Only one day with my sweet husband this weekend, but I really enjoyed it. It feels like we still have a day left, but the reality is tomorrow is work/school day. And I have a lovely mid-term. I really want just one more day with him! Tonight we decided to have frito pie and our own chili, it was DELICIOUS! We replaced the beef with ground turkey, there's no dang difference, and it was so fulfilling! It's tons better than the canned chili! I was quite impressed! With a bit of a kick because of the tomatoes and green chili's... oh so good. I'll post the recipe later! Earlier today we traveled all around town. First we were headed to Oliveto's, but then changed our minds last minute and ate at Road House. Some really good food today!! Then we went to O'Reilly's for some truck stuff, then headed to Wal-Mart for some tupper-ware. We got the kind that's suppose to make the fruits and vegetables last longer. I went ahead and made some single serving sized portions of fruit and I put it at eye level so when I get hungry and go to the fridge I'll see the fruit and go for those instead of the bad stuff! I also have plans of brining my lunch with me to work and school to save on money. So after Wal-Mart we went, with the intention of watching a softball game, but arrived too early and only had time to watch the practice/warm up. We were a bit bummed, but there's always a next time! Then we went to Academy and I got the MOST adorable disc. Richard got one that looks like a sun for disc golf. We've already planned to play at least twice this coming staycation we've got going on. We then went to the grocery store and got TONS of food, all good of course. When I finally run out of "Lightly Salted" Lays and replace them with Baked Lays. Just slowly changing my eating habits :). And for desert we had frozen yogurt with strawberries and little bits of chocolate throughout the frozen yogurt, and it's so good! Only 3 points per 4 oz. Which is a lot! I'm so stoked that I found it, and that it was tasty!

Oh but our staycation we have a lot going on! I'm cleaning the house (again). Richard is finally going to get the heap out of the garage and I can have my parking spot back!! And we're going to be able to test drive an equinox during the week, and maybe I'll be able to finally decide what vehicle I'm gonna be getting. So we're most likely going to be able to get more things accomplished and have more fun than had we gone somewhere and spent tons of money. And since we want it to be kind of special we're thinking about getting all dolled up and going out for drinks and a good dinner to just enjoy and let loose! I need it! By now I've gone to visit my friends in Huntsville/ College Station and have had a couple of partying weekends, though never really my thing I think they helped take away some of the stresses of the semester. So there's tons going on and yet I'm not stressed because Richard will be here for 8 WHOLE days!! So exciting!!!!

Wow, so I see that I haven't posted since Monday, too long I guess since I've written how I feel about my weight loss journey. Tuesday I was very overwhelmed and just didn't want to do anything, and I didn't. I didn't go to school, and slept for a total of 16 hrs from the time I went to bed the night before until I went to bed Tuesday night. 13 Hrs were sleeping, and 3 were napping on the couch. A lot of sleeping. And when I wasn't sleeping you think I'd be crafting or doing homework... NOPE! I watched the season of Bad Girls Club that was on and basically caught up on the whole entire season, a lot of silly arguing, but I guess it was entertaining enough to keep my attention most of the time I was awake. I did eat right, wasn't really tempted to splerge, surprisingly. Even when I was hungry I made some air popped pop corn. So I guess in my giving up stage ( I guess that's what it's called) I didn't even think about eating horribly. I just didn't want to do anything. Only a week though until Richard and my staycation!!! How exciting! And the Sunday after that week is actually our 1 year anniversary! Even more exciting. It's kind of like we're taking that time to enjoy a year together (well being married). It's hard to believe it's been 3 yrs we've been together, and even harder to believe we've been married for a year now. Nothing really seems like it's changed in our relationship! Well at first I guess it did, we didn't do the dirty as much, but now that I'm getting "me" on track that part has kicked back into gear. I guess the happiness of the relationship rests on the happiness of the woman in the relationship... lol. Great stuff!

So Wednesday's weigh in I lost .4 lbs. Only .2 away from a full fledge 5 pound loss. I'm not so much motivated to lose weight, but I am excited to see the weight gone! I don't feel as motivated as I did in the beginning but I'm not questioning what I'm doing. I'm still going to try and better the way and what I eat, as well as my work out routine. I REALLY have to get that going! I guess I could try and do a Bowflex workout while watching one of my shows. I do enjoy watching my shows a lot. I keep saying I'll work out, but unless it's prevalent on my mind I tend to forget, whether on purpose or accident I'm not 100% certain. Oh the troubles of losing weight!! After a talk with my Educ Psych teacher last night I have decided to start drinking a bottle of water and then have a diet soda. I haven't really been thinking about my soda intake since it's 0 points, but I do need to have more water and less sodas, diet or otherwise. So I'm making more steps, I'm not giving up, and still trying to reach my weight loss goal and overall lifestyle change. It's hard, but so much easier this time around. I just feel like I have such a good support system. Real people going through the same troubles and trials I have to go through and understand and don't give you advice when they've been thin all their lives and have never really have to struggle... There's just something calming and relaxing knowing others are struggling but still doing it just like you!! So keep to your weight loss goals even when you want to throw in the towel and give up. You'll be happier in the long run if you just stick to your original goals! :).

So these are the plates we JUST had to have!! We had to go pick up the red and yellow small ones and the yellow big ones. We also got a chip and dip bowl that matches and two big serving platters, and small and big cups that are all the same color. It's all plastic but looks like it's clay or glass. I don't really know what our other plates are made of. But I really like the colors. It'll go well with the pickled red peppers, jalapeno and yellow peppers you can buy that I think are so BEAUTIFUL! I love those kinds of colors. We have some really good ideas and plans to make it all cohesive! I'm really stoked!! But here are the plates. :)

The weekend was amazing! Richard and I enjoyed going to play disc golf on Saturday and are really looking forward to doing it again! We're even talking of going to get us one, and of course I'd try my hardest to get a really cute pink one! Maybe it'll help with my throw! lol. It didn't come natural to me, but Richard kicked ASS!! He was really good at it and caught on quickly! Then on Saturday we went out to eat at a new restaurant and it was so DELICIOUS Richard and I seriously contemplated going back for dinner to eat the SAME meal! That's saying something for us! And I made healthy choices since the meal was pasta and covered in a cream sauce I asked it on the side and just used how much I felt I wanted for taste, which cut back MAJORLY on the points! Then drove all the way to Longview to get some plates for our kitchen since I found the most adorable plates that I JUST had to have for our kitchen, and so the journey began. I DO NOT like Longviews set up. It's nothing like Tyler, and was very difficult to move around and find things. And a fabulous nights sleep on our wonderful new bed. Then Sunday we slept in... sorta. Noel wouldn't let us stay asleep. She's really something! Sometimes she'll lay on Richard's chest and start to growl at him to wake him up, it's so adorable! But Noel is like the exact definition of adorable! She's so funny!

Then we watched on TV and headed to the grocery store and did some shopping, where we forgot some essentials for gravy (cream of mushroom soup) and thought we'd have to go back, but luckily my mom had some :). And as I watched some TV Richard did the dishes (he's a God-send!!). And finally when it came time to cook dinner I really didn't want to and put it off, then found out we needed more potatoes, luckily my grandmother had some :). This living close to relatives thing is workin out right now. So then FINALLY I was able to cook the mashed potatoes, and everything turned out WONDERFULLY! It didn't turn out exactly as my nana's does every holiday, but it was close enough that I'll be able to help with the cooking and eventually carry on the tradition when she passes. Let me tell you I've got the mashed potatoes DOWN! I can make garlic mashed potatoes, and regular, and they both turn out tasting amazing! That plate is not what we drove all that way for, and originally there are peas (sweet peas) all over the plate. My family (well most) put the peas on top of the mashed potatoes and I always add some more on the side, but I forgot to take a photo and so when Richard got seconds we took one, and there weren't any more peas... sad day! lol. So we also cover the plate in gravy, but I did use wheat flour instead of white. Not wonderfully better, but better all the same!! OH and I forgot we put up the bed. I can't believe that the gold on the bed completely matches the hardware on the night stands and dresser! I bought them from two completely different places and about a year to two in between the purchases! Awesome!!! So it really goes well. We still need to add up the wall decor we've got picked out for the room. Now we only have a couple of things, but we'll get there slowly!

I weighed myself this morning and it didn't look good. It actually doesn't look like I lost any weight so far. But that's okay. I'm at the same or maybe .2 less than weigh in last week, it's still something. And not loosing and staying the same is better than gaining!! Every week I don't gain is another week towards my goal! I can't forget either that I did lift weights Monday and maybe it balanced out with what I lost, muscle building I mean. I still have high hopes this week for weight loss, but I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Weigh in went really well! I lost 3.6 lbs, and feel amazing. In total I've lost 4.4 lbs. I'm really excited to reach 5 lbs. and in only 3 for real weeks. I've been on this journey now for changing my life for about 7 weeks and I feel GREAT! I still haven't been sleeping all that well, except for last night. Though I did get some help from some Advil PM. I slept so good, I feel really rested today, and I didn't dream about killing my husbands childhood friend... thank goodness! I've been thinking a lot, as always, and I've noticed that when I start to do really well in my personal life and taking care of myself I tend to stop taking care of my work persona! My attention span and memory is failing me in that are, where I'm completely remembering what I ate for like 3 days at a time and when I eat, and what the points are for certain food items. But with work, I'm seriously lacking! I'm not willing to change my personal life since I now have it the way I want it, but I need to somehow find out a way to do both. I've never succeeded at this before so it's going to be very difficult. And since I've somehow managed to balance my personal eating and school, while being able to have time for a social life and working out... I think this time I'll get it though. I am more determined this time. So Tuesday night I had the MOST delicious chicken. I grilled it on the george forman (of course) but this time put some garlic and italian herb seasoning along with Spike (excellent stuff) and some seasonal! It was so delicious. I had tat with some velveta shells and green beans. Wednesday night I wanted chicken but after the volleyball I really didn't want to have to clean the kitchen and decided on cereal instead and still had 3 points left over for the day.

I do feel tons better about this venture on weight loss, I know I keep saying that, but it's true, and I'm continuously shocked how dedicated I am to my weight loss journey. I've never been this way about it, and it feels wonderful. Even though areas in my life are a little off right now, I still feel so in control because I AM (finally) controlling the food I eat. A bit repetitive but I can't emphasize enough how great I feel all around. I was challenged to set out work out goals and tell someone, then stick to it and check in with that someone. What I've decided to do is make my workout really convenient to me right now, and get more use to it, and make it apart of my routine. Then maybe I can make it apart of everyday life. So my plan as far as working out includes the Wii Active (since it kicks my butt every time). I plan on working out with my husband on Saturday, working out with my friend on Monday, and Tuesday I plan to do the wii active again (though this time by myself). So Tuesday will really be a test since I'm not really relying on someone else to keep me accountable. But I'm excited. My arms are FINALLY starting to feel normal again from Monday's workout (that P90x kicks my butt too!!) Another bonus to this weekend's workout in Richard and I are re-arranging our house some since we FINALLY got in our Mattress (don't get me started on the delivery guy!!) so we're gonna shampoo our bedroom (finally) and get the queen into the guest bedroom, and then my in-laws and friends can come and stay with me no-matter what and they won't be stuck on a blow up mattress! It's pretty sweet! So we've got a lot of moving around, and I'm thinking about being the one to shampoo the carpet so that it adds to my calories burned. Or maybe we'll switch it out, who knows. But that's tonights plan. To shampoo and get EVERYTHING out of our bedroom. I'll take before and after pics, mainly for my purposes but I'll post them for fun anyways. I guess I should get back to what I'm being paid to do. Thanks for the support (Heather :), it means the world to me!

Lots of feelings going through me right now, as you can tell. For dinner tonight I had grilled chicken, a cup of garlic mashed potatoes from this weekend and sweet peas. It was DELICIOUS! Let me tell you that this george forman grill is EXCELLENT! If anyone wants one they're at Sears and when we got our it was 30 bucks! It's great for having low fat, low grease, meats. It was delicious and I think I can come up with TONS of ways to season it! For lunch I had a lean pocket, great for on the go kinds of stuff, and 2 oz of chips, I got to use my new food scale!! I like it! And the Atkins Chocolate and Caramel Protein bars are very tasty! I also tried a new protein bar from my friend heather, and it does taste like a candy bar! It was pretty good. Oh and I worked out today, though I really didn't want to...

Today I was some what under stress with some home work being done (that I haven't done), and I didn't go to work to wait for our dang new King sized bed, and they didn't end up coming until roughly 5 o'clock, and I could've been here instead of my grandparents waiting for like 3 hours at my house for these suckers!!! But no, they told me 2, which I was in class during that time! UGH! So I was dealing with that and trying to catch up on the reading for today's class, and trying to get ready, and eating lunch, picking up around the house... I've been thinking the last couple of days about all the things I've got going on right now! School, work, changing my life (weight watchers & working out), Socializing, Blogging, Scrapbooking, Writing/Reading (personal), taking care of a home, taking care of two dogs... and of course taking care of my sweet husband and having time for him. So many different aspects of my life to keep under control, and when I start to feel really stressed, I can't eat away my feelings, and I can't purchase away my feelings because well, I don't make a lot if any because of school taking up all my time!! So, so, so much going on! I'm going to try and when I feel stressed or other overwhelming feelings, to either clean, do my hobby, or write. I think it'll work out better than the other things I've been doing, like increasing in size or making myself BROKE!

Yesterday Richard and I had turkey burger's. We bought ground turkey meat and added in some egg whites (not sure how much, Richard did it), and our own seasoning, and cooked it on the george forman grill (there was NO grease or fat) and it didn't taste EXACTLY like a regular burger but it will do for a healthier version of one, And the added protein really helped, I couldn't even finish it. We had the oreida fries for a side and they turned out really tasty! Over all we had a good and productive weekend. We found some good and healthier ways of eating! And I'm really stoked about that! OH, another thing we did to change something bad to good is we made pigs in the blanket, I think I mentioned this already, but I'll mention it again. They were the lit'l smokies but made out of turkey, 2 points for 4, and cut the crescent rolls into small pieces to just sort of go around the wiennies to make miniature pigs in the blanket. 4 of them is 3 points with the bread. (we used the reduced fat crescent rolls). They're really good even re-heated, and that's a big deal for me! Richard also suggested them as a snack for parties or like superbowl parties, that kind of thing!

I worked out today, but I don't think I truly worked out with my efforts being 100%, which saddens me. I feel sore in my arms and trust me I was sweating but I just didn't feel as much of a work out this go around than I did last time. And I've been contemplating finally gettin my ass in gear and working out on the wii active. It kicks my butt, but I do want to be more active working out wise. It's all about making it happen, making you're own dreams come true... (I sound like a infomercial for a weight loss pill). But it's true. This feels different. Even Richard is actively helping me to do better, better food choices at home and in the restaurants. For example we went to dinner with my parents and some close friends on Sunday for lunch as they came in. It's a down home, country cookin kind of place in Frankston called 7-B and while everyone, I mean everyone, at the table got the chicken fried steak, I got the soup and salad bar and had one salad and the soup and two pieces of bread. It was good and satisfying. So it's possible, I just have to be conscience of what I'm putting into my mouth, as a dear friend says! So I'm working hard to change my life for the better and I can really feel a difference in me. And so can my husband. He thinks that because of the changes I'm making, not only on a personal level, but also on a social level (new friends) I'm just overall becoming happier, which makes our relationship more intimate. It's all because I'm changing and doing things I truly want to do and I'm making it happen. Not without the tons of help I'm getting of course! I guess the right motivation, and the right support group is all I really needed! Now to get some much needed rest before a big day of nothing but school work tomorrow!

So weigh in was Wednesday and I lost .8 lbs. Not great, but it's going down and that's all that matters! While at the Weight Watchers meeting I purchased a food scale! I'm really excited to use it, but I haven't needed to weigh anything quite yet. I've been keeping in my points. Matter of fact today I probably haven't eat roughly 10 points, but it's been a weird day! I didn't work out today, but I cleaned the shit out of our house! Richard and I aren't dirty people, but we don't put things up when we either purchase them or get them out, so our house becomes cluttered!! And today, while Richard thought I was sitting on my bum, like I normally do on a day off, I cleaned. From 9 in the morning to eleven, then from 1 to 2:30. It looks GREAT!! I'm really excited to see Richard's face when he walks in and the house is spotless!! I CAN'T WAIT!

My sweet hubby and I are having a romantic candle lit dinner with steaks and garlic potatoes and green beans! I'm really excited about it! And the house is clean and I have votive holders with candles all around the house (thanks to the electricity going out and needing some light).

Richard LOVED coming home to the surprise, and we have had a wonderful day together!! Spent most of our time this morning in town, and it was CRAZY busy! I got me some more adorable shoes, on sale, and very similar to the pair my friend has. Richard got him some boots for work, he's needed a new pair for a couple of months now!! We're in the process of cooking our romantic dinner, we're having steaks CAKED with seasoning! Green beans, and some garlic potatoes. This is our first time to try and do the garlic mashed potatoes, I'll let you know how they go. For lunch we had McAlister's, I got the "Choose any two" and got half a chicken panini and a cup of the chicken tortilla soup. I didn't go too prepared for the choices so I'm not sure what the calories are for what I ate, or what my points are left for the day, but later on... after the romantic stuff, I'm gonna catch up on my tracking. I even had time to do some crafts!! Awesome day! Actually AWESOME last several days!! Yesterday I got to hang out with a dear friend and crafted and did TONS of shopping (unneeded, but I love the stuff I got). Just an awesome, awesome past couple of days!