Blogging Challenge!

So, one of the blogs I read posted about a challenge to post on your blog every day in the month of November. Challenge accepted! Now, I know that I am still new at this whole blogging thing, but I thought what the heck - I am willing to give it a try!

Happy Halloween!! We had a bit of a fight this morning when we were trying to get the girls dressed and out the door to my mom's house... We have really been talking up Halloween, trick or treating and the twin's costumes. So when I went in and got the girls up this morning, the first thing I said to them was Happy Halloween!! Camille shot past me out the door and was yelling "Jessie, Jessie."  Fast forward a few minutes and it is her turn to get ready.. I showed her the new Halloween shirt she was going to wear today to my mom's and explained that we would go trick or treating after work today.. But what I got in response was: "NOOOOOOOO, I AM JESSIE.. ALL DAY LONG, MOMMY.. GRRRR" Literally she growled at me. It took me a good 10 minutes to convince her that she would still be Jessie, but not until tonight. She eventually calmed down, but man is she strong willed. I absolutely love that about both my girls, they definitely know what they want and are not afraid to stand up for themselves - but in this case, I wish it wasn't a fight that she would have just trusted me...

I was able to get back to Zumba last night, I really do love it... It is truly exhausting, but it is such a great workout that I am going to try to go 2x per week starting next week!  Also, I have heard a lot of people in Facebook land talking about this place called Title Boxing Club. Yesterday, there was a Groupon for it that was $15 for 2 weeks worth of unlimited classes. So, I snatched it up. I will give them a call tomorrow and see about starting my 2 weeks on Monday. They have classes every week day at noon, so I figured if I could go 4 days a week for 2 weeks, it would work out to $2 per class! The days alternate between kickboxing and straight up boxing! I am excited to get in there and give it a try.

Well, I worked my butt off Monday and yesterday.. Here are my stats:

Monday:
30 Points Plus values used / 0 remaining and I used 2 of my weekly points
Earned 10 Activity Points / 128% of my goal achieved - hell yeah!!

Tuesday
29 Points Plus values used / 0 remaining and I used 1 of my weekly points
Earned 9 Activity Points / 125% of my goal achieved - woohoo

I also got my activity report for last week... It was great! I earned 44 Activity Points for 110% of my goal for the week (and that was with not doing anything on Sunday, not even wearing my Active Link)...

Have fun and be safe trick or treating tonight! Now, I am setting a goal for myself to not eat ANY candy tonight.. I had 2 small pieces today before lunch, so no more today. This is going to be tough!!!

XOXO

Busy Weekend!

Man did we have a lot going on this weekend (not that it was very different from any other)! Friday night we went to the Dallas Zoo with my sister and brother (and their families) for the Halloween Nights activities. It was so cool! The kids were able to see some of the animals and were able to "trick or treat" at booths throughout the zoo. It was cold, but really alot of fun!

Saturday morning we got up and headed down to Fair Park for a 5K run that my company was the title sponsor of supporting the Diabetes Wellness and Health Institute. It was pretty cool, we had like 75 people on "Team MedAssets." So, our first 5K was at the end of September at the Plano Balloon Festival. We ran the entire way (I was hoping to run a mile) - I had not gone out to run one time prior to it. I had a goal of 45 minutes with walking/running. Dave was the most awesome support throughout the run and I actually made it (we made it) the whole way! It was awesome!! Best feeling!! Our time was 38min and 7 sec. I was very, very excited.

So this run we just wanted to beat our previous time.. Now, it was literally 38 degrees outside and it was MISERABLE. Camille and Avery were bundled up in our new jogging stroller and they whined and cried the entire 3.1 miles (and for the next hour before we went home). I felt stronger (lord knows I was 10 lbs lighter that the last race) and we knocked 2 min and 10 sec off our time! I was thrilled. Even better was that I was not as 'done' as I was after the Balloon run...

Saturday night we went to a Halloween carnival with my sisters and their families. It was awesome and the kids had so much fun!

Sunday morning we had our final weigh in for the Biggest Loser contest my family was doing. We had 7 participants and sadly, only 2 of us weighed in on the final day - me and my mom.... I felt great, I lost 25 lbs since the beginning of August... But dang it, so did my mom... Because she started at a lower weight, she had a higher percentage of weight loss. I was so disappointed.... Seriously..... But then she made my day by splitting the winnings with me, so we each walked away with $175!! She is so great and I appreciate her doing that, not sure if I would have been so flexible with the winnings, lol...

So, here are my stats from the weekend:

Friday:
28 points plus used
3 activity points earned (forgot to wear it all day) / 78% of goal

Saturday:
26 points plus used / 2 remaining
10 activity points earned / 133% of goal

Sunday
Didn't track anything and didn't wear my activelink :(

XOXO

I love seeing the results!

I mean, who doesn't, right?? I weighed in today for my weekly meeting and I lost another 2.6 lbs - putting my total at a whopping 63 lbs! I love it, I am 25 pounds away from my weight watchers goal, which in January of this year seemed almost unattainable. I am so close, I will most likely not get there by the end of this year, BUT I WILL be there by the end of January 2013. The one sad part is that I lost yet another Point Plus off my daily total, so I am down to 28 points each day (I literally started at 38 or 39 points back in January), so that is actually pretty cool! :)

I was able to go to advanced boot camp today. I have not been in a few weeks (after being sick and then doing the cleanse). I am already sore.... We used these evil things called kettle bells. I have never used one in a workout before and HOLY MOLY!! I usually use my 5 lb weights at camp when we do our various exercises.. The evil contraption today was 18 lbs - and wow have I been slacking... Now, by no means was it easy, it was rather difficult but I did it! I must have been grunting extra loud and my facial expressions must have shown pain b/c the trainer told me to trade to a lighter weight. I told him no, that I had to finish with the kettle bell that I was given in the beginning of camp. I was really proud of myself and I felt so strong after we were done and I love it!!

Here are my stats from yesterday:

Point Plus Used 29 / Remaining 0
Activity Points 7, 105% of my daily goal!

Today was a good day! XOXO

Success!

Well, the cleanse is finished - woohoo!! I was only kind of bitchy at the end of day 2, so I thought that was as much of an accomplishment as finishing the whole thing was, lol. I feel really great.I went to bootcamp this morning for the first time this week and although I was pretty weak from the cleanse, I made it through and felt really good afterwards. Now, the cleanse itself.. I had gained like 2 pounds from Thursday when I weighed in at WW to Sunday morning when the cleanse started. So, I lost 4 lbs during the cleanse but unfortunately it will only reflect as a 2 lb loss. I am not sure why that bothers me so much.. I loose that amount, it seems, every Sun/Mon/Tues recovering from not great eating over the weekend.. But that cleanse is really not that easy, I mean I am getting enough protein, but it is not like eating all of my points each day.. Hopefully today's workout and my food choices will have me down another lb tomorrow when I go to weigh in at WW.

This weekend is going to be tough, but with Sunday and Monday's weigh ins looming, I know that I will stay strong and at least just hold the candy and treats (along with my piece of pecan pie from dinner last night) until at least Monday :)...

Here are my numbers from yesterday:

Points Plus - 17 used/12 left (same for Sunday and Monday)
Activity Points - 6 (but only 98% of my goal)

I will leave you with a few pictures.. XOXO



This was me in January 2012 on the right and September 2012 on the left! 1/2 way to my goal!



My hubby, Dave and the girls, Avery on the left and Camille on the right!



Me and my girls (Camille left and Avery right)



Found my Activelink!!

We looked everywhere for this stupid thing! This morning I am getting dressed and grab a bra out of my dresser and lo and behold there it is - on my bra strap! Geez.. I could have sworn I looked there...  Oh well, it is not like I am doing much today and tomorrow anyway... I am officially 1/2 way done with my 3 day cleanse.. I am doing okay, but I know that day 3 is the WORST! To make matters worse, it is my brother in laws birthday tomorrow and everyone is going to be enjoying meatball subs (deep sigh)... Oh well, it will be worth it when I never see my current weight again :)..

On a totally random side note: I am so excited for the first weekend in December! One of my closest friends moved to Florida for college when we were 18 and she never came back.. Well, not literally, she never moved back to Texas. She met her hubby in school and they moved to Jersey and recently back to Florida with their 2 kids. I was at her wedding, they came to our wedding and I have seen her a handful of times only during the last 20 years.. She is that friend that I don't have to talk to very often, and we are still close - I love that about our friendship! Anyway, she and her fam are coming to Dallas for the Cowboys/Eagles game the first Sunday in December. I could not be more excited! Her husband is a huge Eagles fan (and she is a huge Cowboys fan) so we are buying the game tickets today!! WOOHOO!! Can't wait to see her!

That is all I have today except that tonight my indoor soccer team plays at 10:45 (totally sucks) but if we win, we might actually make the playoffs. Now, I am really the only player that has ever played before (there are a few that played a bit in HS, but mainly is it moms that became friends due to their kids and then asked me to join). When I started playing a was literally 60 pounds heavier than I am today - crazeballs! It is great to get back out there and play again, especially now that I feel like I can run and I am mobile enough to really have flashes of the way I used to play... I know that the smart thing to do would be to skip the game, however I just can't do that the the team - I have this crazy sense of responsibility to be there...

Let's hope we pull out the victory tonight! XOXO

Weekend fun and a new recipe

This morning I made it out to boot camp again for my second leg workout in two days.. OUCH!!  There are two trainers that work the camp that I attend and they are both very tough on their own BUT have them each run 1/2 of the camp and to quote Avery, "Holy Moly" are they tough. It was another great workout, I am so glad I woke up in time to go. Last night Dave and I went to see Dark Knight Rises - it was so good - at 9:10 before realizing it was a 3 hour movie.. Now, I am a 9-10 PM fall asleep person and we didn't get home until after midnight, and then my brain was in hyper drive after the action packed movie.. 7:15 came really way to early and I was not sure I would make it!

After camp, we went to my niece, Ella's, school fall carnival. It was SO much fun and the girls had a blast with the games, bounce house slide, cake walk, lunch and playtime at the park! But man was I tired when we got home.. We put the girls down for a nap, Dave went out to mow the yard and I laid down... 3 hours later I woke up! I guess I was tired! We just hung out the rest of the afternoon, grabbed some dinner and Dave headed to my sister's house so my sis and brother in law could head out for a date night :)...

Tomorrow I will start my 3 day cleanse, I hope I am not too bitchy by Tuesday!

Now for the recipe! These are the 'Mexican Muffins' that we tried the other night - they are awesome!

Ingredients:

3	Large whole wheat tortillas or heart healthy, or enough to cut out 12 small circles
1 lb	lean ground beef - 96/4
1/2 cup	Salsa of choice - this actually made it a bit to spicy for the kids, will not add it next time!
1/4 cup	Dry taco seasoning
1/2 cup	Low fat refried beans
1/2 cup	Low fat shredded mexican blend or 2% cheddar cheese
Optional	Toppings: sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, low fat sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 12 count muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Start by laying each tortilla out individually on a flat surface, and use an empty can, glass cup, or cookie cutter to cut 3-4 medium circles out of each wrap.

3. Press each wrap circle into muffin tin using your fingers. (Note: it doesn’t have to cover the entire side of the tin, it should just fit snuggly!)

4. Brown the ground beef and make the taco meat according to seasoning instructions.

5. In a small bowl, mix together the ground meat, salsa (if using) and refried beans. Stir until well combined.

5. Scoop 1/8th cup of meat mixture into each wrap.

6. Top with shredded cheese, (dividing evenly between each pizza), and olives if desired.

7. Bake in pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

8. Wait for mini Mexican pizzas to cool, and remove from muffin tin using a fork or knife. Pizza’s should pop out with ease!

9. Serve with a side of salsa, low fat sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and/or shredded lettuce if desired!

They are DELICIOUS! I used regular cheese (not 2%) and each muffin was 3 points plus. I ate two of them for 7 point plus - and I was full! Highly recommend these!

XOXO.

Back to business!

Finally, I felt well enough to get back out to boot camp this morning, thank goodness! I can definitely tell I have a. been sick and b. not worked out for a week.... I am SO sore! Friday/Saturday are both leg days at camp so by tomorrow afternoon walking might be a tough prospect.. LOL... Every quarter I do a 3 day Shakeology cleanse.. My sisters were pretty funny the first time I did this back in July. They thought it was one of those drink lemon juice for three days cleanses... Hell no! I could never, I would be so hungry and so bitchy that it would not be a good thing (and, I would eat my body weight in food at the end, completely negating the cleanse.

The Shakeology cleanse is awesome! I will drink three protein shakes each day (breakfast, lunch and after dinner), along with a piece of fruit (I will put a banana in each shake) and then a salad with 4 oz of white meat protein (chicken breast) and 2 oz of lite salad dressing.. It really just helps to cleanse your system of the processed foods that stay with you a little longer than the fresh/more healthy options. I am going to be honest, the first time I did this I was fine - until day 3 that is... So, I am hoping that by Monday I will not be as snarky as I was last time, I think Dave and the girls hope that too! So, I will go to boot camp in the morning and then start with my first shake when I get home.. Say a prayer for me, lol... I hope to lose like 4-5 pounds while doing this and the great thing is that you don't gain that back with the first meal you eat after the three days.. The shakes are supplying my body with the correct amount of protein needed to keep my system up and running!

Dave and I have a date night tonight! My sister and her husband (one of them) will come over after we put the girls down for the night so we can go to a movie and then tomorrow night we will do the same for them. It is a brilliant idea that my brother in law came up with and I am looking forward to some 1 on 1 time with the hubby tonight!

XOXO