Saturday Weekly Weigh-In

I LOST 2 pounds this week!!!! I was so excited! I think the Boot Camp is really helping me work out much harder than I do on my own! Yay for the scale going DOWN!!!

Boot Camp!

I had plans tonight of doing a more lengthy blog, but by the time I sat down to write this, it's almost 10:00 and I'm about to go to bed, so I'll give a quicker version...

Boot camp last night was a blast - one of the BEST workouts I've ever had! I even took ibuprofen when I gor home to help ease/prevent soreness! I've done boot camps before when I was a member at 24 Hour Fitness, and really didn't like it. They were more of athletic drills where you need more grace and athleticims, and if you know me well I think you know that grace and athleticism is not me :) But I had researched this ahead of time, and that didn't sound like what this boot camp was going to be, so I signed up in good faith. There are women in this class of all ages (in fact, I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest!) and of all fitness levels. Our instructor was incredibly fun, energetic, and motivational! She pushed us to do more than what I would have ever done (which was my main reason for wanting to do this class). One of our exercises was running with the weights that we had brought in our hands around the permiter of the parking lot. I brought 10-lb weights with me, so it was definitely a challenge, and exhausting, but I felt proud that I could do it! We worked every single millimeter of our body and every muscle group, and it was great! We meet every Tuesday/Thursday from 7-8, and every Saturday from 8-9, so I'll look forward to 12 more weeks of really great, intense workouts!!

Oh, and one of the coolest parts of it was that it's Christian-based (which I was unaware of when I signed up), so we do a quick 10-minute devotional at the end of each workout. That's definitely not something you expect from a great workout, but I loved it :)

First Day of Boot Camp!!

 

Tonight is my first class with Texas Boot Camp!! I'm really excited to try this out! I was offered a good deal online for 12 weeks, so I decided to take it! I can't wait for the new challenge! I'll post later (either as a blog if it's blog-worthy, or a status on Facebook) and let you know how it goes, but I really hope that this gives me the push that I've been looking for to get my butt in gear!!

Meal Planning Monday

I'm short on time to plan my breakfasts and lunches, so I foresee a lot of cereal for breakfast and ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch, but here's our dinner plans for the upcoming week:

Monday:
Tuna Helper, green beans, milk, chocolate banana smoothie

Tuesday:
Tuna Helper leftovers (we're not very exciting this week!)

Wednesday:
Lean Cuisine pizza, salad

Thursday:
Easy Chicken strips, baked potato, broccoli

Friday:
Leftover chicken strips

Saturday:
ABF Fun Day out!! Looking forward to this :)

Sunday:
???

Easter Weekend!

This weekend, Michel and I drove to Longview to spend Good Friday and Saturday with our family (well, most of our family - my parents didn't drive down until Sunday and we weren't there anymore). Anyways, I had Friday off of work, and Michel had Friday and Saturday off of work, and his parents had invited us down for an Easter celebration with Michel's grandparents, so of course we said yes!

While we were in Longview, we had to go visit my sister and her family! Uncle Michel and Aunt Julie just love our niece and nephew so much that we have to go see them any chance we get! (Of course, we love my sister and brother-in-law, too!)

Zane's at a fun age (almost 4 months old) where he's laughing a lot - at absolutely nothing at all - so I got some pictures of him smiling and laughing with Uncle Michel while I got Karys to pose for the camera with me :)

Cute smile from a cute boy!!

I love this little girl so much!

Awww...I love this little boy, too! (And the big boy!)

Being an aunt to these two little kids has been more fun than I ever thought it could be! Michel and I had just started dating when Karys was born, and he had never been around babies before, but it made me so happy to see how comfortable he was around her, and how quickly he loved her, too! We're blessed to be an aunt and uncle to two amazing little kids :) 

My students better love me!!

Why???

Because I've allowed the following two creatures into my home until I can take them to school tomorrow:

Just in case you can't tell what they are, I have a tarantula and FOUR cockroaches (the other three are buried somewhere in their cage) in my apartment!! 

This week we are studying bugs in my classroom - all kinds of bugs. My kids learn best when visual props are present, and because I love my kids and I love to see them learn, I got real bugs for the classroom for this week. 

Just so everybody knows, I HATE spiders of all kids, but tarantulas are way worse than a regular spider because they're hairy and just really scary-looking! And cockroaches are just disgusting! That being said, I'm not excited to have these things in my possession. In fact, the entire time I was carrying them up my apartment stairs, I was so scared I would drop one and the critter inside would be let loose. I was even more scared that I would get in a car accident after I picked them up and then they would be let loose in my car - ewwwww!! But like I said, I love seeing my kids learn, so I know that this will be fun and exciting for them.

In case you're wondering where I got these disgusting creatures, Plano ISD has this fabulous Outdoor Learning Center where you can "borrow" animals and critters of all kids - from birds to mice to insects. Elementary students take field trips to the Outdoor Learning Center, and you can even have someone come to your classroom to do an animal demonstration, so that's where I got these critters, and I'm thankful that they're so easy to borrow because I would NEVER pay money for these things! But they still give me the willies, and I can't wait to get them out of my apartment!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday:

Breakfast - Scrambled egg and egg white with ham and cheese, banana, coffee
Snacks - yogurt, almonds

Lunch - Hot chicken salad sandwich, chips, carrot sticks, grapes

Dinner -Leftover baked mac 'n cheese, salad, ice cream bar

Tuesday:

Breakfast - 2 slices toast w/jelly, 2 slices turkey bacon, banana
Snacks - yogurt, almonds

Lunch - Hot chicken salad sandwich, carrot sticks, grapes

Dinner - Helper meal (chicken fried rice, tuna tetrazzini, or cheeseburger mac - we're short on time this week!), ice cream bar

Wednesday:
Breakfast -1 1/2 c. Cheerios, banana, coffee
Snacks - Strawberries
Lunch - Hot chicken salad sandwich, carrot sticks, apple
Dinner -Date night with the Hares and Howards! (McAlister's Deli)

Thursday:
Breakfast -Strawberry banana smoothie, coffee, NutriGrain waffle
Lunch - Hot chicken salad sandwich, celery sticks, grapes
Dinner -Leftover Helper dinner

 Friday:
Breakfast - Scrambled egg w/ham and cheese, banana, coffee
Lunch -Ham and cheese sandwich, chips (if we still have any), fruit, carrot sticks
Dinner -We're hanging out with our family in Longview - I don't know what we'll be eating!


Saturday:
Breakfast - In Longview
Lunch - In Longview
Dinner - In Longview

 Sunday:
Breakfast - 1 1/2 c. Cheerios
Lunch - Easy chicken strips, oven-baked potato fries (recipe coming at the end of the week!)
Dinner - Lean Cuisine frozen pizza (it's crazy, but I love them!) salad, pudding

Baked Mac 'n Cheese

This is why I don't cook from scratch much.....

I HATE doing dishes! Luckily, Michel and have an agreement that whoever didn't cook dinner does the dishes. So, tonight I was off the hook :)

But this is why I do cook from scratch...

This yummy, cheesy (yet healthy-ish) home-made baked mac 'n cheese was our dinner tonight! I think that the breadcrumbs on top just add to this dish! I loved it! I think it could have been a bit cheesier, but I also couldn't find the specific brand of cheese that the recipe called for, so I had to make do with what I had on hand. Not complaining though...I still liked it a lot!

It also got Michel's stamp of approval! 

He even went back for seconds! I love finding new recipes!!

Saturday Weekly Weigh-In

Well...no change up or down. How do I always plateau?? Summer is quickly approaching!

Today's post is short and sweet....just not much to say!

Meal Planning Monday

Last week, I didn't meal plan at all, and just had to come up with something everyday. I ended up eating cereal everyday (I love cereal, but by Friday I was sick of it), and the only reason I stuck with it was because it's fast and didn't require any thinking/cooking on my part. This week, I want to change it up again, so I made sure to take the time to plan out meals for the week. I think we'll be having some pretty tasty meals :)

Monday:
Breakfast - Avena oatmeal shake (I'm trying this for the first time, and I've heard a lot of people say that it was good, so we'll see!), turkey bacon, coffee
AM snack - banana
Lunch -  Lean beef burger, apple, carrot
PM snack - honey roasted almonds
Dinner - Baked chicken parmesan, salad, Jello-pudding topped with whipped cream!

Tuesday:
Breakfast - 1 NutriGrain waffle w/p.b. and light syrup, cappuccino smoothie, coffee

AM snack - banana
Lunch -  Lean beef burger patty only, steamed broccoli
PM snack - honey roasted almonds
Dinner - Baked chicken parmesan over spaghetti, salad, chocolate banana smoothie

Wednesday:
Breakfast - 1/2 c. granola, banana, coffee
AM snack - Grapes
Lunch - Chicken noodle soup, Ritz crackers, steamed broccoli
PM snack - pudding cup
Dinner - turkey meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans,

Thursday:
Breakfast - 1-1/2 c. Cheerios, banana, coffee
AM snack - apple
Lunch - Chicken noodle soup, 1/2 egg salad sandwich, carrot sticks
PM snack - almonds
Dinner - turkey meat loaf, corn, green beans

Friday:
Breakfast - Fried egg sandwich w/cheese, banana, coffee
AM snack - Yogurt
Lunch - 1/2 egg salad sandwich, pretzels, carrot sticks, apple
PM snack - 100 calorie popcorn
Dinner - Cheddar's Grilled Chicken Pecan salad

Saturday:
Breakfast - Scrambled egg w/ham and cheese, banana, coffee
Lunch - Turkey bacon BLT, strawberries, carrot sticks
Dinner - Baked mac-n-cheese, dinner roll, salad
Special Saturday dessert - Chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies

Sunday:
Breakfast - Toast w/jelly, turkey bacon, coffee, banana
Lunch - out to eat with my parents
Dinner - whatever we're in the mood to eat!

Saturday Weekly Weigh-In

Well, there's good news and bad news. Bad news: I'm up a pound. It's been so long since I've seen my weight fluctuate like this, but I haven't weighed myself on a consistent basis until the last couple of months either. I'm still working on losing about 5-8 pounds, and I really want to lose closer to the 8 lb. mark, but I'll be happier once I see it drop back to where I was this time a few months ago. I do still think it was my old birth control pill that caused the weight gain, and I have to remember that I took it for 5 months before I saw a weight gain, so maybe it's taking a few months to fully get out of my system??

Anyways, I was a little disappointed when I stepped on the scale this morning, but I took my measurements, and that lightened my mood a bit. I have dropped several inches! In fact, last weekend, I was able to fit into some old shorts of mine that I had tried on a couple of weeks ago and discovered they were too tight. So I'm glad to be seeing some results!

Waist: -1"
Hips: -.25"
Thigh: same

I lost in my calf, bicep, and neck, but those numbers aren't as exciting to me :)

Now, I'm planning on heading over to the park and doing a long run and getting a nice change of scenery on my day of R&R! Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Easy Chicken Strips

Last week, I cooked myself dinner (which I NEVER do) on a night when Michel was at work. Usually, I heat up a microwavable meal, or eat leftovers if we have them. But I was going through the Diet Comfort Food cookbook that I've been cooking out of for the past three weeks (highly recommend it!) and saw a recipe to make chicken strips with corn flakes cereal as the coating. The reason I chose to make this on a night when I was home alone was because I wanted to see if it was worthy of being added into Michel's and my dinner rotations. So I made them, and LOVED them! Then I made them again tonight and asked Michel if he liked them, and he just replied a simple "yes" - a typical answer for him. As we continued eating, he suddenly changed his answer to, "Actually I really like these!" That was the proof that they really are as delicious as I think they are, and low in calories and fat too! So I thought I'd share the recipe:

1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1-1/4 c. crushed corn flakes
1/3 c. butter

- In a shallow bowl, combine flour and seasoned salt.
- Place corn flakes and butter in separate shallow bowls.
- Coat chicken with flour mixture, then dip in butter, and coat with corn flakes.
- Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min or until chicken is no longer pink.

Yields: 6 servings
1 serving = 288 calories, 12 g. fat, 18 g. carbs, trace fiber

I'll try and get a picture of it when we make it again tomorrow night (yeah, it's that good!), but for now, just take my word on it :)

Meal Planning Monday

All I've got is Monday's plan! I didn't work on it at all over the weekend, but I should finish it tomorrow!

Monday:
Breakfast -Scrambled egg and egg white; 1 slice toast w/cinnamon and sugar; coffee w/creamer I didn't give myself enough time this morning to make eggs, so it was Cheerios, turkey bacon, and a banana for me :)
Lunch - Boston Market leftovers
Dinner - Grilled shrimp in a lemon-butter sauce over pasta

Tuesday:
Breakfast - 
Lunch - 
Dinner - 

Wednesday:
Breakfast - 
Lunch -
Dinner - 

Thursday:
Breakfast - 
Lunch - 
Dinner - 

Friday:
Breakfast -
Lunch - 
Dinner -

Saturday :
Breakfast - 
Lunch -
Dinner

Sunday:   
Breakfast - 
Lunch - 
Dinner

The most adorable kids ever!

Over the weekend we had a 3-family garage sale using things of my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and Michel and me. We were pretty successful for how quickly it was thrown together, and it not being as big as what our garage sales normally are. 

Unfortunately, Michel had to work today, but I went back to my parents' house since my sister was still there with her kids. We went to eat at The Harbor on Lake Ray Hubbard this afternoon, and then I snapped some random pictures around the house, so I'm just posting the super cute ones! I might be biased, but I do think my niece and nephew are the cutest kids that I've ever seen! What's your opinion?? :)

Baby Zane was getting a big kick out of his mommy! Check out that sweet smile!

Karys gave us a fantastic smile and "cheese!" for this picture. I know it's not zoomed in on the kids, but I also love the scenery down by the lake.

I also took a picture with just me and my sister, Janette. I don't take a lot of pictures of just us now that there's little ones around.  I love my sister, and I think she's doing a terrific job of raising her kids (with the help of her husband of course - he couldn't make it this weekend though)! 

Can you tell that it was windy outside??

And then we brought in Mom to pose with us! 

Janette and I went shopping this afternoon, and while at a kids' consignment shop, I found a Toy Story book for only $1! Karys LOVES Toy Story (or, as she calls it, "Woody Buzz") and Aunt Julie can't pass up a book that her niece will love that only costs $1! When I gave it to her, she climbed up in her Granddaddy's lap for him to read it. I think she's loving it :)

We have pictures of Karys sitting on this sofa when she was right around Zane's age (3 mos.), so my mom wanted the same pose of Zane. He was pretty willing to be part of our spontaneous photo shoot!

We took some adorable shots of big sister and little brother together. She's a really sweet big sister! Is this not the cutest smile EVER??! Again, I may be biased on my opinion of them :)

We tried getting one picture with both kids looking at the camera (preferably with a smile from Karys) and my dad smiling, but obviously that didn't happen. Two out of three ain't bad though!

But this is my absolute all-time favorite picture of the day!! Zane LOVES his big sister!

Ignore the greenish light on his cheek - my dad was standing above me flashing pictures, so the light on Zane's face is the flash about to go off on my dad's camera

 

I hope that your weekend was as fun as mine was!

Saturday Weekly Weigh-In (on Sunday)

More great news!! I'm down .2 lbs this week! OK, now I realize that -0.2 is not a crazy amount, BUT anytime the numbers on the scale go down from the week before, I'm celebrating!! It's the little milestones that help you reach your big goal, right??

There were a few moments this week that I'm particularly proud of:
1. Last Sunday my ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship - Sunday School for anyone who's not familiar with the term ABF) went to the Twisted Root Burger company - one of my favorites! I ordered a buffalo burger (twice the price of a regular burger, but it's so much less calories and fat), scraped off some cheese, and only ate about half my fries!

2. Went to dinner with a great friend of mine/old college roommate. We normally always go to Cheddar's and eat, sit, and talk for awhile, and we end on the famous Cookie Monster. This time, we had gorgeous weather so we walked 4 miles at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, then went to Jason's Deli where we had a much lighter meal.

3. I fit into some of my old shorts that I was wearing last summer, but had outgrown this summer!! That was the best feeling of all! Can't wait to see what next Saturday holds!