wednesday (er thursday) weigh-in: week 7

Ill just come right out and say it, I got rid of 1.6lbs this week! I personally thought I would have gotten rid of more since I stuck to the plan so strictly this week, but you know what, Im still very proud of my self for getting rid of any weight! Which means I also reached the first goal WW sets for you, my 5%. And funny thing, I guess Weight Watchers actually thinks Im losing weight too fast?!?! (ironic right?) I got this little notice when I tracked my weigh-in on eTools.

For those who really wanna know my weight, you can technically do the math,
but Ill never actually say the number to you lol

I guess youre only supposed to lose 2lbs or less averaged weekly. It makes sense, but Im not sad that im losing more. lol. This also means that my daily PointsPlus target changes too. It only changed by 1 point, but I think its significant to realize here, that as you make successful steps in your weight-loss journey, its still important to reevaluate your daily intake and routines to help you continue shedding the lbs.

Couple of things Im proud of myself for this week. First, I did actually exercise! One day on the elliptical, one day doing a video, and I tried to do a third day. I busted out the old roller-blades, but unfortunately I found out once putting them on that they are both broken. To the point I cant use them and will have to buy a new pair. :( It kinda made me sad. I was really looking forward to going rollerblading during my lunch, and honestly I cant afford to get a new pair right now. (i looked them up on SportsAuthority.com and they are at least $100). And then I realized, I could totally make this my next reward for my 25lb goal! Not only is it something I want, but it will also be a great idea to motivate me to exercise. win-win.

The next thing Im proud about, the ability to walk past the donuts at the grocery store. You know, the ones they purposely place right on the end-cap in front of the fruit section. The oh-so-delicous Entenmanns' ones that have the crumb topping. With a huge sign that says "BUY 1 GET 1 FREE." I actually turned around and went back to get them. But as i stood there in front of the display, I asked myself, "Do I really need these? Or just want them? Is the taste of them so good for those couple of seconds that I would be willing to sacrifice my weight loss this week?" And the answer was no. So I proudly walked out of that store without them. No one else was proud of me, but you know what, Im not doing this for them, Im doing it for me! And then I remembered a saying I heard long ago in one of the WW meetings from the previous times I joined:

And its honestly so true!

Last but not least, I am proud of myself for tracking every single thing that I put in my mouth. The first week or two its easy because everything is so new. But by the time you past the 1 month mark, you get a little lackadaisical on the whole thing. And then come the time to input it all you may for get that you ate four two of those pecan clusters. ;) So this week I made sure that was one of my priorities, and Im happy to say I did stick with it.

lbs shed this week:  -1.6

lbs shed in total: -12.4

lbs still need to shed: 37.6

first goal: 10lbs - reached on 2/13/13

•     reward:  mani/pedi and possibly massage (i really do have to schedule at least one of these)

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new rollerblades

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: umm hello did you read above? 1.6lbs, 5%, exercise, no donuts, and lots of tracking. oh and one little thing I forgot to mention above, im wearing my pre-baby jeans! they are very snug, but you best-believe i squeezed my tush in them this morning!

set-backs: broken rollerblades :(

exercise: elliptical and video. I wanna start walking too! maybe around the neighborhood after dinner?

hows your weight-loss journey going? leave a comment with your link if youd like to share, Id love to read about it. we all need to support each other and if a little blog hop will help then so be it!

p.s. dont forget you enter my giveaway, lots of chances to enter, and not alot of entries so good chance you could be the winner, but you only have till midnight tonight! Enter Now

Taking prenatals just got easier!!!

Calling all preggos, mamas, breast-feeding mamas, trying-to-conceivers, basically all women! Do I have some great news for you. I dont know about all of you but when I was first started trying to concieve my obgyn suggested I start taking prenatal vitamins. At first I was a lil confused. I had always thought you didnt start taking prenatals until after you got pregnant. WRONG. Since about 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, some doctors and organizations, such as the March of Dimes, actually suggest any woman between 15 – 50 take prenatals every day.

So I took a little trip to my favorite place in the world, Target, and went to buy me some prenatals. I didnt exactly know the difference between the brands, so I did what any normal woman would do, I looked for the prettiest. lol. ok maybe not any normal woman, but what can I say? Im a sucker for good packaging. (that would be the designer in me speaking, btw)

Now let me just preface that Ive never been good at taking pills. For some reason I could just never swallow them, always opting for the chewable or liquid. As Ive gotten older Ive learned to be able to take pills, but the size of prenatals? Nobody warns you about those things! I like to call them horse-pills. But for the well-being of my baby one day, Ill do whats best. So I started taking them. Not everyday, but whenever I remembered.

I quickly learned that these horse-pills were not only gigantic and horrible smelling, but they also made me feel extremely nauseous. And hell, I wasnt even pregnant yet. I couldnt even imagine what it would be like to try and take these plus have morning sickness. So back to Target I went to try and find a smaller, better smelling, non-nausea, anything better prenatal option. After multiple attempts of which had no success, I basically gave up.

And then the best thing in the world happened. We found out I was pregnant! We were so excited and couldnt wait to tell everyone our good news. But in the back of my head all I could think about was the dreaded horse-pill I would have to take for the next 9 months. I even spoke with my doc about how to make the daily ritual a little less painful. She suggested eating something with or before taking it, taking it before I went to bed, or using the prescribed ones she gave me a prescription for. I do admit, out of those three suggestions, the one that worked the best was taking it right before I went to sleep. But that still was just not good enough in my eyes. Too bad I would have to just deal with it.

But ladies, you need not worry anymore, enter Premama! I wish, I wish, i repeat, I WISH, they had this product when I was pregnant.

Premama is your prenatal vitamin as a drink mix. You know, kinda like crystal light on-the-go packets? But get this, it has absolutely no flavor, this way you can add it to any of your favorite drinks! It tastes best with juice, fruit flavored beverages, iced tea and milk. You technically would be fine adding it to water, but there may be a hint of ginger taste to it. Note: You should not mix it with sodas or hot beverages. And get this, you can also sprinkle it on your breakfast cereal if you'd prefer. I personally mixed it with my Strawberry Orange Banana Crystal Light drink and honestly couldnt even tell there was anything added. Again, back to the wishing I had this long ago! But thankfully now that baby #2 is our our brains (not trying yet, but the thought is there lol) I can start taking this prenatal instead of those horse-pills.

Now you may have a couple question, and thats fine, I did too, so Ill try to give you a quick overview:

Prenatal Vitamin Powder Drink Mix

• Doctor recommended
• Nausea Relief
• Contains all the nutrients baby needs
• Gluten-free, Lactate-free, BPA-free
• 100% Natural
• Just 6 calories per serving

Premama is most effective if taken:

• While trying to conceive
• During pregnancy
• While breastfeeding

Key ingredients include:

• Biotin: May help support embryo growth
• B Vitamins: Help provide energy
• DHA Omega-3 fatty acid: Suggested to support fetal cognitive development
  and protection against postpartum depression
• Vitamin D3: Supports mom and baby’s bone health
• Proprietary Iron blend: Can help lower the risk of preterm birth and low birth-weight;
  gentle on the system
• Coenzyme Q10: May help protect against preeclampsia during pregnancy
• Choline: Used, along with folic acid, to help further protect against neural tube defects
• Ginger Root: Helps with nausea relief
• Folic Acid: Clinically proven to reduce the risk of some birth defects by up to 70%

Each daily serving of Premama may be consumed in two equally divided doses (dont worry, the each package is already split into 2 for your convenience). Processed in FDA-regulated facilities, Premama also contains USP Verified and Food and Drug Administration GRAS nutrients not typically found in combination with other prenatal supplements.

Now, for the best part of this little post, one of my lucky followers will be winning a 30-day supply of Premama! And as I mentioned before, you dont have to be pregnant to qualify ;) all women should be using this easy to take prenatal drink mix. Unfortunately, this post didnt post when it was scheduled, so you only have until tomorrow to enter (sorry).  And the winner will be announced in Fridays Letters. Also, the giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Theres lots of ways to enter, so you'll have lots of chances to win even if the giveaway is only open for a short time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
But dont worry, theres more!! All of my lucky readers are able to save 15% off using the promotion code Sweepstakes2013. You can buy and learn more about Premama here.

I hope you all enjoy, and good luck!

I received this product free to review from Premama through MomSelect. All opinions stated are my own.

fridays letters

 

dear hubby, thanks for making such a delicious dinner last night, not sure why we dont do burritos more often?!?! i was even able to make a healthier version for myself without having to do a whole lot of extra work. maybe this will become a weekly meal idea!

dear matthew, now that you can fully sit yourself up from a laying down position, we decided it was indeed time to lower your crib. i knew this would happen sooner or later, but Ill admit, mommy may have gotten a little teary-eyed while doing it. Youre no longer my little newborn baby. Youre still my baby, and always will be, but now youre all sorts of moving and noise-making baby. ;)

dear floors, now that we've added another dog (not forever, just doggy-sitting my mil's for time being) you need to be cleaned even more often. Plusalso, if and when matthew starts crawling anytime soon i dont want him crawling on gross floors. So basically, can you just clean yourself?

dear diet, this week its not only my goal to exercise more at least once, but to also try hitting my "healthy checks" each day. So far this morning Im already doing pretty good, so lets hope this continues. Im going to go grab my multivitamin just as soon as I finish this post, so Ill be able to check that off too. Although, I will have to look up in the WW packets how exactly to get my daily healthy oil intake. That one has also stumped me, so I usually just ignore it, but not this time. I want to try and do my best with all aspects of WW.

dear video recorder charger, if you could please make yourself appear it would be greatly appreciated. I havent been able to charge the camcorder since I unwrapped it on Christmas morning because we have no clue where you are. And the battery is going to die any day now. I dont want to miss the chance of recording matthews first time crawling. So please, i beg of you, come out of hiding.

dear pale person that stares at me through the mirror, not only do you live in south florida, but you also have a membership to the tanning salon. it is absolutely unacceptable that you are so pale. you are in some desperate need of some fake sun. you know its bad when your 6 year old niece ask "leah, whats wrong with your legs?" me "what do you mean? (as i look at them)" jenna "why are they so white?" for which my sister bursts out laughing.......thanks. just. thanks. for. that.

dear hubby, because you and matthew always get two, i think its about time we finish start another house project. I know we could really use the space by enclosing the carport (which has always been on our list), but I think remodeling the bathroom is more of a priority. Especially since matthew is physically growing out of his newborn bathtub, and it just grosses me out that our actual bathtub has cracks in it. So much so that I refuse to put matthew in it for fear there is bacteria or mold or something that might be harmful.

dear matthew, your aunt denise has forewarned me to not make alot of plans this weekend, claiming that your next tooth is going to pop out sometime in the next couple of days. You only have 2 teeth right now, the bottom middle two, but a third on the bottom left looks and feels like its coming through now. please try to be a happy boy through the pain, i know it hurts, and mommy will try and do her best to ease the pain, but I cant make it go away completely. trust me, I think all mothers would if they could.

and as always, i will never leave you without a picture or two (sorry for those who have already seen these on instagram.

p.s. dont forget to go link up with Ashley for Fridays Letters

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on being the breadwinner

this is one of those post that Ive debated on writing. Is it too personal? Will I come off sounding ungrateful? If my in-real life friends read it would they take it the wrong way? But then when I saw Becky's link up go live on Monday, I started thinking about what I would write.

You see last year I didnt participate because I honestly couldnt think of anything that I could share that would help empower, motivate, or just relate to other women. I post about the normal everyday mom/wife/woman stuff on a regular basis. But what made me different, or better yet, what made me relate-able.

And then I read a few of the link ups. And it really hit me. All these women, they are sharing the topics that empower them. Topics that they are frightened about. Topics that they wouldnt normally put on display for the whole world to see. And even if I didnt relate on the exact same situation, I at least immediately felt empowered by how they embraced each of their own obstacles. So back to the drawing board I went. I racked my brain for topics that I would normally be too intimated to share. And then it hit me. A topic that I normally dont discuss with others, let alone go full in depth about on paper. But this is who I am

i am

a

friend

wife

mother

blogger

designer

and

THE breadwinner

of our family

Ill start by saying I grew up in a "traditional" home. I say that vaguely because I am honestly not here to put down anyone who didnt, nor who isnt, brought up this way. But for me, it was understood that my dad worked and my mother stayed home. Mom would dress us, feed us, clean us, discipline us, and just overall take care of us on a daily basis. Dad, on the other hand, would leave the house by 5:30am to drive an hour to work, spend all day earning his salary, and then would sometimes make it home for dinner with us around 6:30pm. Was I close to my father? Of course! I was Daddy's lil girl, and still am. But my father not only worked his ass off every day (excuse the french), but he instilled  hard-working morals unto me. 

daddy's little girl

I always just assumed that when I one day had a family, the dynamics would be the same. Except, I knew that I wanted to have a career myself. This, as you can see, caused some contradictions in what I wanted. My sister, she knew what she wanted. She was going to be a stay-at-home mom. Yes, she went to school for nursing, and even got a job at the local hospital upon graduation. But we all knew that the job was merely a placeholder until she got married and had kids (of which happened merely a year after said job). I, on the other hand, studied, hardly ever went out, worked a full time job, plus an internship, all while getting my bachelors in Graphic Design, and started my career, just 3 months after graduation.

graduation 2008 with my parents

I felt successful. I was proud of myself. More than that, my FATHER was proud of me. I had saved money from my high-school job to be able to move out on my own (well with hubs) the summer before college. I rarely asked my parents to borrow money. I was self-sufficient to say the least. And I prided myself on that. I was responsible. I was established. I was, in-fact, a career woman.

Our First Apartment - 2004

Now, let me get back on track a minute and make it clear that I would never marry for money. Nor marry someone solely based on success. They are all admirable details, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And for my heart, it wanted Matt. He's smart, handsome, funny, a great father and husband, but since day one, he has always lacked motivation. He's the type that would rather enjoy every minute of life opposed to worry about all the tiny details. Lets just say, hes completely opposite of me when it comes to that. He dropped out of high school when he was a sophmore and got his highschool diploma before his expected graduation date. But instead of going off to college (which he now regrets), he decided to work for for his uncle laying tile. Now, it sounds bad when I write it like that, but let me make it clear that he wasnt just some "tile-setter." His father (before passing away) had established a very well known business with high-class clients. The jobs they worked on werent just your everyday kitchen tile jobs. They worked in mansions, installing marble ceilings, among the numerous remodeling projects that these millionaires had. And he was making very good money doing it.

However, he was also coming home unhappy everyday because he hated his job. And then with the economy being in the position it is, people stopped spending money on remodeling. And work got real slow. So slow, that hubs decided to try and find work in another field, hell a completely different industry. Which meant he had to start from the bottom. Something we both had talked about and agreed that it would be best for not only him, but for us. Only problem was, starting at the bottom meant a major cut in pay.

We decided it was worth it. We I had saved enough and was making decent money myself, so we could survive until he worked his way up the ladder. I had always felt like I was the breadwinner anyways since hes horrible at saving money. But now, it would be official. Our family would be depending on me to live. 

Pregnant with Matthew 2012

Then we got married, bought a house, had a baby, and here we are now. Im still the bread-winner. Now I have another person depending on me. I wont lie, it scares the hell out of me sometimes. I mean honestly, anything could happen. Hell, since we decided to make this decision my career has gone from being bought out, changed departments, bought out again, and it truly is hard to believe that my job isnt indispensable.

I love my job. I love what I do on a daily basis. But I would be lying  if I said I never thought about being a stay at home mom. It was hard enough going back to work after my maternity leave. And again, Ive always wanted a career. But I just never thought I would be put in a situation where I didnt have the option of staying home. 

I love that my husband comes home from work happy now. I love that he loves what he does. Im grateful that we both have jobs that can contribute to a great life for our son. And I am so glad that I have my sister to watch Matthew while we are both at work. But i do envy those that have the option of being a working-mom or stay-at-home-mom. I dont know, even if I had the option, if I would ever take it. But I would still like to be given the option.

Christmas 2012

Being the bread-winner of a family is alot of stress and takes a very strong and hard-working person. All of which I endure on a daily basis. When bills come around, its me who figures out when and how to pay them. When something happens to one of our cars, its me who decides if we have enough money to fix them. When its dinner time, its me who decides if were staying home or going out, and trust me, i DONT cook, so I would much rather go out. I hate that I get labeled as cheap sometimes by friends and family, but i honestly dont believe Im being cheap. In actuality its me being mindful of our finances and budget.

I know one day the choices we've made will pay off and the stress of being the bread-winner wont over come me. Maybe one day I will have the option of staying home with the kid(s), and I just might take that opportunity. But until then, if I seemed a little stressed out, you may now understand a little bit more whats going on in my little head.

wednesday weigh-in: week 6

Wow, i guess I spoke to soon about the whole exercise issue. This week I didnt get on the elliptical once. But if I want to really be technical we did spend most of the weekend outside walking around. We went to the Coconut Grove art Festival in Miami on Saturday. Then on Sunday I took Matthew to the local Italian Festival with my sis and her family. I also bought the Weight Watchers "Punch" workout kit last night at BJ's, so Im oing to try and do it tomorrow during my lunch break.

And if were being extremely honest here, I was absolutely horrible with tracking this week. I think what started my downhill spiral was Valentines Day last Thursday. My mother-in-law came over to watch Matthew while me and hubs went out to dinner and the movies. And lets just say, I thought I did well with dinner until I actually looked up the points for the entire I selected. Note to self: Check points values before ordering, not after. Salad is not always the healthiest option, sometimes one of the lower carb options available on the menu is a better choice.

But needless to say, since I didnt track that night, I kind of just didnt track at all this week. I know it absolutely inexcusable, but as Ive always said, this week is a new week, so just do better starting now!

Sorry this weeks post is so short. As per usual, majorly busy today at work and trying not to be late for my meeting tonight so I should probably head out now.

lbs shed this week:  -.4

lbs shed in total: -11.2

lbs still need to shed: 38.8

first goal: 10lbs - reached on 2/13/13

•     reward:  mani/pedi and possibly massage

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new outfit? hair salon?

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: none as of now, we will see once I get on the scale tonight if that was a success

set-backs: no exercising and not tracking

exercise: technically none, but did walk alot of the weekend

fridays letters

 

dear hubby, i know we're a lil tight with money lately, but yesterdays valentine date night was just perfect. i dont care if we didnt get all dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant. I loved that we were casual and went to a quick dinner at Chili's and then out to see Identity Thief, which was absolutely hilarious. But that time, the time we spent together, just the two of us, meant alot to me. i know i say it all the time, by i do truly love you sooooooo very much!

dear matthew, you scared mommy yesterday with waking up at 3:30am with a 102 degree fever. Im glad I made an appointment for you this morning just in case. Even though you were already back to being your normal somwhat-annoyingly bouncy (literally nonstop bouncing) self when the doctor came to check up on you. He says your perfectly healthy, but if it happens again or goes about 103 to make sure to call him immediately.

dear work, i know with this whole transitional phase due to the acquisition that theres alot of loose ends and busy work to be done, but it would be nice to go back to somewhat of a normal workload/schedule. Although, I guess I cant really complain since i am back to doing the things I love (design for marketing) plus my normal day to day responsibilities.

dear diet, thank you for making me feel proud of myself. i know 10lbs isnt a whole lot, but you know what? you have to start little by little, and Im sure I will get to my end goal.....even if it is years from now ;)

dear valentine chocolate, please dont let my diet know I gave in to eating quite a few pieces of you last night after we got home from our date.

dear unorganized self, how many times are you going to tell yourself that you are going to get organized? stop procrastinating and get your butt in gear. as with everything else, you have to start small. I see that you started with the kitchen pantry, now continue doing those little projects and eventually you will have an organized house. fingers.crossed.

dear moms-to-be, trying-to-conceivers, and breastfeeding mamas, i have a giveaway coming up soon on this lil blog of mine. ill give you a hint, do any of you have a hard time taking your prenatals? well i sure did when i was preggo with lil man, and now that im thinking about #2 (not like anytime soon soon but the idea of #2 lol) i know i need to start taking prenatals again, and I have the coolest new product to share!

dear hubby, i want to make something clear, i LOVE your family, i LOVE that matthew now gets to spend more time with his grammy, and i LOVE that your sister is going to have a baby cousin for him to play with, but i also LOVE having alone time and just us three time. So just because they live close and have nothing to do doesnt mean I need to hang out with them EVERY weekend.

dear matthew, i know i keep saying this, but i swear i feel like any day now your are going to crawl. im pretty sure you can, you just have to put all the motions together. i dont want to miss this milestone so I keep grabing my phone to try and video record it whenever i think you might possibly do it, and then you fake me out. please just somehow, can you give your mommy fair warning when you finally decide you want to? ok thanks :)

and i know there was an overload of cutest yesterday on this here blog, but as usually i will never leave you without a picture. This was taken before our photoshoot and I just thought it was so cute how they were staring at each other.

p.s. if you dont already link up for friday's letters, go check out ashley's blog and link up today. plus also, ashley got to share some amazing news yesterday!

heartbreaker in training

Need I say more? Perhaps with a few more adorable photos.....

 

And you can see how this little one is a heartbreaker in training right?

Well then let me introduce to you his little girlfriend, her name is Samantha.

 

Shes absolutely precious, and yes her mother and I have already pre-arranged their marriage! I mean come on, look at these lovebirds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And your welcome for that little overdose of cuteness. If your ovaries werent exploding with baby fever before you read this post, they sure are now! ;)

And just a little side note about Valentine's Day. I personally love the holiday. I dont care if its a "Hallmark Holiday." Why not spend an extra day specifically showing the one you love how much you really love them?!?! Tonight Grammy is coming over to watch the lil munchkin while me and hubs go out for dinner and a movie. We're still debating on where to go for dinner, but were pretty sure we're going to go see Identity Thief. (not romantic at all, but we like comedies lol)

Wish me luck on not overindulging on chocolate, dinner, or movie popcorn.

And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to you and all your loved ones! <3<3<3

wednesday weigh-in: week 5

I did it! I actually exercised this week. It may only have been once, but you know what? You gotta start somewhere. Remember the elliptical I got last year? Well it had found a new home in Matthews closet. You know, so it would be easier to bring out and use, opposed to siting in the laundry room. Well yeah I dusted it off and brought it out to help me with last weeks goal of moving more. I was only on it for 18mins while I caught up on one of my shows. Lets just say 18mins was hard enough for me. Thank god my machine has a bike seat because I dont know how I would have been able to do even those 18mins standing the entire time. Can you say out of shape? yeah......

i think the 5.04 means miles, but i feel like thats way to high of a number for being done in 18.25mins

Unfortunately, I honestly didnt have any other time this past week to blog clean sleep exercise with how busy work is. I know its not an excuse. And I need to make sure I "make an appointment" to exercise. I think if I write it down or put it in my work calendar then it will feel more like a necessity than if I just say Im going to do it. And it seems like my only "free time" to do it, is going to be during my lunch hour. Which is completely ok with me, i just need to make sure I stick to it.

At tonights meeting my leader made it a point to remind us that making something a routine helps it become easier, almost automatic. She said that technically speaking we should each be aiming for at least 14 activity points a week. I was flabbergasted. 14? I would be happy to get 1! And then she explained that if you are normally sedentary (thats me lol) then you should try just exercising once a week for 30 days. And after 30 days it will become a routine. Then you can add more days as you go. This way you wont feel overwhelmed and if you are able to do it more than the once a week during those first 30 days then great! So Im going to commit to that and hope for the best!

Oh and I forgot to mention one lil thing about this week.... I got to my first goal!!! Im not going to say its from the exercise, because honestly I doubt it is. But I am going to say its from my hard work. My self discipline. And my recent obsession in finding new easy low point value recipes. Ive been having so much fun making meals lately. We even had my mom and day over for dinner for the first time at our house on sunday and I made the entire meal myself. Baked Chicken, fresh roasted veggies, and sweet potatoes! It was absolutely delicious! (Oh and if you caught the whole first time eating dinner at our house thats a long story, lets just say their house is just so much easier, and bigger, and heck normally the food is already made, but after 2.5 years living in our house, i figured it was about time)

lbs shed this week: -2.4

lbs shed in total: -10.8

lbs still need to shed: 39.2

first goal: 10lbs - YAY!!! go me!!

•     reward: changed my mind, the hair salon is going to be kinda expensive, so Im thinking a mani/pedi this weekend and possibly using my massage certificate from my baby shower (before it expires lol)

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new outfit? hair salon?

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: meeting my first goal of shedding 10lbs!

set-backs: i think I can say there were no setbacks this week :)

exercise: brought out the elliptical and plan on doing it again this week, wish me luck!

wednesday weigh-in: week 4

This week Ive come to realize that even if I do get rid of the amount of pounds I want to, my body itself is not going to go back to the way it was before I was pregnant. Not that I had a great body before, but its just different now. I had stretch marks before, but not in the places I have them now, particularly my stomach. And even with dropping close to 35lbs off the bat thanks to breastfeeding, I now have extra skin in areas I dont want either.

I really dont mean to start this post off in a negative manner. Because honestly thats not what Im trying to do. Im proud of my body and what it endured in order to old a precious life for 9-10 months. I wouldnt take that back for the world. But with this realization, that Ive changed, in more ways than one, Ive also realized that Im going to have to work even harder to get back in shape.

Which means, I hate to say it, because I honestly dont want to, but I need to start exercising. The eating healthy part has always come relatively easy for me with diets. Its the working out part that I tend to slack on. And being a mom (i know thats not an excuse but bare with me) i feel like i never have time to do it. Again i know thats not an excuse, but when i have extra time i like to relax. I feel like im always tired. Ironic i know because its know that exercise actually helps increase your energy levels.

So basically Ive come to the conclusion i NEED to MOVE! Funny how tonights meeting was all about creating our own moving plan. I was so glad I stayed for the meeting even though my sis and bro-in-law werent able to. Besides talking about getting started moving, i got to listen to alot of the lifetime members talk about what has and hasnt worked for them. I needed to hear this because although i didnt gain this week I also didnt get rid of a significant amount either.

My mini goal for this coming week is to exercise at least once. I know that may not sound like at lot to some of you but for me it at least gives me a starting point.

Any advice from those who lack the motivation to exercise but have found something that works for them, PLEASE share!

lbs shed this week: -.4

lbs shed in total: -8.4

lbs still need to shed: 41.6

first goal: 10lbs

•     reward: maybe a trip to the hair salon?

second goal: 25lbs

•     reward: new outfit?

final goal:  50lbs

•     reward: epiphanie camera bag

success: exploring different healthier recipes

set-backs: ate way to many frozen meals this week. Wish I wouldve cooked more, but i just felt like i didnt have the time this week. And not exercising. :(

exercise: none, but i am going to this week, so you better hold me accountable

fridays letters

dear hubby, valentines day is coming up and Im trying to come up with something creative for you as your gift. I know were trying to save some money where we can, so Im thinking of maybe arranging a date night for us to go out to dinner and see a movie (lucky I already have a groupon for the movies)

dear matthew, you are so close to crawling these days. You litterally rock on all fours, and then even sometimes on your tiptoes. Im excited for when you finally do, but i know once you start youre going to be all over the place. You daddy thinks youre going to walk first, but I just know you will start crawling any day now.

dear south florida, oh how I love you so! my lil trip to NYC last week really made me appreciate the nice weather we have year round. i dont know how those northern folk deal with freezing cold weather ;)

dear self, youve got alot of goals on your mind lately, and i do want you to achieve every single one of them, but try to focus on the small ones first. they are more achievable and will help motivate you to complete the larger ones. lets start with your 10lb goal (you only have 2.4lbs to go!) and spending less money (eventually we will pay those credit cards off, i promise!)

dear work, how am I ever going to get longevity with a company if you keep getting bought out?!?! the company I first started with out of college got bought by a larger corp within 1 year of me starting, luckily I was able to continue working from home for the other company, I moved within departments and was able to get 3 years with this company, and then my department got bought out last week by another company. Again Im lucky to be able to continue working from home, but Im not going to lie, the benefits are quite different. not necessarily bad, just different. Im excited for the new change, but sad that I technically start over as a new employee again :(

dear credit cards, i will NOT use you, i will NOT use you, i will NOT use you........unless its a  good deal or an emergency ;)

dear house, please clean yourself today, my mother-in-law moved back to florida last night and were hosting dinner here tonight, unfortunately I just dont have the motivation to clean

dear hubby, we really need to sit down and figure out how to divide and conquer when it comes to household chores, as previously mentioned, the house is an absolute mess! I know neither of us enjoy doing housework (come on who does?) but it still has to get done. i volunteer for laundry, dishes, and vacuuming. If you could just take trash, litter box, washing the dogs, and mowing the lawn that would be perfect! lol

dear matthew, i dressed you in the most adorable overalls today that your Aunt DeAnna got you. I couldnt believe just how big you look in them! Your Aunt Denise even said you "no longer look like a baby," when I dropped you off this morning. Please can you stay my baby just a lil bit longer?
and speaking of baby.....we got some wonderful news this week, youre going to have a baby cousin this october! Aunt DeAnna and Uncle Eric are expecting! We are so happy for them, its been a long time waiting. Shes only 5 weeks, but we couldnt be more excited!!

And i would never leave you without a cute photo. Sorry for those of you who already follow me on instagram, as youve already seen one of these..

p.s. i just noticed I am only 2 followers away from reading 100! maybe Ill have to do something special when I hit the big number!

p.s.s. go check out this awesome Jo Totes giveaway!