Diet Log Sunday January 18

breakfast - two blueberry pancakes, I can't believe it's not butter spray and syrup. Decaf coffee with fat free half and half

Diet Log Saturday January 17

Breakfast - banana, yogurt and decaf coffee with fat free half and half

snack - bowl of progresso santa fe chicken soup

late lunch - Lean Cuisine philly cheesesteak flatwrap

snack - pretzels

dinner - grilled chicken, pita and tzatziki sauce (plain lofat yogurt, diced cucumber, garlic)

I cheated and had 4 beers

I'm feeling really good. My husband actually asked me if i lost weight. I'm sure it's maye a pound, but I wonder if I'm starting to lose inches.

Diet Log Thursday January15

Breakfast - one blueberry pancake with syrup
decaf with fat free 1/2 1/2

Snack - banana

Lunch - Can of progresso santa fe chicken soup

snack - sourdough pretzels bites

Dinner - 4 oz. penne pasta, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, two pinches shaved parmesan cheese, I can't believe it's not butter spray (total 4g fat) 1 coor's light beer

snack - fat free jello pudding chocolate and vanilla swirl

I felt great today. I wasn't hungry scouring the clock for when the next meal would be. I'm happy with the day and hope tomorrow will be as successful! I need to watch out for the weekend...It's really hard to stay on track.

Wednesday, January 14 Diet Log

Weigh In....165!

Breakfast - one sunnyside up egg; wheat toast; I can't believe it's not butter spray.
Banana

Snack - cup of chicken broth.

Lunch - Lean Cuisine bbq chicken pizza (8gfat)...SO YUMMY.
salad with beets, cucumber and balsamic vinegarette (4.5gfat/2 tbsp)

Snack - 2 cups light popcorn and 1/2 apple

dinner - lean cuisine creamy basil chicken with an extra 2 oz. of whole wheat pasta (I was hungry)

Cup of Decaf tea with honey

Take out a loan and go to the M O V I E S!!

While taking my son to the movies yesterday, I realized that YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOAN OUT to go to the movies. The ticket prices are a bargain ($13.50) compared to the concessions. I've never heard of a $4.00 bottle of water. $3.75 for a large diet coke. It's crazy. Thankfully, I ignored the NO OUTSIDE FOOD ALLOWED signs and had my bag packed with my own water, candy and popcorn. Had to let the little guy get a kiddie meal - popcorn, small (think Halloween) skittles and small soda - $5.50.

Diet Log January 13

My first entry:

Breakfast - Large pancake, blueberries, syrup, little country crock.
decaf coffee with fat free half/half

Snack - Yoplait Light blueberry patch yogurt

Lunch - Lean Cuisine Chicken Philly flatbread melt (8g fat/330 cal) YUMMY
salad - romaine, beets, cucumber and Kraft Light Thousand Island reduced fat dressing (2TBSP=2gfat/60 cal)

Drinks - water

So far, I feel very comfortable and not hungry at all. Hopefully the rest of the day will be as smooth.

Went to see Tale of Despereaux with Terence. I brought 2 cups of my own light popcorn and some Twizzlers nip candies - they're loaded with sugar, but fat free. I also had a bottled water.

Dinner - Terence begged me to go to the Chinese restaurant after the movie. I really tested my willpower and did "okay".

Hot and sour soup
3 pieces California roll
Chicken and vegetable hibachi style stirfry with teriyaki. This is one of those cooked fresh and in front of you. She appeared to use very little oil.

Well, that's it for day one. Things started going downhill from the movie on. Hopefully, I ate okay at the restaurant.

GREAT website recommendation...

I love finding good bargain! But, I HATE weeding through things to get the deal. I'll pay full price if I really "have to have it"! My friend forwarded me a website that combines a good bargain with a personal shopper! Check it out at www.shopittome.com! YOu pick the brands you like and the days you want to receive updates. You'll receive an email on the days you chose with sales on your favorite brands! How great is that!

Happy Shopping!

A New Year and a new me!

This is NOT a resolution...this is a lifestyle change. My name is Sara, I'm 5'8" and I weigh (gulp) 165 pounds. I'm not "overweight", but I definitely feel unhealthy. I have that extra baby weight (my son is now almost 6) that I just never got off. I am still 10 pounds heavier than before I had him. I've found it is so hard to be a stay at home mom and not snack all day and eat off of his plate whatever he doesn't finish. It's so much easier to warm up leftovers for lunch than make myself a healthy salad or sandwich. So, I've decided that I'm going to change my eatting and exercising habits starting today! My goal weight is 145 pounds!

My exercise routine is currently no existent. I was doing great up until the holidays. I went to the gym or went on my treadmill 3-5 days a week. I did between 30 and 50 minutes of cardio and alternate days of free weight or universal weights. One day I work my legs, the next day I work my arms. I always work my abs (which really need it). Once I kick this pneumonia, I'm pledging to be active or exercise 3-5 days a week again. By being active, I mean that if I don't go to the gym, I'll go skiing.

My eatting habits fluctuate. One week I'm doing really well, and the next week I blow it! I'm the type that jumps into a diet real well and then get frustrated figuring out the foods and new recipes. Once I hit my goal weight, I'm going to follow a healthy maintenance plan from South Beach or Weight Watchers. Although, I really believe that if you eat what you want (within reason) and watch the portion size, that you should be okay. So. To get myself of to a good start, I'm going to be eatting Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers frozen meals with salads. I'll be snacking on healthy foods. I think the key to losing weight is eatting every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism going.

So, I plan to post a daily food journal. If I have to write it down everyday, I might think more about what I'm eatting. And, I can look back to see my diet and what changes I might have to make - good or bad.

I'll be weighing myself on Wednesdays, so be sure to check in to see how I'm doing. And, I'll be posting pictures along the way.

Have a great day!

I've been sick...and so has my computer!

Good Morning...I've been disappointed that I haven't been able to post. I've been sick since last Wednesday with walking pneumonia and while laying in bed, discovered that my computer had a virus! I think it's fixed now...fingers crossed.

Have a great day!

Christmas Tree

We just returned home from our cabin and we are sitting in front of the fire watching the Eagles Vikings game with our Christmas tree lights turned on happy that we are home! I was thinking about all of the trees you see discarded on the side of the road immediately after Christmas and I was wondering...What happened to the 12 days of Christmas? Technically, this is day 11. The time leading up to Christmas is so hectic. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is AFTER the holiday. It's quiet, the house is full of decoration that I can finally sit down and enjoy. It's about the only time of the season that I get to enjoy. Happy Holidays Everyone!

A trip to DisneyWorld - helpful tips to make your trip a little easier

We've taken our son to Disney twice. Everyone thinks we are crazy for bringing him there thinking that it's overwhelming. All I hear is how tired the parents are. If you drag your child around from morning till night you'll be tired. We left our vacation relaxed and quite happy. Our son had a great time and we managed to have fun too. Here's what I learned...

Booking and planning:

• Take full advantage of the Disney Vacation Planning Guide. Start planning your trip in advance and you can pay it off a hundred here and a hundred there. Before you know it, your trip is payed for and you are on your way.
• If you are staying on property, take advantage of the Magical Express service. They send you luggage tags in advance color coded for your hotel. You walk off the plane, check in at the desk and walk onto a luxury bus that takes you right to your hotel. Sometimes it takes awhile for your luggage to arrive, so plan ahead and bring whatever you might need i.e. p.j.s, swimsuit, etc. in your carry on.
  
• BUY the Disney Dining plan. There are several different options. We chose the most simple plan in which you get one counter service meal, one snack and one sit down dinner. We pay extra for wine or beer if we want it. This cost our family $500.00 for 7 nights. That's 71.42 per day and $23.00 per person per day! Some of you might think that sounds like a lot, but we SAT DOWN for a table service dinner every single night. It was a great way to take a break and stop running. We hardly ever ate the snack or dessert that you get with lunch. So, i'd chose something like a banana or box of cereal save it and bring it to our room for breakfast. Each one of our sit down dinners cost close to $100.00...this alone is a savings in and of itself. MAKE your reservations for dinner as soon as you plan your trip. Restaurants book months in advance.
  
• Don't kill yourself or your kids running around the parks all day. You'll NEVER see everything that all of the parks have to offer. Pre-plan and map out what you are all interested in BEFORE you go on the trip. This way, you'll know exactly what to do when you get there. Split your day between running around the parks and relaxing. We spent the morning by the pool had lunch and then went to the park. We always went to the park in which our dinner reservations were...i.e. we had reservations in Germany one night and spent the afternoon at Epcot. Sometimes, we went to one park in the morning and then spent the afternoon at the pool.
  
• If you're tired, your kids are probably exhausted. After having dinner, do one or two things at that park and then GO TO BED! You'll be happy you did when you wake up the next day well rested!
• Treat yourself and your husband to a relaxing "date night". Most of the hotels have kids clubs. It costs about $10.00 per hour, but it's worth it. The kids have a blast and you get to have a night out by yourself.
  
• Disney has a variety of hotels for all price levels. Take advantage of this! You don't have to pay extra for transportation, parking, etc. Disney has buses, monorails and boats to take you where you need to go. You don't have to park, pay or have any other hassle.
  
• Have fun and do your research before you go! A well planned trip makes for a happy trip!
  

Get out and play with your kids...

It's snowing like crazy here and I cannot wait to get out and play with my son. Snowball fights, building forts, making snowmen. Get yourself out there and start having fun with your kids! To make it even more fun get yourself some great snow gadgets...here are a few that we like:

• snowball maker: This tool is pure genius. It makes perfectly round snowballs in just minutes. It makes loading up your snow bunker with snowballs super quick and easy.
• Ice block maker: WOW! Build yourself your own snow igloo with one of these. Makes perfect blocks of snow. It's like building with real live snow legos. Especially helpful when waging a snowball war!
• Snow color: This you can whip up in your kitchen in no time. Take a container - I like using old dishsoap bottles, water bottles, or spray bottles) mix water and food coloring. Get bundled up and watch your kids create masterpieces in the snow!
• Our number one favorite - Snow Football! Pick up a large chunkof snow and get passing, get tackling and start laughing!
  

Get bundled, Get out and start having fun!

Good old fashioned family fun...

Last Night we decided to take the family (my mom, my grandma, LT and dad) to the Binghamton Senators hockey game. What a great time! We arrived at the game approximate 10 minutes after it started. Terry secured us great seats! From the minute we arrived, the game was loaded with action. These were two teams who were on a mission to prove themselves! The game was loaded with fights - something you don't really see anymore. While I didn't really love LT seeing the fighting, it was fun! The guys were intense. Binghamton scored four awesome goals and stopped Houston from scoring any. The game was over and it was exciting.

However, not quite as exciting as after the game. After the game they let anyone who had skates with them (we had ours) skate on the ice with the players. LT was SO excited. I thought the little guy was going to jump out of his skin. We went out with him and it was great. The players all skated around with markers...signing our jerseys and LT's hood. The joy on his face was priceless. What five year old little boy wouldn't be excited to skate with his "favorite" hockey team. Mom (that's me) took lots of pictures with him and all of the players. We are going to frame them and put them up in his room - which he has informed me needs to be changed into a hockey/sports room.

Our world is filled with electronic stuff - t.v.'s, hand held and console video games, computers, cell phones, etc. Family's need to take time to be together away from a television. It's important to spend quality time together. This game didn't cost us a lot of money to attend, it's a farm team for the Ottawa Senator's. Find a farm team or local minor league team and buy your family some tickets to a game! Enjoy a night out together away from e-mail, away from t.v., away from your cell phone.

Maybe that should be everyone's resolution! Spend more quality time with your kids - you'll be rewarded when you look at the smile on their faces!

By God...

Regarding my post below....not only did my dear husband cook a wonderful breakfast, BUT he IS cleaning up! I stand corrected.

Complete a crossword puzzle...

We are sitting around the kitchen table having a wonderful breakfast that my husband made (i'll probably be cleaning, because somehow men do not have the ability to cook AND clean like women) my mom has decided that she wants to be able to complete a full crossword puzzle in the newspaper. So, it is her resolution to open the paper, and complete an entire crossword puzzle! Check back to see how she is doing.

A Year for Resolution and a new pair of Loboutin's

Happy 2009 to you! Just like any other New Year, the world is full of people making resolutions right now. The question is...are you making a realistic resolution? Typically, I do not! Or, I just avoid it and not make one at all. This year my resolution is to find ways to make extra money so that I can buy the Hot Pink satin Christian Loboutin's that I have been salavating over for the past year! No....I'm going to lose 10 pounds...I'm going to be healthier....I'm going to start exercising! I'M GOING TO BUY THE CHRISTIAN LOBOUTIN'S THAT I'VE BEEN SALAVATING OVER FOR THE PAST YEAR!

How am I going to start earning money working from home? Starting right here! Did you know that you can get paid to Blog? I've met ladies making upwards of $2500 a month writing a blog...I'll take that extra spending money. Maybe I'll pay for a family vacaton this year...maybe i'll invest it and help grow our retirement fund. BUT, not until I buy my Loboutin's!

Hope you all have a great day and keep checking back to see if I bought those GORGEOUS shoes