It's My Life

It has been five weeks since I joined Weight Watchers. The time is flying by! Today was my sixth weigh in. I reached a goal, I have now officially lost 5% of my body weight. This week I lost another 2.2 pounds. My total weight loss in the past six weeks is 10.4 pounds. The "experts" tell me there are many benefits to losing 5% of your body weight. Here is what they tell me.. 1.  You feel better {Which is true, I do feel better!} 2. 5% is enough to reduce the likelihood of Type 2  Diabetes . 3. Lower blood pressure {this one I don't have to worry about, God has given me low blood pressure}. 4. Lower cholesterol. 5. Breathing gets easier. 6. Sleep better. 7. Improves mobility. 8. Reduces the risk of certain cancers. The last one, number 7, that is the reason I am on this weight loss journey. Sure, I want to look better. Maybe wear a swimsuit that comes in two pieces. But the honest, down and dirty reason is that I want to be healthier. I want to lower my c...

I found this punch on Pinterest. It comes from  No Biggi e. You can find the original post  here  or on my Pinterest page under Spirits (not the spooky kind). I have now made this punch twice. I give it two thumbs up on the ease of making it and on the taste! The ingredients are easy: A frozen can of Barcardi Pina Colada Mix, a frozen can of Pineapple Orange Juice, four 2 liters of Diet Sprite, a bag of pebble ice, and a bag of frozen raspberries. The cool thing is the layers of the punch. On the bottom it is dark yellow. Then it raises to white. And on top is this layer of berries that as you serve the punch, they break down and turns the entire punch bright pink. The other super cool thing about this punch is, it only has 2 Weight Watcher Points + points per 8 ounce serving. The only thumbs down I give this recipe is the sheer amount it makes. I can never get all the ingredients into the punch bowl. {I even went out and purchased this big jar from Target th...

One of my favorite iphone app's is Instagram.  Instagram is a photo sharing application. I can take photos, edit them and then share them with my followers.   Are you using it?  Why not?  If you are...do you love it as much as I? Well, in my attempt to bring some structure to my blog, I am doing a review of my week via Instagram.  1 . The Boy played baseball last Tuesday. When The Boy was little we would play t-ball next to this big boy field. The baseball boys looked so big compared to my four year old t-ball player. I remember him saying, he hoped that one day he would play on this field. Now we are. 2. The smoker got a huge workout this past week. The Husband smoked pork, ribs and beef for his father's surprise 70th birthday party. 3. Dark, mean grey clouds hung over overhead the day of the party. Two hours before the party was to start, the clouds opened up and poured on us. One hour before party, the sun came out and d...

Each of my children learned something new this past week. One is silly. The other is serious. No matter how silly it is or how serious watching them figure something new out is so exciting for a Momma! I am not sure there is anything better than seeing the determination on their faces. And then they turn on you and become the expert! The Silly Accomplishment! My Short Chic learned to eat sunflower seeds. As you know, sunflower seeds are a must at baseball games. Fans eat them. Players eat them. I am not sure, do umpires eat them? If they do, do they eat them while umpiring? One of the other younger sisters showed The Short Chic how to eat them and she asked for her own bag for the games this weekend. She is already the expert at eating seeds.  She even tried to give me lessons! Seriously, she is a boot wearin', cut-off shorts, tank top seed eatin' fool! She might need to practice the art of spitting them out a little more! She is looking forward to the weeke...

Happy Monday! I am am going to try and bring some organization to my blog post. So bear with me as I try to establish a pattern! My father-in-law turned 70 this past weekend. A few months ago my mother-in-law asked my assistance in planning and executing a surprise party for him. My father-in-law lives to fish, so a fishing themed birthday party seemed more than appropriate. We found some great accessories on sale at Wal Mart: serving bowls, platters, glasses, metal tubs, and tablecloths.The rest of the decorations were made by myself and mother-in-law.  Our color theme emerged as we found such great deals. Our color scheme was blue, turquoise, and lime green. I got some fabric scraps in our colors and cut out a square design and made a pennant banner. My mother-in-law volunteered to sew the pieces together. We took 2 squares and sewed them together with wrong sides together. This way the front and back of the banner we both finished. The final step was using iron-on t...

I did another weigh in Friday. I think this makes my 5th weigh in {that is counting the very first one}. I was down another 2.8 pounds. Keep in mind that last week I was up   1.2 pounds from the medical procedures that occured right before weigh-in. So, I lost that weight {as I knew I would} and then even more. Total I have lost 8.2 pounds since re-joining Weight Watchers four weeks ago. What has helped this week? I have been focusing on eating fresh fruit as a dessert and not sweets. I also cleaned out my cupboards,  Power Spaces , and I have been walking. I know that I am a nervous eater. I have to pack snacks to go to the baseball games. Nowadays those snacks are vegetables. Before you all ask, yes that is a bruise on my arm. It is left over from my cancer check up. Oh and speaking of cancer check up: I did that Friday too. Once again the test results all came back looking good.  The only bad news I got during my check up is that my doctor is leaving t...

What in the world is a Power Space? A Powerspace was this week's focus at Weight Watchers.   A power space is an environment that supports your weight loss efforts.  It is critical to one's weight loss. "You can't eat it if you don't have it," is the quote from last week's meeting that stuck with me. Let me give you an example. Last weekend we went to my mother's home. My mom is the best cook.  Not the healthiest cook, but one of the best!  In fact, I have teased her that the reason I got cancer was because of her fried cooking.  The minute I walked into her house, something jabbed me in the gut. She had a box of sugar cookies and a chocolate cake sitting out on the stove. Right in plain site! The milk in her fridge is 2%, the bread on her counter is white and not the low calorie, high fiber bread I need. {Her kitchen was not a power space!} Thankfully, I left her home without eating any of the sweets and managed to be down on the scale. B...

It is a bittersweet day for us. My youngest sibling, who is some 20 years younger than I, left home today. He got his first real job. He is moving several states away.   He got a degree in Wind Turbine Technology a year or so ago.  His first job is in Guymon, Oklahoma. He is going to be working for a contract company that installs these giant machines. He reports to work tomorrow morning, so he left out today to make the 9 hour or so drive from home to Guymon. Luckily for him, he actually knows someone there working on Wind Turbines already. He is going to let my brother stay with him for a few days. His new company pays his salary, plus food, and lodging. Transportation is his only expense.  He was so excited to get a job in his field that he forgot a few things. He has no idea how often he gets paid. Nor does he know if he has health insurance. We chalked those questions up to things he will ask next time he gets a job! He knows he will be in ...

Fourth Weight Watcher's weigh in. I was up +1.2 pounds. Two things contributed to my 1.2 gain. I shall start with those in my control. After weighing in last week, and having a -2.8 loss {while on vacation} I kinda went into celebration mode. I had three bad days of eating. I still did not eat a lot of food. But I also did not track or count.  {I even had a candy bar at the movies Saturday night! And the oddest thing happened, it made my tummy hurt.} I got right back on track, went back to the tracker and watched the weight continue to come off the rest of this week. Getting on the scale this morning, before getting dressed, I weighed exactly the same thing I did last week before my weigh in. After the three days of not eating well, I was going to be really okay with staying the same. But...I had to check into Cancer-world today. I got to the hospital at 9:00, had blood drawn, and was immediately given 40 ounces of stuff to drink that contained the contrast needed for my CT...

When I was little, I spent a lot of time in a Baptist Church. One thing that I remember from those formative years of learning is that we are not suppose to question God. His plan may not be known at the time, but he would test us, challenge us, and we were to go through these moments without questioning why. For none of us knew what his plan for us was. Let me tell you, when you get handed the cancer diagnosis, that is exactly what you want to do. Ask Why.  Sometimes it comes out in the form of a How question. How did this happen? And the medical community responds to that. They talk to us about diet, exercise, genetics, and other environmental factors. Sometimes their explanations lack substance and we are still wondering why. I still do not understand how I got cancer. Much less why. In my head I rationalized it by thinking thoughts like, I would do this ten-fold if it meant that my children would never have to. But honestly, I relied heavily upon those format...

It is baseball time.   Which means we spend a lot of time at the baseball fields and spend a lot of time trying to find ways to entertain The Short Chic while we are there. Last week we were at a tournament about an hour from home. The Short Chic packed some toys and a coloring book. She did her best to entertain herself by coloring her new Disney Princess coloring pack. But we had no table. She ended up using the ground. But it was super windy and her coloring pages just got blown around. She got creative and used a toy as an anchor. I decided to come up with a much better option for her. So, I headed to Wal Mart and picked up some super inexpensive clip boards.  I used my scrapbooking supplies to come up with paper (3 sheets total), stickers, and ribbon. The last thing  I grabbed was my bottle of Mod Podge. Of course, if I am making her a cute clipboard, I am going to make one for myself! So, I got a big clipboard for me and a small sized...

I am so happy to say that while I was on vacation, my blog got a face lift! My blog is just shy of two years old and as some of you might have read last week, I found out the site I was using to make it look pretty had some issues. Thanks to all the hard work of  The Fairy Blogmother , I have a new look.  There are a few new things. Maybe I need them, maybe I don't. I have a new button, that you can put on your blog if you like this blog. I also have new buttons making it easier to follow me! Some of you are always saying you can never remember the blog address. Well, check out my RSS feeder button and sign up, it will send post directly to your email. So, there you have it! Please take a moment and let me know what you think of the new look! What is is your favorite thing?

"Choice, not destiny determines your future."  I am on vacation this week.  Being on Weight Watchers brings a whole new perspective to vacations.  Historically, vacations mean free reign over eating. I would eat large meals, have snacks, and of course, dessert! By the time vacation would be over, I would be up another ten pounds. This time I wanted to do it differently.  I read this quote on some Weight Watchers material and I let it be my guide. For everything. 1. We are staying in a condo, miles away from restaurants, so eating-in is our best option. I planned a menu . It included healthier options for me. For example, extra lean ground turkey for me when the family had hamburgers. Or a bowl of whole grain cereal and a banana while the family had biscuits and gravy.  2. This is a huge resort in the Ozark Mountains . They provide free shuttle service to and from places. I chose to walk most of the places I went to. Including up large hills! 3. T...

I joined Weight Watchers last week. No high fives yet! I originally joined Weight Watchers in 1995/96 and successfully lost 45 pounds. I kept it off for a few years and then got pregnant with The Boy {Yes, he is now 15}. Since then I have re-joined Weight Watchers more times than I can actually remember.  I weighed in today and want to tell you all that I lost 3.8 pounds.  This week I ate a lot of overnight oatmeal for breakfast.  I wanted to share the recipe with you because it is too yummy to stay in my kitchen. 1/3 cup of Old Fashioned Oatmeal (uncooked) 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk 1/3 cup Greek Yogurt (I used Stoneybrook Farms Oikos' Plain) 1/2 teaspoon Chia Seeds 2 Tablespoons Better'n Peanut Butter (from Trader Joe's) 1/2 Tablespoon Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa 2 packets of Truvia 1 Banana Mix everything together in a bowl. Put the mixture into a seal-able container and put it in the refrigerator overnight.  It mak...