I failed

I don't normally say this and in reality I don't like to say it. But I have failed. For some reason or another in the last few weeks I have slacked on my diet. I know this is a big no no. I have gained all the weight I have lost and then some. But what am I going to do about it? Simply this...Jump back on the wagon. Don't give up. Keep on keeping on. I know I can do it. I just can't let myself give up again. Not that I gave up. It was more like I slacked off. I got lazy. I was more worried about keeping my house in order than eating to better myself. Granted that's not entirely a bad thing. I now have a system in place for running this household. Now I just need to step it up and continue running it while staying on the healthy path.

My biggest challenge will be staying on track while moving this weekend. I know I just moved in this place but now I will be moving into a bigger place that's much more agreeable with my family. I'm both excited and worried. I know it will be a better place for us. However I also know that moving with 3 cats, a 4 year old, and a 3 month old is not a fun venture. Especially when you need to keep the kitties inside due to the swanky strays that will be dying to pounce on my Yang who is in heat this week.  Sadly I will probably have to lock poor little kitties in a bathroom until all the moving is done. I hate confining them to such a small space.

Now as I'm drinking my lovely shake I have to keep telling myself this will be good for me. I need this. Drink more water. Put down that soda. And please stay away from the brownies and ice cream.

Smiles

So for a few weeks now I've been trying to get a picture of my youngest daughter smiling. She has been smiling a lot because she has just  figured this out and of course like any mom I wanted to capture it on camera. But I finally did it.  My little Kathryn is probably the sweetest baby I've ever seen. ( I say this but I'm sure all mom's feel the same about all of their children)

Ugh Exercise

Ok I'm sure I'm not the only one that just totally despises exercise. I can almost bet that a lot of people do. It takes a lot of work and a lot of will power. I applaude those that do it alone with out that workout buddy to keep pushing you forward. I myself am struggling with this battle all on my own. I will have a hard and long road ahead of me. And you know what I'm sure I can do it. I have to do it. You see if all I am is a stay at home mom (which believe you me is still work) then by god I can work out. Just throw it in there with the rest of the daily chores.  No problem...wrong. Like all things related to motherhood nothing ever goes as planned and if it does you consider it a blessing.

So I like so many other people have been sucked into the newest internet fad known as Pinterest. While browsing through some of the fitness stuff I found a pin that said:

10 push ups
20 sit ups
25 squats
20 lunges (10 per leg)
80 jumping jacks
60 second wall sit
Repeat 3x

Upon seeing this I thought "I could do this" So I added it to my work out plan for the week which as it stood before was my postnatal yoga 3 times a week. So today I tried this workout for the first time and boy was that a mistake. For one squats and jumping jacks are not a good idea this soon after having a baby. I'm pretty sure I felt my insides trying to come out. So I did not do all 80 and 25 like it said nor did I repeat 3x. However upon starting this I remembered some of the ab exercises that my best friend used to have me do with her. (she was a cross country runner) So I replaced the things I couldn't do with more ab workouts. I also replaced the do so many with doing them for a minute each (just like my best friend had me do) Now you might ask why I did that. She explained it to me once. Basically the idea is to do as many as you can in a minute and keep trying to do more each time. You can count them if you want but the more often you do it the more you'll be able to squeeze into a minute. If you feel a minute isn't enough you can always add on time.

I know you're probably dying to know what ab exercises I'm doing so I will have my wonderful boyfriend take photos of me doing some of them tonight and then I'll edit this post and add the photos. If I feel too embarassed by such I'll just browse the internets until I find them and post pictures of them that way.

Something New

I stated previously that my significant other was starting his own buisness. As a way to support him I have agreed to try the product that he plans on selling. No I'm not asking you to try it or to purchase it. This is in no way a promotional type of thing. But I have decided to document it and post my experiences with it. You can make your own decision on whether or not it's even worth trying. So instead of telling you what this product line is I'm going to first tell you my experiences with it and then I'll let you know the name of the products I'm using. Today is the first day I'm using the products and I have decided to go ahead and share my personal stats.

Measurements:

Hips 38"
Waist 34"
Bust 37"
Weight 150lbs
Height 5' 9"

Now before you tell me something along the lines of you don't need to lose wieght and such let me explain. I just had a baby. My goal is to lose my baby weight and maintain a healthy weight. I can do all of these things with these products. They have other uses besides losing weight. They can help you maintain a healthy weight and even gain weight too. It depends on how you use them. You can also choose how many of the products you want to use. There are three different packages a basic, an advanced, and the ultimate. I am personally using the ultimate to get the best out of this that I can.

At first I want to lose the extra weight which is between 10 and 15 pounds so I'll start by replacing two meals with their protien shakes. This isn't nearly as unappetizing as it sounds. There are several things you can do with them. Like add fresh fruit or yogurt to make themm more like smoothies. I would definately suggest this because they taste better this way and you can change it up instead of eating the same thing. As for the third meal you eat a well balanced meal. I say well balanced because it's adviced to atleast try to eat healthy. However you could eat anything so long as you don't over eat or binge. Along with replacing your two meals you are also taking many supplements that do different things. A multivitamin to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need. Fiber also necessary. Another pill that allows your body to absorb protien better. Another one that helps you cells absorb the nutrients that your body needs. And one that helps maintain your sugar levels helping you curb the snack cravings. I know this sounds like a lot and truth be told it is. But if this works and gives me back my body and energy levels like it claims it will be completely worth it.

Keep in mind like all "diet" programs to get the best results some exercise is required. Being a mom of two sometimes going to the gym is just not possible. So I decided to do some yoga at home and when possible will take walks with the kiddos. You should also know that I hate the word "diet" because of the stigma related to weight loss. I'm not trying to be overly excessive and lose a ridiculous amount of weight. In fact if anything I'm just trying to lead a healthier life. I've watched my entire family struggle with their weight and don't want to have to do that.

Something Delicious

This last week I was told to put together a meal plan for the week. So I did. There were many different things that I cooked last week. Today I'm going to share one of my favorites. There isn't much to it and I apologize in advance for not having a photo. I didn't think I'd be sharing this recipe so I didn't take any pictures of this very delicious meal. I made Meatball Sub Sandwiches on Homemade Bread. I'll share my meatball recipe today and might share my bread recipe some other time.

Panda's Homemade Meatballs

Ingredients:

3lbs ground Hamburger

1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

about 8 good sized fresh basil leaves chopped

1 egg

mix all ingredients in large bowl and and form into balls. Bake at 350 for approx 20 min or until cooked through.

Now this is my cheaper recipe and it's so large because at the moment I'm catering to 6 adults who eat more than the average serving. Granted we did have leftovers but you could easily down size this recipe to suit your own family's needs. The egg was to keep it mushed together better and you could add more if you think it needs it but I was fine with this ratio. We served them with store bought spaghetti sauce and put shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

I have an authentic Italian Meatball recipe as well but it's a little more costly. I will share it with you at a later time.

Modesty

So I was told that I need to be more "Modest". That I should leave some things for the imagination. For those of you that know me I have been anything but modest. I guess you could say it's just never been on my to do list. Growing up I didn't have a very strict dress code. My parents had some rules but not very strict ones. Why decide to change now?

I have several reasons to suddenly be more modest. For one I am a mother and should think about more practical clothing. Secondly I was asked to by someone who means a lot to me. I know you should never change for someone, but change for yourself. However I will tell you why I have decided to do this for them. Their opinion matters to me so of course I will take it into consideration. (in fact I agreed to it) They also gave me a very good and valid reason to do such a thing. You see it was my significant other that asked me to do this. He is my partner and it only makes sense for me to work with him on this. We were both wild childs (or would you say children *shrugs* oh well). However he joined the Army and became much more straight edge. Now he has started his own business and has asked me to be more modest. I have only agreed to this because like I said he's my partner. Which means we work together. I can't go off and abandon ship. So in order to help him look more professional I too need to look more professional. So I've agreed to change. It will be a hard road and I'll have to fight many urges but you know what I think I can do it.

So what's the point of this blog? There isn't one. No point at all. It's about me. I'll share anything and everything, my feelings, my recipes, my art, my crafts, my new "Modest" wardrobe, even my family. It may not have a plan or be organized but that's just how I am. I agreed to be modest I didn't say I'd be organized.