to try! Also the 2008 version of the cookbook, which I ordered from ebay, has arrived at the post office. So we will be making a trip to the post office today to retrieve it-cannot wait to see what new recipes are in the new edition!

So here is our menu for the week-as of today. I am doing a little better about adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I am trying to cut out some carbs-mostly during my lunch and dinner meals. I cannot cut them completely I just love them too much. I do need to start using some of my freezer meals. So this week I'll be using some of the ham and a bag of soup. No weight watchers recipes for this week. But the broccoli cheddar soup recipe came from the "Fix it and Forget it Lightly cookbook" and it is delish!

Monday: Salad and potatoes
Tuesday: Hamburgers, baked fries and salad
Wednesday: Chicken Roll ups and veggies
Thursday: Ham (in the freezer) and veggies
Friday: Broccoli cheddar soup (in the freezer) and sandwiches

She's Gonna Blow: Real Help for Mom's Dealing With Anger

Raising a three year old and new baby has strains of it's own. But when that three year old is extremely strong willed it can cause some "mommy blow-ups" like described in this book. I attended a MOPS meeting once that dealt with this subject but at the time my son was less than a year old. So I thought this was something I would never have to deal with, was I ever wrong. For some reason that 3 year old boy can really get under my skin and he loves it. This book really didn't offer me too many remedies that I had not already heard before, but it at least made me feel like I was not alone in the struggle to keep my cool.

Many of my friends and family will tell you how patient I am, but there are times my kids can really wear my patience out in a heart beat. One thing that really drives me crazy is when I am trying to dress my 3 year old. He is getting to the stage he wants to do it himself which will be a big help but most times he just runs around and jumps around while I am trying to get him dressed. Drives me nuts!! So if we are going somewhere that day I try to get him dressed early so I don't have to fight with him right before we leave. On days I know we won't go anywhere I usually just leave him in his pajamas. I've started using time out more than spanking. I believe in spanking-don't get me wrong-but he is to the age that time out works well for the both of us (at times mommy needs a little time out too (-:). He doesn't think time out is fun anymore like he did in months past. I'd ask him if he wanted to go to time out and he'd laugh and say yes and thought it was fun to sit for a few minutes-not anymore.

So if you are a mom struggling with "mommy eruptions" like the ones described in this book, this will be a great book for you to pick up. Remember you are not alone in your struggle. And remember when the kids are pushing your buttons they are blessings and before you know it they will be grown and out of your home. So cherish the good and the bad times.

Weigh in Day!

Tales from the Scales has extended the Looking Great in 2008 Challenge until February 27th!!! YIPPEE! I did not meet my end of the year goal, but that is alright because I still managed to lose a pound or two during the holidays.

I am still trying to add more veggies and fruits to my diet and make sure I get enough water in each day. I also need to work on the exercise. I did manage to do Taebo this morning-I know it is kinda old but I use to love doing it so I pulled it out this morning. I am doing good watching my calories. But my son is potty training and his reward for going potty is M&M's-and I have had a hard time reserving that little treat for him only. But that will change. I also had another temptation that is no longer around-not because I removed it but because I ate every last one of them-vanilla tootsie rolls.

So here is to a new year and a new me-well not a new me but a new healthier and hopefully slimmer body!! Good luck to everyone. Keep it up!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! The good news! I lost two pounds this week!! Yeah for me! I want to lose eight more before we go on vacation at the end of the month. Three more weeks, I should be able to reach that goal.

Family Fun

Here is a video of J playing miniature bowling

We went to "eat and play" today-that is what J called anyplace that you go and you eat and play-simple huh?! Anyway, this was Daddy's first time to come to this new "eat and play". It is great! You pay for a buffet (kids 3 and under are free!!) then you go to the game room to play games. They have miniature bowling, bumper cars, and all sorts of arcade games. Instead of tokens you use a gift card-it's great fun and family friend of course!

We had a great time. This will be our destination on our next date night!

Create in 2008 Project #1-Paper Bag Flowers

Ok this was a very simple project just to say I tried it. Not cute I know, but maybe with the right color bag and a little more attention to detail it could be great. Who knows maybe I'll try a few for the shower I am giving this weekend. Paper Bag Flowers

Photos

Today was an unusually warm day so we enjoyed some outside time. It was really great not too warm for mommy and not too cold for baby sister. I laid a blanket out in the yard for her to play on while J and I played a bit.

Sweet Kisses
Huh?
He loves his baby sister and she loves her big brother
Daddy Daycare

What fruit are you?

Take the What Fruit Are You? test by Ellen!

MY 100th POST!!

Yeah my 100th post!! As with tradition in blog world (or so I have been told) the 100th post is usually set aside for a blog on 100 things about "me". So here goes, lets see how long it takes me to come up with 100 things.

1. My name is Tiffany
2. I have been married to the love of my life and best friend for 6.5 years
3. I have two living children and one in heaven
4. I want to have 2 more children but my husband is not on board with
that...yet
5. Our house is for sale... want to buy it??
6. I love scrapbooking
7. I dream of being a photographer
8. I love gardening-had a herb garden this summer-LOVED IT! I loved picking fresh
herbs and drying them in the kitchen-filled the house with sweet aromas!!
9. I would love to learn to sew-which is one of my goals for the year
10. I am very family oriented. My husband says my mother and I are still joined by
the umbilical cord (haha)
11. I am the oldest of three children
12. I have a twin brother and a younger sister
13. 13 is my favorite number-had it on most of my jerseys
14. I played soccer from age 5-22. Wish I could still play
15. I can't stand clutter-but you wouldn't know it if you walked into my cluttered
home
16. I love Anne of Green Gables
17. favorite television show-Gilmore Girls. I have all 7 seasons
18. I love the smell of fresh cut grass
19. I enjoy bubble baths but rarely get the opportunity to take one
20. I have been a stay at home mom for almost two years and love every minute of it..
well most of the time-hehe-I wouldn't trade it for anything
21. My husband and I met online
22. I enjoy getting my hair cut
23. I pay $7 for a hair but because I am cheap when it comes to haircuts
24. I loved being pregnant-I'd love to be pregnant again someday-not today
25. I have lost 27 pounds since September 3rd
26. I can be overly sarcastic at times
27. I am not an open book-I am usually very guarded
28. I am addicted to blogging
29. I have eaten 3 bags of vanilla flavored tootsie rolls since Christmas Day-YIKES!
(make that 3.5)
30. I enjoy cooking and trying new things-but my husband and I are both picky eaters
so our menus are usually very simple
31. I learned how to knit with knifty knitters.
32. I've made hats and scarfs
33. I have really strange dreams. Sometimes about people I know but haven't seen or
heard from in many years. Sometimes about people I "know of" but have never we
have never even spoken-weird. My dreams jump from one weird thing to
another-never making much sense
34. My favorite poet is Helen Steiner Rice
35. I had lasik eye surgery and very glad I did
36. I hate hospitals but my husband is in nursing school
37. My Myers-Briggs personality profile is ISFP-introverted, sensing, feeling,
perceiving
38. Wow this is more difficult than I thought
39. I am a pack rat
40. I would love to run a marathon
41. I am going to take up tennis this year
42. I would love to attend a spinning class and/or kick-boxing class
43. Think I need to take up boxing-think it would be LOADS of fun
44. I am a Christian-but don't attend church regularly-but really should
45. I enjoy camping and back packing-although I don't make time for either
46. I love peaking into other people's lives-I think that is why I like
blogging so much-love reading other people's blogs
47. As a kid we had 13 cats running around outside our home-most of them came from
a stray that had a litter in my dad's antique truck
48. I scored the first goal ever for my high school soccer team-my freshman year
was the first year we had soccer for girls
49. I have a scar on each of my shins from jumping boxes in basketball in 8th grade
50. I was on the 8th grade basketball team-practiced with them but never went to a
game-I wasn't very good and I hated the uniforms. So midway through the season
I was sent to study hall. Another teammate did the same thing.
51. Her and I skipped study hall a lot!
52. I take things too personally
53. Calliou is over-that means my computer times is about to be over
54. favorite t.v. shows: CSI, Law and Order, Biggest Loser, Missing, Without a
Trace, Two and a Half Men,
55. I hate flying-my husband wants to take flying lessons...again
56. I hate sushi-tried it once and gagged
56. I came in second place in a golf fish race
57. I function better on 4 hours of sleep rather than 8
58. favorite movies: Top Gun, StepMom, You've Got Mail
59. I wish I could sing
60. I took piano lessons for a short time as a kid-didn't do well with that
61. I enjoy crystal light
62. My favorite non-alcoholic drink is a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with Vanilla from
sonic
63. The Italian chicken sandwich is the only reason I ever go to Burger King-but it's
a "limited time only" item that comes and goes frequently
64. My favorite alcoholic drink is a screwdriver
65. or a frozen margarita
66. My most favorite job was working at the YMCA one summer during college-loved it
67. Favorite places to eat: Logan's, Outback, McAlisters Deli, Newk's
68. I enjoyed watching HGTV and TLC when we had cable
69. I have an obsession for journals yet I rarely write in them
70. Love the smell of coffee but can't stand to drink the stuff
71. Would love to get a tattoo
72. I am not a morning person
73. I talk in my sleep (which could be dangerous see #33 above)
74. I want a wooden swing in my yard-maybe when we get a new home
75. I'm very modest
76. I don't like looking in the casket at funerals
77. Last year I had poison ivy on almost every area of my body-including my eye
78. I love geocaching-need to get busy on it though
79. I have hidden 7 caches and badly need to do maintenance on all of them
80. Last semester senior year my adviser told me I could not take 21 hours, I had to
beg the dean to allow me to do so.
81. that semester I got my highest GPA of any semester
82. I love driving down back roads...really really fast!
83. My love for camping began as a girl scout
84. I got a Cricut for Christmas
85. I have serious road rage issues
86. I rarely forget a wrong done unto me
87. I love to sing in the car
88. I rolled yards and egged cars in high school
89. My friends and I turned all the furniture upside down in our dorm lobby in the
middle of the night
90. A friend and I stole her roommates car. We returned it later that evening
91. I love to dance-but my husband refuses to dance with me
92. I just won two bids on ebay! One for Weight Watchers cookbook
93. won one in the last 20 seconds WOOHOO!
94. I hate going to the dentist
95. I have to go tomorrow
96. I am overall a happy person
97. I enjoy pedicures but would rather just have my feet rubbed than painted
98. I have had two c-sections
99. I paid $2.97 for hair color at wal-mart the last time I dyed my hair and everyone
loved it
100. I love it too

Menu Plan Monday 1/7/08

This week is pretty easy. I did the shopping yesterday and was very pleased with the bill-very small. If I keep it up I could actually come within our grocery budget for the month. I have several menu items that I carried over from last month that did not get cooked-so that has really helped.

I am still loving the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. (I've seen a 2008 edition on ebay-I might have to check it out also!!) I am going to have to try to find one of my own so I can return this borrowed book. Then I can tag my favorite recipes-which is just about every one in the book! There are many soup recipes I'd like to try this month.

I am also trying to add more fruits and veggies to my menu-I have somewhat slacked off in this area this last two months and the scale shows it. I haven't been losing as much as I would have liked-but at least I am losing.

So here it is...

Monday: Balsamic Pork w/garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday: Tortellini Primavera with Pesto Sauce and broccoli (new one for me)
Wednesday: DH's night to cook-probably something w/chicken
Thursday: Ham and veggies
Friday: Creamy Chicken Spinach Soup and sandwiches (new soup to try)


Balsamic Pork is one of my favorite recipes from the WW cookbook:

4 (4 ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops about 1/2 inch thick
1 tsp salt free lemon herb seasoning
cooking spray
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (this stuff smells really bad-but tastes great!)
1/3 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth

Sprinkle chops evenly on both sides with seasoning. Coat a medium non stick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chops, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chops from skillet, and keep warm. (At this point I just pour the balsamic vinegar in the pan and cook the chops again on both sides for about a minute each side-but here is the rest of the recipe)

Wipe drippings from skillet with a paper towel. Combine vinegar and broth in skillet. Cook over medium high heat until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce-about 5-6 minutes-stir occasionally. Spoon sauce over chops.

This is quick an easy and delicious!

What book are you??

Found this quiz on another blog. Thought it was cute.

You're Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!

by Mark Twain

With an affinity for floating down the river, you see things in black
and white. The world is strange and new to you and the more you learn about it, the less
it makes sense. You probably speak with an accent and others have a hard time
understanding you and an even harder time taking you seriously. Nevertheless, your
adventurous spirit is admirable. You really like straw hats.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Not sure this is totally accurate-but it's just for fun anyways.

Create in 2008

I made one resolution this year-create in 2008. I am working on a list of projects I want to make this year-fun things like diaper-wipe cases, crayon cozies, advent calendar, etc, etc. I was thinking one project a month-but there are just so many things I want to do. So I am thinking one project a week?! YIKES. Could I really be that productive in a year?? I can surely try.

So what did I create the first week? A list-is that good enough?? No really. I need to look through my project list and come up with something quick and easy to make.

Another thing I want to do this year is learn to sew. Of course many of the projects I want to create require sewing so I need to learn FAST! And yes I know how to turn the machine on and have even used it a few times. But as far as creating lovely masterpieces-that has yet to happen. But hopefully by the end of the year I will be somewhat of a master at the sewing machine.

So I am off to decide what will be my first project of 2008. If you have any ideas of fun, easy things to create feel free to leave comments and/or links!

Looking Great in 2008

Well I got back on the scale this morning and I am back down to where I was last week-thank goodness those extra pounds didn't hang around long!! So I am doing well. I kept up with my online food journal yesterday and drank a lot of water. Still no exercise but I hope that will come soon! I need to get my stationary bike back-but I just don't have anywhere "kid safe" to put it right now.

Good luck to everyone. I hope to blog a loss next week!!

Looking Great in 2008

Ok I got on the scale this morning and YIKES! I was not pleased but should have known. I am too ashamed to post my results-I will try again tomorrow. I am back on track-and going to keep up with my food journal online again-that should give me a good visual and help me stay on track. I also plan on learning to play tennis. So that should be some great exercise.

Glad to know the "Looking Great in 2008" challenge had been extended to the end of February! That is great! I am going on vacation with my family at the end of January and really hope to drop at least 10 pounds before we leave. Then I will have another month before the end of the challenge and hopefully I can drop another 10 pounds in February.

I have 50 more pounds to lose to be at my goal weight and then the rest will be gravy-hehe. I would love to lose 80 more pounds but I don't know how realistic that will be. If I lose 80 pounds that will put me back to the weight I was when I started college. But I will be satisfied with losing 50 pounds. We will see how it goes. I want to meet this goal by August-my daughter's first birthday. Surely in 8 months I can lose 50 pounds!!

Hope everyone had a great new year. I know I did-and I am paying for it now.