Days turn to months, turn to A YEAR?! Oh yeah, a year.

A year? Has it really been a year since I last posted here?  I suppose when life starts to get a little crazy time tends to slip away from us unnoticed.  I think about this blog often. I think about posting my attempts at weight loss (a slow going process these days), I think about posting about the chaos that has seemed to be swirling above my head for the last year but I've just never taken the time, until now. In an ideal world I would make the time to make this a regular thing, I enjoy it quite a bit. But, honestly, I can't make any promises.

Shortly after my last post here my mother was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix, a rare but not necessarily terminal, cancer. Cancer. At first, it was hard to believe, hard to fully grasp.  In September she flew to Spokane, Washington to have a major, major, surgery and even then I don't think it had completely sunk into my soul just what she was facing, I'm not sure any of us really even knew. She had several complications from the surgery but eventually made it back home in November.  However, the storm was not over.


In January, my mom's sister lost her fight with breast cancer. It was gut-wrenching and terrifying to be at that funeral.  I watched all of my cousins being so brave and I wanted to be brave like them but inside I was an absolute mess. It seemed like it happened so fast, even now it catches me off guard when I think about her being gone.


The very next day more complications from surgery landed my mom in the ICU with sepsis. She was unconscious for about a week.  We all tried to stay positive and hopeful, as hard as it is in times like those. I can remember just thinking to myself over and over again, "my mom is in the ICU, my mom is in the ICU..."  


I can honestly say that I never felt scared that my mom was going to die, even though I should have been. I was always afraid she wouldn't come back to us in her right mind though. We got so lucky. She eventually came around and back to herself.  She has spent most of 2012 in one hospital or another but is finally home and on the road to recovery.


 I think looking back it's always hard to imagine how anyone, patient or family members make it through traumatic situations, but we do and we did. While things aren't back to normal yet they're much closer than they have been in a long time. We're getting very close. 


One more short note... 


I have made some updates and as you can see, while the weight loss is very slow going, it is... going.  I've kept what I have lost off, I'm still making progress and I'm never giving up!


Cheers!

Thanks for stickin' with me

It's been over six months since my last post and I was shocked to find that I haven't lost even one follower! Thank you all for sticking with me! Needless to say some pretty life changing events have happened in my life but it's finally time to jump back into losing this baby weight and beyond!

Luckily I was able to maintain my weight between the months of non stop school, single motherhood and no sleep!  I decided to take the summer semester off school and really focus on weight loss and spend some time with my daughters.  Since school got out at the end of April I've been gung ho about losing weight. My lovely friend Roxie and I have been hiking, biking and Zumba fools! We've even sort of been training to run a 5k! Running does seem to take a back seat to the other fun activities though. 

My newest short term goal is to have lost my baby weight (30 more lbs) by September 23, 2011.  That is the night Blue October will be playing in Salt Lake City and you can bet I won't miss it! It's a bit of a lofty goal but I'm going to go for it!

Thanks again to everyone who has continued to follow my blog when there was nothing to follow! I'm so excited to be back and be in such a better place than I was before.

New Year, New Me!

Sounds typical right?

I cancelled my Weight Watcher's membership.  Yup.  Cancelled.  How's that for typical New Year's Resolution?

I was a little bit freaked out to hit that "submit" button, but I did it.  The new plan was not working for me, I just couldn't get motivated the way I was the first time I joined.  I'd been considering it for some time and with the turning of the new year it was time for some change.

I downloaded an app on my iphone a week ago that I am absolutely loving! I put in my current weight and my goal weight and the date I want to be at my goal weight and it calculated exactly how many calories I should be eating a day.  I can also track my exercise and my weight on the app.  Even though its a little more work than WW was for me, it's new and it's working. I've been successful in tracking every bite since Sunday and stayed with in my daily calorie limit except for one day. If I keep this up I should be at my goal weight by Halloween 2011. :)  

Hey! Mommies and Daddies out there! I need your help!

Since the turn of the new year and my returned determination and motivation my 3 year old daughter has become very interested in "exercise" and "being healthy" because that's what mommy is doing.  So, I've been wondering, am I doing her a disservice in the long run teaching her about exercise and eating healthy this young?  Is it something I should just be modeling? And if so, what age is appropriate to teach children about this?  

I would appreciate your opinions and experiences you may have with this issue and your kids.  I would like to raise my children to be fit and happy adults, I don't want them to have to suffer being overweight like I have.  

Thanks for reading! I've reached over100 followers and I hope that all of you find something useful and inspiring here!  

Holiday Stumble

As Grinchy as I was feeling this year I was beginning to wonder if I would make it through the holidays, but I did! It's pretty dismal on the weight loss front however.  So much good food! I do the same thing every year (as I'm sure a lot of people do.) I give myself a little pep talk before I even lay eyes on the holiday spread about how I'm going to enjoy a taste but control myself and somehow every year that goes right out the window as soon as the food is in view and now, thanks to my own doing, I'm feeling super Grinchy again.

I haven't stood on the scale in weeks, which was also the last time I was at a weight watchers meeting. The way my clothes fit hasn't changed so I'm seriously hoping I haven't gained too much.  I'm considering going back to basics, dropping the new weight watchers plan and going it on my own with the old plan and Zumba.  I've done it before and I know I can do it again!  Hell, if it fails I can always go crawling back to the meetings.  I loved the old plan and had great success with it, and that was before I discovered the ass kicking Zumba work outs.  I can do it, just writing this post has got me all pumped!!

On a side note, Santa made it to our house and we had a great Christmas! There was about 24 hours there when I was feeling the holiday spirit. I was spoiled with a lot of tools to help me in this journey (Wii fit, Biggest Loser Wii game, and the Zumba Wii game.) Watching Frankie enjoy the celebration was definitely the best part though.  She was good to include her little sister Andie and still managed to squeeze out a few "thank yous" to the people who gave her gifts.

As depressing and frustrating as fighting being overweight can be it's good to know that the people who love me love me for me, and will always be there for me no matter my size. :)  Happy Holidays everyone!

After about 4 weeks sequestered in my basement working on homework I have emerged.  Unlike a caterpillar however, I'm not a beautiful butterfly.   It's hard to fit everything in, I finally had to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with myself and I realized that blogging and weight loss will wait, while school will not.  In the midst of reading, cramming, re-reading, and other studying stuff I was not very good at sticking to any sort of eating plan.  Exercise went out the window for a while too.... When I finally did make it to a Weight Watchers meeting I had gained 2.4 lbs, my biggest gain in my WW history.  It was depressing, but motivating as well.

I got quite the surprise with the new PointsPlus program when I finally made it back to a meeting.  I'm having a hard time adjusting.  I was a pro and the old points program, I could almost always get the Points Value right if I knew the calories, fat and fiber.  I had a lot of food's values memorized too.

While I'm annoyed that I now have to calculate everything I eat again, it may just be the boost I need.  I feel like I'm a new member again. I'm more excited about writing things down! I even took a sharpie to some of the food containers in my house - I've always thought it was a good idea but had most of the points values memorized.  The number one thing I LOVE about the new plan is the 0 PointsPlus fruits and vegetables!! I always thought it wasn't right that I would pass on bananas because I didn't want to use the points.  Overall I'm excited about this new plan.  I really like the fact that Weight Watcher's cares about it's members health as well as their success - one more reason it works for me!

Making Friends Monday

School is finally coming to an end and I'm ready to get my serious blog on. I have a great vision for the design and content of my blog that I'm hoping will become a reality in the near future. Thanks to everyone who has continued to follow my blog despite my recent absence.

What a better come back than a blog hop?

Baja Tofu Wrap - Recipe

Baja Tofu Wrap

I am not a vegetarian, but I'm no meatatarian either. Truly I am a Weight Watcher-atarian. I came up with this recipe on a Saturday afternoon when I was in a bit of a rush, believe it or not. I opened the fridge hoping to find something healthy ready to grab and go but alas life is never that easy. Instead I saw a bit of tofu left from a dinner I had prepared for my beautiful friend Marci and her family earlier in the week and some left over sautéed onions and peppers from fajitas the night before, it was like the light shown down from above and suddenly I had a gourmet lunch in nothing flat!

What you'll need:
1 package extra firm tofu
2 plates or cookie sheets
4-8 paper towels
1 package whole-wheat 96% Fat Free Tortillas
1 medium yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 lime (optional)

sour cream
taco sauce (I prefer the green mild)

First things first. You need to press the water out of the tofu. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch slices. Place two paper towels on one of the plates or cookie sheets. Lay the tofu on top of the paper towels and cover with two more paper towels. Next, place the second plate or cookie sheet on top and put some heavy objects on top. I like to use cans of soup, usually 5-6 of them. Leave the tofu like this for 30-40 minutes. If your paper towels get completely saturated with liquid it may be a good idea to switch them out mid-press.

  While you're waiting, now would be an excellent time to get your onion and peppers sliced up.

I'm no expert on tofu, in fact when I came up with this recipe it was only the 2nd time I'd ever cooked tofu. My directions for the tofu are based on very little experience but seem to work well. So, when your tofu has been pressed cut it into about 1/2 inch squares. Season the tofu with spice of your choice. I like salt and pepper or seasoning salt- they both taste great.

Sauté them over medium heat. I spray my pan with cooking spray to keep the calories as low as possible but olive oil would work fantastic as well! Be sure to turn the tofu at least once to brown at least 2 sides. Doing this adds flavor and well just makes it look yummy! If you are a starving student like me and only have one frying pan just put your cooked tofu in a bowl and cover it with foil to keep it warm while you sauté the veggies.

Again I start by spraying the pan with cooking spray and sauté the onion and peppers over medium heat. Cook until they are softened but still somewhat crispy. Don't stir them too much so that you can get those tasty little charred edges on the peppers.

While you're waiting, now would be an excellent time to get your tortilla ready to go and if you haven't already grab some sour cream and taco sauce of your choice. I used mild green sauce for this dish.

When the peppers are getting close to being done go ahead and load up the tofu on your tortilla. Add the onion pepper mixture and top with the sour cream and green sauce. I also make a chicken version of this meal and squeeze fresh lime juice over the chicken - it would probably taste just as delicious on this dish. Roll up it all up and enjoy!

Bon Apetit!