Memorial Day Weekend: Sunday and Monday

Sunday morning, hubby and I ate breakfast outside on the deck. I wish we had a deck, we’d probably eat every meal outside! So pretty and quiet in the morning. I had 1 cup of cheerios w/ 1/2 cup of strawberries and 1/2 of a banana sliced on top. Mixed with 1/2 cup of milk. I also drank 1 cup of 100% orange juice. Delicious! It was 6 points, which seems to be average for breakfast for me.

For lunch, I had a boneless, skinless chicken thigh- grilled and BBQ’d- Yum!! 1/2 cup of Mom’s baked beans, 1/2 cup coleslaw, and a tiny bite of my brother’s burgers that he seasons. 4 cups of iced tea. It was a perfect summer meal and so delicious and I couldn’t believe it only came out to 7.5 points. I made myself stop eating the baked  beans- I love those, but I know they can get high in points.

Something went wrong w/ hubby’s truck, so he and my Dad worked on getting that fixed almost all afternoon. The AC isn’t going to work until we can get it back to our shop in town, but at least it will drive!

When that was fixed, we were able to go down to a beautiful path by the river and go biking. My brother bought some in-line skates to go with us. We wanted to go geocaching, and tried, but forgot our GPS for that and tried to use the one for the car but it just wasn’t as accurate. It was a little disappointing trip because we didn’t get the mileage we wanted because my brother obviously couldn’t skate as fast as we can bike. Plus, someone stole my Schwinn digital odometer. I looked down, and it was gone. This trail wasn’t that long and we went back to everywhere we had been and it wasn’t there. There are some shady people in this town, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone swiped it. So I need to buy a new one of those. I wanted to track our mileage all summer and now I’ve lost that. I know it was probably around 30+ miles or so for the summer, so I guess I could set it at that when I buy a new one. But I did burn 362 calories, and I was ok with that, it’s something!Here are some photos:

This is actually where we were supposed to get married, but the weather didn’t cooperate. But our wedding photos were taken here- so pretty!

By the time we got home, it was supper time. Mom and Dad bought a Delite Papa Murphy’s pizza and topped it w/ veggies. 3 points per piece! I ended up eating 3 pieces for 9.5 points because it was so delicious. I avoided the regular pop and hubby ran up to the gas station and got me a diet Pepsi because I was craving it and had already drank a TON of water! Isn’t he sweet? :) I had about 1/2 cup of strawberries for dessert.

After supper, my brother, hubby and I went slick track go cart racing. I don’t remember the last time that I did that. It was fun, but I probably wouldn’t spend $8 on it any time soon. I don’t like it as much as hubby and my brother! Then we went to Dairy Queen, where they now sell the mini blizzards, they are the perfect size! Mine was 7 points, still high, but 1/2 the points of the smalls, and that’s awesome!

We stopped at Red box and got The Blind Side. It was a good movie, but I think I fell asleep in an important part of the movie and woke up for the end, which was a little confusing. I snacked on some Smart Pop popcorn while watching the movie. And then I went to bed!

On Monday, we went to an awesome grocery store to stock up on great deals on produce. Here is what I got (all for $43!):

 

After that, we headed home. We stopped at Subway for lunch and also had a scoop of ice cream on the way home. I think I had ice cream everyday this weekend! I probably could have skipped it today, it was 8 points and I really could have used them later on. But I’m still on track and within my points, so it’s all good.

Tonight, we’re just working on getting a PC set up and relaxing. I’m glad it’s only a 4 day work week!

Memorial Day Weekend: Friday and Saturday

On Friday night, we packed up and headed to my parent’s house in IL. The drive went a lot faster now that it’s light outside. It takes about 3.5 hours. I had picked up Subway for us to eat in the car and I made us healthy raspberry/banana smoothies to go with our subs. Yum! It was so hot today, we were wanting something cold later on, so we stopped at Dairy Queen and I got a small Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard. I don’t use points on blizzards very much anymore, but I had a TON of points left and it was WORTH it. So good!

Once we got to my parents and settled in, my parents asked me how much weight I had lost now, and were impressed. I said the weight loss is slow, but the exciting thing is that I can run a little bit now! My little brother said, “You want to go for a run?” haha. My little brother had just gotten home from playing basketball for 4 hours and was still soaked in sweat. Yep, this is typical of both of my brothers. Do they ever tire? So I agreed to go. It was 11 PM, dark outside and nice and cool. My brother wears this light on his head, think one of those lights that goes on the front of a hardhat. It has a band that wraps around so people can see you and you can see where you’re going. I haven’t been able to run in a neighborhood before and it was really great! Our sidewalks at home are just not in good condition, but they are here! I burned 408 calories and felt amazing.

On Saturday, I started out with oatmeal w/ a peach mixed in, 1 cup of milk, and pineapple. Hubby and I spent hours running around town trying to find a PC that met certain requirements. By the time we were done, it was lunch time. I had lunch meat on an Arnold sandwich thin, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots and pineapple. Yum! And only 4 points, I couldn’t believe it! After lunch, Mom and I went shopping. I bought a size 14/16 shirt!!! I was happy about that! :) I also got a cute pair of dressy silver flip flops.

Saturday afternoon, we headed up to my brother’s in WI. It was great to see him, my SIL and my two nephews. My nephews are growing so much and it’s always fun to see them! We had a delicious supper of: grilled chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and red lobster style biscuits. Yum! I had 21 points saved up for this, although on the way up we all wanted a 49 cent cone from McDonald’s for 3 points, so I had 18 points saved up. ;) Supper was SOOOO good. I had 2 servings of mashed potatoes (because we never eat them at home) and 2 biscuits (overindulgence). They didn’t have any diet pop, so I did drink a regular Pepsi w/ Cherry and Vanilla- I’ve been wanting to try that flavor- it was pretty good! For dessert, she served these delicious white cake cupcakes with a raspberry/lime curd filling, topped with a raspberry frosting made of whipped cream, also topped with strawberries and blueberries. As you can imagine, I could not stop with 1 and had 2. Another overindulgence. I ended up using 11.5 weekly points, but I tracked everything and I feel in control, and that’s what is important. Thinking back, if I had wanted to do better, I would have only eaten one serving of the potatoes and one biscuit, but I’d still have eaten the 2 cupcakes! ;)

After supper, we all walked up to the park near their place. My brother, hubby, and I played frisbee for a while. I am terrible and throwing a frisbee, so they got a workout running after it, but I’m getting better! hehe. So I burned some calories doing that. I just love to see all of us being so active. Doing things like that instead of sitting on the couch. It makes me smile. :) I feel like as a family, we are all getting healthy. My Mom and Dad are trying to eat healthier. ALL of my brothers and sister and VERY active people, and now Hubby and I are too. Yes, I can say we are active too, and that’s so great to be able to say. Really funny, because I told my sister about Naked fruit juice, and now she buys cartons of it and LOVES it because it is so healthy. I also told my sister, SIL and Mom about Greek Yogurt and they are all addicted to it. :) It’s great that I can help everyone be healthier too. That makes me feel good.

My Brother and SIL both commented that I looked like I had lost a TON of weight and that I am doing so well. They’re still planning on coming up July 4th to run a 5k in my town, which makes me nervous because I know I can do it, but I may come in last of EVERYONE in the town! ;)

I was planning on doing a post for the whole weekend, but this is just getting TOO long! :) I’m going to break it in half and post about Sunday and Monday later! Hope your weekend is going as wonderfully as mine is!!

Running

Tonight Hubby and I went for a run outside. It’s cooler than it has been, but it is still in the 80’s, so it’s pretty hot! This time we each carried a water bottle with us, which we usually don’t do. I know it’s important to hydrate during exercise and I fail to do that enough when running!

But I noticed that since I drank water, I got a cramp in my side, which usually doesn’t happen. I probably drank 1 cup of water while running and finished the rest off when I was done running, so I didn’t drink a TON while actually running. How much water should you drink while running? How do you keep yourself from getting those cramps?

It felt great! I love our runs together. :) Hubby is finally in this exercise thing with me after work. It’s something we can do together right when we get home and talk about our days. I burned 398 calories! I’m very happy with that. :)

I know I need some new running shoes because mine are just getting too big. I can feel my feet slipping around in them when I run. That’s my next 10 lb goal. If I get down to 232, I get a pedi though- definitely need that! 10 lb goal is at 228, and I’m at 235.2. So I have a little ways to go, but maybe the pedi will be within reach in a couple of weeks?

Stay strong!! Don’t give up!

Yesterday’s Weigh In

I weighed in yesterday at 235.2. I lost .2 for the week. 52.8 lbs overall. Pretty small after last week’s 2.8, but I’ll take it. I went through some stressful events last week and didn’t do my best 100% of the time, so I’m happy with a loss! This week, I’ll just blow that number away! :)

We are going to my parent’s this weekend, which I’m really excited about. I’ll have to be very careful about me eating while we’re there. It’s not them- it’s me. I slip back into my old habits and I think there’s some emotional issues there too. Happiness and fun has always been centered around food for me as I grew up. My brothers and sister do not have this problem, so it’s something with me personally and is not anyone’s fault. It’s something I will have to learn to work on when I visit home and I’m happy to be there! No eating when I’m happy! haha

A Walk in my Flower Garden

I thought I would share some of my flowers from my flower beds again this year. Just a bunch of photos to let you see how pretty they are! Some of these aren’t really the best pictures, but I was just snapping quickly.

     

Tomorrow is WI, I’m looking forward to it and hoping for a loss. I was up slightly this morning, but that could change tomorrow- for better or worse! I have some exciting news to share but I want to make sure it’s finalized before I do! :) So stay tuned!

Cats and Garden

The cats still hate each other. But they are at least starting to avoid each other now, so we don’t have to keep them separated. It’s the weirdest thing. We got Dudley groomed, trying to cut down on the cat hair and I can’t help but giggle every time I look at him.

tehehe, see what I mean? :)

We also have our garden again this year. It’s a little more organized than last year!

We have strawberries:

Raspberries:

Onions:

Pear tomato:

Beans (that we need to thin out), and peppers and lettuce:

Blackberries:

There’s more, but the rest isn’t up enough to take a picture of yet.

We also have some sunflowers planted again.

Can’t wait to see everything grow and get all kinds of fresh produce!

Update and Versatile Blogger Award

Life has been a little chaotic since Wednesday’s post. We came home Wednesday night to find our cats fighting. They are both declawed, spayed and neutered and have always gotten along until then! We have had to keep them separated because they just won’t stop. One of them seemed a little sick, so we took him to the vet and he has something going on and they had to send blood work in. So we’ll see what that’s about. But now he is on a special diet, etc. and we got a bill for $264, which just makes me sick. We can’t afford to spend that on a cat, you know? The cats are just avoiding each other now and whenever they see each other they hiss. Any ideas on why this is happening?

I also found out that one of my classes was dropped for next semester and now all of the classes are full! So frustrating, as it’s hard to find classes that will work with my schedule.

I may have some good news coming up, I’m just waiting to hear about it!! So stay tuned for that. :)

Thanks to Marcy for giving me this award. :)

The rules are to post 7 things about myself then pass this on to 15 other bloggers.

1. I remember loving to write in 1st grade. My teacher had us write books and illustrate them and then they would bind them for us. I have so many of those books and I think that’s what started my interest in writing and literature.

2. I grew up in Illinois, but I moved to Iowa when my husband and I got married.

3. I am really grumpy if I don’t get at least 8 hours of sleep at night. I need my sleep!

4. I am an organized person and I love to make lists.

5.  Every week, I go through my cookbooks to plan meals. I am always cooking new things!

6. I have 2 brothers (one older and one younger) and 1 older sister.

7. I have freckles on my nose that come out when I am in the sun.

Well there ya have it! Just a few random facts about myself. :) I am going to give this award to all of the people you see on my sidebar to the right. They’re all wonderful bloggers! Check them out!

Weigh In Day

I just wanted to update quick about my weigh in this morning, probably because I’m really excited about it. :) I lost 2.8 lbs this morning!! I’m now 1 lb. away from my lowest weight. I set a goal to lose 2 lbs this week since I gained last week and I was thrilled when I saw I had lost more than that.

Hubby has been working closer to home and so that means he gets home earlier. He’s been working out with me after work! We went on another run last night and I was able to finish it again. Yay! I want to keep this up and lose those 20 lbs this summer, I’m 2.6 lbs. there. Looking good so far!

I hope to post more later on this week. Hope you’re all having great weeks so far! :)

Weekend

We’ve had a great weekend, but I wish it wasn’t over already!

On Friday night, hubby had a concert with the community band that he plays for. It’s always interesting to watch all of the old people there watching the show. :) They get so excited about the music they probably grew up listening to. After that, we went out to dinner with hubby’s parents. We went to a local Mexican restaurant. I made a good choice by getting a chicken quesadilla with no sides. It had a bunch of lettuce, a tomato, guacamole, and a little sour cream on the side. I may have gone a little overboard on the chips and salsa, but overall I think I did just fine!

The next morning I felt pretty miserable though and I think it was due to the Mexican food. My body just isn’t used to eating like that anymore. It’s always inspiration to eat a little better next time. I hate feeling like that.

I cleaned up my flower beds and burned 242 calories doing that! I’m starting to realize that anything I can do to be active is good for me at this point. It’s all about calories burned. The flower beds look a ton better, but I’m going to finish them up next week by filling in with annuals and then adding mulch. I’ll post some pictures next week.

We got groceries and ran a few errands. We were looking for a pear tomato plant for our garden and couldn’t find one anywhere. We finally found one at a greenhouse- can’t wait until it yields!

Today we just did the usual. This afternoon, hubby went with me to do the C25K workout 4 again. He really helped push me and I did the whole thing for the first time!! I burned 500 calories and I feel great. I really need to get my exercise on again. I’ve been slacking a bit. So that’s my goal for the week!

I am still on track points wise. My weekly points are almost all used up, but I’m sure I can make it to Wednesday. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Weigh In Day

I weighed in at 238.2 this morning. I gained .2 this week. I guess that’s understandable, considering the camping trip. But the difference this time is that usually when I go on vacation, I eat out of control and when I come back home I feel like I am too far gone and the diet is ruined. This time, I did not eat out of control and I came home and continued being healthy. That’s progress!

Today is a cold and rainy day. We’re talking back to sweaters and shoes. No more flip flops and short sleeves this week! I can’t wait for the warm weather to be back.

Not too much else to say today, hope you’re all having a great week!

Grocery Shopping

I have been back on track since getting home from the camping trip and lost the weight that I had gained while gone as of this morning. I’m hoping I keep it off for weigh in tomorrow! I want to lose at least 1 lb. so that I can get started on this 20 lb. challenge I have set for myself for this summer.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping after work. I get groceries every week, just filling what we’re out of and so forth. But I found some great deals this time! Here’s what I got:

So in this picture you can see:

1. Toasted Wheat thins- these are for my hubby and I ended up getting them for $1.98.
2. Jolly Time Healthy Pop Kettle Corn- This is my lifesaver. Whenever I’m feeling snacky- I eat this and a while bag is only a couple of points! I never eat this on the day before weigh in though because I can be assured I will gain weight the next day from the sodium.
3. Whole wheat rotini
4. Whole wheat bread- on sale for .99. I think this bread is usually 3.49 or so?
5. Earth grains thin buns- These make lunches less points- always a great thing!
6. SUnflower butter- I have yet to try this but it was on sale for just over $2. Anyone had this?

In this picture you can see:

1. Nutri-Grain whole grain waffles- 1 point a piece. We eat those with sugar free syrup- delicious and low in points!
2. Pizza crust mix- maybe not the healthiest, but convenient.
3. 2 boxes of Kashi cereal. I got these for $1.99 a box! Amazing. I love this cereal!
4. 1 container of Greek Yogurt- The price is a bit much for me, but I treat myself to one a week.
5. YoLite Strawberry yogurt- Hubby and I eat 1/2 cup of this in our lunches quite often with fresh fruit mixed in.
6. Ragu- Light alfredo sauce- convenience and delicious!
7. Fat free refried beans for Mexican dinners
8. A can of pineapple for pizzas!
9. Swiss Cheese- I love the flavor of it and it makes sandwiches so much more delicious.
10. Whole wheat tortillas
11. 2 luna bars at .50 a piece!

1. 1% milk
2. Bananas
3. Pink lady Apples
4. an Onion
5. Oranges
6. Baby carrots
7. Strawberries
8. Ore-Ida sweet potato fries- Again, maybe not the healthiest but these are delicious! Hubby and I eat 1/2 of a serving size with a meal for 2 points.
9. Tofu- This is new to me, I’ve never had it before. It was on sale for $1.99 and I’ve been wanting to try it. I found a recipe that looks pretty good so I’m going to give it a try this week!

Just thought I’d share my groceries for the week. By no means is this all that I’m eating this week, just filling up the cupboards!

Our Camping Trip

We had a fantastic time on our camping trip! We definitely want to go back to this same spot when the weather is warmer.

On Thursday, we both got off of work early so we could head up to Spirit Lake, right up on the IA/MN border.

We got there around 9:30 and it was pouring down rain. So we found a cheap hotel for the night rather than setting up the tent in the rain! It was clean, and that is all that matters!

It was still raining when we woke up on Friday morning, so we spent the morning driving around and scoping out the area. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. I didn’t do my best, eating wise, on the trip- but I did make conscious decisions and making what I did eat healthier.

We decided to head over to the campground- our GPS seriously misled us! It took us down gravel roads and we ended up here:

This is certainly not a lake, it’s a field- in the middle of nowhere! haha

We found the place on our own after that. It was a beautiful place to camp! Towards the afternoon it stopped raining long enough for us to set up our tent.

This was a full rainbow over the lake. I couldn’t capture the whole thing. Absolutely beautiful!

It rained the rest of the evening, off and on. We were able to roast some hotdogs and marshmallows though! (I brought the fat free ones for me!)

We spent the evening in the tent and played card games and talked. It was fun. But BRRRR was it cold! It got to about 35 degrees in the night! I slept in a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, a hoodie, an additional sweat shirt, a hat, ear band, socks, wool socks and 2 pair of pants. I was still cold! Hubby and I just cuddled up and we made it through both nights! I have to say I am still chilled though and can’t seem to warm up!

Saturday turned out to be a little better. There were popcorn showers all morning, but it turned around towards the afternoon. We went to a coffee shop that also sold chocolates. I had a coffee and a dark chocolate turtle. It was cute! By the time we got back to the campground the weather had turned around. We headed out for our bike ride, which is why we planned this trip in the first place! Here are some pictures of things we saw on the ride:

I studied a piece of literature written by one of the survivors of these massacres, so this was interesting to me!

Part of our ride was right on the IA/MN border, which was pretty cool! I really hate riding alongside the road though. One thing about some of the parts of these trails is that they were right on the side of the road and that scares me to death! We finally bought some helmets though!

Can you believe how far we rode?! We couldn’t believe it. Our longest ride so far, and I know we could go further. I’m not even sore!

Sweet calorie burn! We did stop quite a bit to look around, etc. So that’s why it took so long! :)

We spent the rest of the night relaxing by the fire.

Sunday morning turned out to be beautiful!

We took a very quick 3 mile ride before we packed up:

After packing everything up, we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and headed home! It takes about 4 hours, so not too long! Can’t wait to do this again!!