Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

Pretty please can I just fall over yet? I'm sooo tired and dragging my butt around today. Diet has sort of fallen to the wayside the last few days as I have two sick kids and have made several trips to the ER at Children's and the walk in clinic. Unfortunately my older daughter does not seem to be responding to her meds for tonsillitis and a UTI so back to the doctor we'll go tomorrow. It's never ending it seems!

So, for my weigh in today, I'm only down 0.4, which means that I'm 0.6 away from reaching my goal of losing 6 lbs since I recommitted a few weeks ago. Not happy about that as I know I could have done it. The only good thing is that it is enough of a loss to take me back over the 40 lbs lost mark, thank goodness. My next goal is to lose 6 lbs (now 6.6lbs) by Thanksgiving. Yikes.. that's gonna be cutting it close I think, though I know it is do-able if I completely stay OP. Then again, if I manage to catch my girls germs, I'm bound to lose a few extra lbs. LOL. I should not be wishing for that though!! I have a very busy next couple of weeks at school and cannot fall behind now.

Blah.. sorry, just feeling all whiny and complain-y today. I hope ya'll are doing better out there!

BLAH Apparently I can't add either! Still 0.8 to go until I'm back at 40 lbs lost. Ack..

I hate thinking of titles!

I can never think of anything witty or funny... I like the idea of using a line from a song like Krissie does but I don't want to a copy-cat. And I'm overthinking this because titles really aren't that important are they? LOL On to other things...

Several blog friends have been doing the six word thingie (a 6 word sentence that sums up your life so far is what it is supposed to be I believe).Cammy posted hers yesterday("I learned in time to live") and I just love it! So after some thought, I came up with mine:

I am stronger than I thought.

That sums me up in so many different areas of my life both now and in the past. I've done things that I never imagined possible and survived through some bad stuff... and I'm stronger for it all.

Today has been a rest day exercise-wise and overall, it's been a great day. I took the girls to Coffee and Scream this morning, where we met with my cousin and her girls. Then we came home for lunch and naps and walked to the park this afternoon to play. It was really nice to have a whole day with them to do stuff seeing as T had no school due to Spring Break.

Food-wise... well, I'm over in points today by a few. I just couldn't resist eating the rest of the yogurt covered raisins from Easter. But I tracked them all and this is the first of any flex points I've used this week so it's all good. Sooooooooo yummy!

Lastly, I wanted to post the recipe for my spinach and feta omelet. I make this a few times a week, usually after a workout and have finally gotten the points down to a very reasonable amount. And it is really really delicious!! Even if you think you don't like spinach, you'll like this omelet!



Spinach and Feta Omelet

• 100 grams Omega 3 Break Free Eggs (or two large eggs if you prefer)
• 60 grams fresh spinach (could also use the frozen stuff, thawed)
• 4-5 small mushrooms (depends if you like mushrooms or not)
• 35 grams fat free ham, cut up into small pieces
• 30 grams feta cheese (I really like feta.. you could half this if you want to reduce points)
  
• pinch oregano
• 1 tsp. oil
  
• couple tablespoons water
  

1. Sautee sliced mushrooms in oil over medium heat in frying pan. Once they have started to cook, add in ham, spinach and water.
   
2. Cover so the spinach can steam and reduce heat a little bit. After a couple of minutes, remove the lid so excess water can evaporate.
3. Mix oregano into eggs and then add mixture into the frying pan. Sprinkle feta on top.
4. Let cook for about two minutes, then place in preheated oven under broiler. Remove when egg is fully cooked and top is slightly browned.

Total points: 5.5 (or 7.5 if you use real eggs)

Variations: Sometimes (when I have it on hand), I throw in some shredded frozen potato a bit before the mushrooms. This is really delicious and bulks up the omelet even more. I think 2/3 cup of the potato adds 1.5-2 points.

Work and kids and ARG

So, I've been working full time for the past 2 weeks and am scheduled to do so for another two weeks. And to be honest, I've really enjoyed it. Even though work has been crazy busy and comes with it's own issues, it's still quieter and easier than trying to work at home around two screaming kids, always trying to find a spare second to get to the computer to just "finish something up". So I've been tossing around the idea of looking for a more permanent full time position and quitting the contract work that I've been doing at home for the last year and a half. But today, I am reminded WHY I had chosen to work from home in the first place.

FINDING RELIABLE, CONSISTENT CHILDCARE IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

Sorry for "shouting", I just feel incredibly frustrated right now. For the second time in less than a week, my babysitter has called me at work asking me to pick up the kids at lunch time because something has come up. Then yesterday, she sprung it on me that she will be away March 4-8 and how I should call the day home agency to find a back up sitter. The problem is, there is only one other lady from the agency that can take them and going to her means an extra 30 minutes of driving in the morning. And this is not a problem with only my agency - this is a problem with all childcare in my area. There just isn't enough! So, instead of selecting a caregiver who is the most loving, caring and best suited for our needs, I essentially get no choice and am just stuck with whatever is available, whether I like the person or not.



Ok, sorry, rant over ;)

I need a little bit of strength!

Today is T's 4th birthday. Two out of the last 3 years, this is the day that my New Year's resolutions have been forgotten and I've gone way off track. The only reason it's not 3/3 is because I was pregnant on her second birthday. And... well, today isn't going so good so far. I had to bake cupcakes for her party tomorrow and of course sampled a few of those (tried a new recipe so I had to make sure they were good, right?). So then I felt gross and lunch consisted only of two cheese strings. Then I dropped T off at school and K and I did some running around. I just wanted to binge!!! I ended up going through the Burger King drive through and ordered a chicken tendergrill sandwich. That in iteself wouldn't have been SO bad but instead of the honey mustard sauce they used to put on it, there was a ton of mayo on it. Great. But I ate it anyways.

So as I'm driving, I'm really trying to think about WHY I had this overwhelming urge to binge. After all, I've been doing great and feeling really strong! The only thing I could connect it with is the fact that I'm feeling a little frustrated/stressed. I have a lot to do and then got another phone call this morning asking me to do MORE. Kids were always driving me batty this morning, especially K. She has learned to climb up on the kitchen chairs, which means that I'm grabbing her off of the kitchen table every two minutes. Or getting her out of the dog food. Or from playing in the plant dirt. You get my drift....

I also haven't had the chance to workout yet today and I think that's a big reason I'm finding it easier to binge. If I work out earlier in the day, the rest of the day, my willpower is alot greater.

Well, I just put the cupcakes into containers and put them out in the garage. I brushed my teeth and am guzzling some water as I type this out. I'm going to try and go the Y after I get K to bed, if my mom doesn't mind watching the kids. I'm NOT going to let this day throw me off track again!!

EDITED 5:26 pm: Thank you for the comments! I'm reading right now cuz I'm still feeling like eating everything in sight. We just opened the mail and my daughter got a birthday card from her dad. It's the first time there has been any contact in over a year. And now I'm stressed... apparently he was in another rehab for the last year. Yes, this is the second time in 3 years. But now I'm freaked... what if he wants to have contact? I realize this is good for the kids but freaky for me!!

*sigh* Kids...

So, I bundled up the kids and made the trek out in the snow this morning to the Y. T (almost 4) is super excited because she hasn't gone to babysitting at the Y in a long time and she loves the ladies that work there. I drop her off and then go to drop K (15.5 months) off in the baby room. She starts clinging to me as soon as I open the door. Then it's more like a death grip onto my neck. I try to pry her little fingers off me and the screaming starts. Greaaaaat. So I take her over to the toys and sit down with her and try and engage her with the other kids. She wouldn't have any of it. It was like she needed her entire body surface to be touching mine and the minute I tried to sit her bum on the floor, she'd start grasping at me and the crying would start. After trying to leave her for half an hour, I gave in and knew today was not the day for me to work out at the Y.

I couldn't help but be disapointed and maybe even a little frustrated. I really wanted to work out. She was FINE there last Saturday. But then again, on Saturdays they have the big kids and little ones in the same room so she was with sister.

So, we bundled up again. Now T was kicking and screaming because she didn't get to stay in babysitting for "long enough". Fun times! LOL

Once I got clingy K down for a nap, I decided this would be the day that I unwrap my 5 mile Advanced Walk DVD by Leslie Sansone. And it was great! The box set I got included 2lb hand weights, a walk belt and a toning band. This is the first time I've ever done one of her workouts, and by no means do I consider myself advanced but you can totally customize how you want your workout by selecting the each mile individually, two, three, four or all five miles. Two of the miles are more fast paced to get the cardio level up really high and three of the miles are more moderate and use the accessories. It's perfect for people like me who are really uncoordinated and don't have previous aerobics experience because all of the moves are really basic, yet really effective. I only got through 3 miles today before K woke up but I still got in a good 40 minute workout.

I'm making my grocery list tonight and trying to plan some suppers... I've searched through recipes at the WW site and a few other sites as well. What are your faves? I always need meal ideas!

I did pretty well eating today:
Breakfast: Yogurt with 1tsp wheat germ, one mandarin orange
Lunch: 1 cup Healthy Request Herbed Chicken Noodle Soup, 1 whole wheat english muffin with melted 2% cheese, apple
Dinner: Smart Ones Santa Fe Rice and Beans (yum yum), 1 serving chicken breast, all on top of a plate of greens

I'm sipping a mug of International French Vanilla Cappucino right now. It only has 1 point per serving so you can't really go wrong with that. It's totally like dessert to me. Anyways, enough rambling for today :)