A Day of Thanks

All month long I watched my friends write what they were thankful for on their Facebook pages. Most of the posts were pretty similar, with most people very thankful for their families, friends, jobs, houses, etc. Today I'd like to tell you all what I am most thankful for this year...my wonderful husband!

If you know me in real life then you know that I married an incredible man, but I don't always appreciate him the way that I should. He works very hard every day so that he can provide for our family. He never complains when I don't have any real estate business and can't contribute to the family bank account. He also never complains when I spend money from said account without checking with him first!

Not only does my husband provide for me and our family, he is the wheel that keeps this family turning! He plans our Disney vacations, and does most of the packing for the trip (minus the clothes). He keeps up with the laundry way more efficiently than I ever could, and he does a good deal of the cooking too! The rest of the household chores are fairly evenly split. He cleans the downstairs and I clean the upstairs! Unfortunately that means I get to clean both of the full bathrooms, but he does so much that even I can't complain!

Did I mention that my dear husband also coaches both of our older boys' soccer teams?! Well, he does. He puts his heart and soul into it too, even when the 6-9 year olds are making him crazy! He does it so that they can continue to play on a team with the same kids they have always played with.  And he does it because his sons want him to. He is good like that!

Want to know the best thing about my husband though? It's not that he's a good housekeeper, which he really is. It's not that he's the best father I know, which he definitely is. It's not even that he is so laid back and easy going that I almost always get my way- which I do 99% of the time. The best thing about my husband is that he adores me...unconditionally!

He puts up with my wild mood swings and periodic temper tantrums. He knows when I need to just get out of the house for a bit without any children in tow, and he doesn't pout about being left home with all 3 of them. He understands how I get when I'm really into researching something and I just can't put the computer down, sometimes until 3am. Any man who can put up with me for 10 years and counting is a saint in my book. It is often a thankless job, but I'm so glad he is willing to stick with it! He is the glue that holds this family together and I can't imagine making it through this world without him!

So on this Thanksgiving Day and everyday, I am thankful for the most amazing husband I could have asked for, and the life that we have together with our 3 boys!

Dear Scale: I hate you!

Dear Scale:

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I hate you…You entice me to get on each and every time I walk into the bathroom with your sleek black exterior and digital display. You call to me first thing when I wake up and again when I go to bed.  I’ve read the research. I know that when you’re trying to lose weight you shouldn’t weigh yourself daily, let alone two or three times a day. I try to resist. Honestly I do. But you’re like my drug!  I’ve tried to quit cold turkey, but it never works.

Eventually I succumb to your persistent pressure, and you tell me exactly what I don’t want to know.  Not only am I no longer losing weight, I’m gaining it, a few ounces at a time. So screw you! Why can’t you just stay in the closet, and keep quiet? Quit flirting with my desire to feel thin! Let me be happy with the way my clothes are starting to fit, and stop sabotaging my self-image!

Sincerely,

Your Slightly Chubby  Frequent Flier

P.S.  If you don’t see me for a while, it’s not because I’ve given up. I am determined to prove you wrong. It will just have to wait until after Thanksgiving!

I just joined BlogHer!

Since I've decided to get serious about this blogging thing, I decided to join BlogHer. It's a blog network for women (and some men). Many of the bloggers that I follow are already members, so I thought I would give it a shot. It's a HUGE network of women, and I'm looking forward to being a part of it!

Shopping for my Angel

Today I went shopping for the "Angel" that I'm sponsoring for Christmas. His name is Jeremiah and he is 8 years old. He asked for clothes. Pants in particular. He didn't ask for a Beyblade, which is all my kids can talk about. He didn't ask for Bakugan, video games or a skateboard. He asked for something he needed, which I think is both smart, and incredibly sad. The budget for our gifts is supposed to be $25-30, and I spent close to $40. I had to! I couldn't just get the boy a pair of pants. I had to get him a matching shirt. And who wants (just) clothes for Christmas?

So after I bought the pants and a Bakugan at Kohl's, I took my children to Target to help pick out a toy and a shirt for him. We had the discussion about why we are donating these gifts, and how sad it is that this boy might not get any other Christmas presents. I think they got it. They picked out a Beyblade with a launcher, and a shirt with a football on it. They're 7 and 9, so who better to ask about what an 8 year old would want?!

I hope Jeremiah likes his gifts. I hope he gets to open at least a few presents filled with what he wants on Christmas morning. If not, I know that we did something great for this little boy, and in the process, my boys learned a very important lesson about charity.

Going Swimming?

I was getting dressed this morning while my 2 year old son was sitting on the bed watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I didn't think he was paying any attention to me, but clearly I was wrong. I put on a pair of bikini underwear, as opposed to the usual thong that I wear, and my son got really excited..."We're going to the pool?!" he said. LOL! I can't believe he knows the difference between my usual underwear, and what looked to him like the bottoms to my tankini! Guess I better be careful what I do around him from now on!

My Resolve is Crumbling

The deflated balloon that is my Willpower!

After 3 weeks on the Perfect 10 Diet I lost 9 pounds. This week I started working out with my Wii again, in conjunction with adding 1 serving of whole grain into my diet and I've lost nothing! Not one single ounce!!! So how do I solve that? I eat...cupcakes! Last night I made pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Today I'm making red velvet cupcakes. They're both supposed to be for the company that I have coming over tonight and tomorrow, but I have already eaten one full size pumpkin cupcake and one mini cupcake. I also ate a handful of my 2 year old's fries at McDonald's today...What the heck is wrong with me?

I know that this diet is the way I want need to eat for years to come, but when I don't see results on the scale, I just feel so defeated! I know that I'm getting healthier on the inside, regardless of what the scale says, but the honeymoon is over, man! It is a slippery slope that I am trying desperately not to throw myself down! I need to go back to phase 1 (obviously) where I don't eat any starches. It was easier somehow. I like the black and white of it- no gray area to get confused by. And even as I'm typing this, I'm thinking...maybe I should just say screw the diet until Sunday, and eat whatever I want. Maybe I will. Hopefully I will find the willpower not to.

Hello Stage 2!

I have completed the first 3 weeks of the Perfect 10 Diet. I am down 9 pounds and I'm wearing some of my smaller (size 12) pants! I really slacked on exercise this week, which is probably why I missed my goal of 10 pounds lost by one pound! This week I am going to focus on exercise. I'm very happy that I get to add back in one serving of whole grain a day. I'm going to try a few things I haven't tried before, like quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It looks kind of like cous cous, but it's high in protein and fiber. I sure hope I like it!

The Cupcake that Crashed My Diet

Evil Cupcakes

This is it. It's the cupcake that made me cheat on my diet. I was already working on a 2 layer vanilla butter cake for my son's 9th birthday when he told me he wanted chocolate cake. Great! So I compromised and made a small batch of cupcakes. I made 9 regular sized ones, and 12 mini cupcakes. I used left over frosting from the Halloween cupcakes I made for my youngest son's class, and the result was what you see above. It must have been the sugar in my system (from licking my fingers while making the frosting for the cake) that made me do. Or it was just my vain attempt to prove to myself that I am a baking Goddess...but I had to make sure they tasted as good as they smelled. After all, I'd never made chocolate cupcakes before. So I did it. I ate a mini chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting. It was amazing, and I don't even really like chocolate cake!

The problem is that it didn't stop there. I had a few Doritos, and some corn souffle, and some baked beans- all with sugar/starch in them! Then I made the ultimate cheat....I ate some cake and ice cream.  I couldn't help myself! I knew the cake was delicious and I couldn't stand watching everyone eat it while they told me how good it was! And boy were they right...it was friggin' fantastic! I did only have a small piece, and a very small scoop of ice cream, but then I had a sugar cookie too! Damn sugar! It hypnotized me!

The birthday cake I couldn't resist

So this morning I woke up expecting the scale to hate me, and it wasn't so bad! I had managed to eat pretty good the rest of the day yesterday, so I guess it balanced out a bit. But then this morning I was giving my neighbor a plate of left over sweets and I ate a bite (just a bite this time) of cake- and then a sugar cookie. I'm so ashamed! I made it through the entire Halloween season without cheating, and I couldn't make it through one measly birthday party. I think if I hadn't baked the sweets, so I didn't know how good they were, I might have been able to resist. Maybe not. 

Anyway, tomorrow is my official weigh in for the week so for the rest of the day I will be a dieting angel!  I am going to do some Tae-Bo which is sure to burn some calories, and I hope to walk with my walking buddy tonight. I just need to stay strong and stay away from the sweets in the kitchen!

I can do this! Right?

I met my 1st Goal!

I made it through the first week of the Perfect 10 Diet and I couldn't be happier! My goal was to lose 5 pounds, and ironically, I did just that! I lost exactly 5 pounds. I feel better too! More energetic, better sleep pattern, less moody. It's been a long hard week, but I am glad that I went through it.

Last night was Halloween night and I was the one who had to stay home to hand out the candy. So there I sat with M&Ms, Butterfingers, Twix, Kit Kats and more, on my lap for 2 hours. It was my own special kind of torture. But instead of giving in, I ate a giant Granny Smith apple and a few almonds. It wasn't the same, but it was enough to hold me over. As a matter of fact, I have yet to eat one piece of Halloween candy. I'm afraid that if I eat just one piece, it will snowball into ten. And that's the last thing that I want, so I'm staying away from it.

I've also not had any diet coke in 10 days now. That part hasn't been as bad as I though. The hardest part is when I am out of the house in a place where I normally drank diet coke...Geez, I sound like an alcoholic who is trying to stay sober! It feels kind of like that though. Diet coke has been a huge part of my life for a long time now. I'm hoping that I start to crave water the same way! I guess we'll see!

Before I sign off, I'd like to share one of my lunches that I ate this week...It is a mahi mahi burger from Trader Joe's and it was FANTASTIC! I cooked it on the grill and sauteed some pre-chopped veggies in butter and garlic to put it on. It was so delicious that I can't wait to eat it again! I never thought I would be happy eating like this, but I am enjoying it so much!