For the love of the Zumba

For some reason my Facebook is blowing up about Zumba today. Various friends and friends of friends discussing it, checking in at it, and questioning it.

That happens sometimes....you know, when your Facebook kinda developes a "theme."

Like politics.
Or football.
Or weather.

But anyways, I digress.

Tonight seemed to be telling me that I needed to get this post out of my back pocket- or more technically, off the Blogger draft list.

Zumba.

Oh, Zumba, where have you been my whole life?

Or more acurately, where have you been the last 15 years?

My parents bought me a Living Social deal for Christmas last year. My mom said, "all the cute young people I work with love it."

I said, "hm."

It wasn't that I was avoiding Zumba. I just never really gave it a second thought. Many of you have followed me through the "fat years" and the journey I've taken the last 2 years to cut the fat and get back on track as to what a 30-something mom should be. I went "couch to 5K," I am all "My Fitness Pal"ed out, I was Jillian's b*tch for 30 days, and I am a P90 graduate. I feel like it was all good...and definitely worth it.

But they all had a beginning and end. And each time something ended or I "graduated," I felt frantic like all of a sudden I was gonna balloon back up 10 jean sizes in 5 days.

So, I cashed in my Living Social in April. And I went like 4 times the whole month of April...and that probably included May, too.

And then I realized that it expired in July.

And dude, you know I canNOT let a deal expire.

So, I started going regularly. And I found a teacher that I loved. And who made me sweat.

More than Jillian and Tony.

And then when I went on vacation I missed it.

Like a lot.

Which made me wonder..."What is it about the Zumba?"

And then it hit me.

I had not danced- really DANCED- in 15 years. You know, the "learn the choreography-come back the next week and do the same routine-feel the music in your soul" DANCE.

Most of you know I danced growing up. For many years. And loved it. And I loved her.

After Blanche died, I checked out. I went through the motions my senior year of high school. I made excuses about other obligations, got mono (that was not on purpose), graduated and went off to UNC where I could make more excuses about "not having time...boyfriend back home....got to have weekends free...etc." And I guess I kind of pushed dance out of my head for oh, about a decade and a half.

But, sometime this summer that love came back. Sneaky little sucker.

The love of dance is back. The love of walking into a familiar studio. Seeing familar faces. Laughing at mistakes. Celebrating the "good moves." And just having fun.

And there's something else about Zumba that's good for your soul. For anyone's soul really- dancer or not. And most definitely good for the "working mother of 2 worship leader" soul. Zumba truly allows me to be 100% in a "moment." For 45 minutes, I seriously cannot think about, worry about, plan ANYTHING. I can be completely "mind empty' for 45 minutes and just BE.

And sweat.

A lot.

All that from an almost-expired Living Social deal.

I'd say my mom can consider that one of the best $20 she ever spent.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday: Squeezing in every last bit of fun (and food)

Sunday was our last day in Cali. We had plane tickets on the red eye home for 11pm that night so we had plenty of time to catch some more sights.

First, we went to the Farmer's Market and The Grove, where there are cool little shops and some food stands. (Chad and I ate Chinese.) I bought a pair of "Hollywood" sunglasses (hey, when in Rome) and Chad bought some cologne that he had been eyeing for a few weeks.

We went down Hollywood Blvd where we saw the Dolby Theater (formally known as Kodak Theater aka where American Idol finale is held), saw where my brother's latest movie, Dead Dad, screened, and walked by the Wax Museum where I ran into Sue Sylvester.
And saw a few stars...

And then we answered our question from the day before.

Do Sprinkles cupcakes taste as good in the ATM machine as they do straight from the bakery?

Um, yes.

And by the way, the dark chocolate and the peanut butter chocolate chip are both DELISH.

You know, if you are ever in the neighborhood.

We also traveled up into the hills to see the city from quite a distance up.


We then went back home, packed up, and headed to our last meal on the West Coast- Umami Burger.

Honestly, at this point I had to throw in the towel.

I had a salad.

I did try a bite of both Chad's and Caroline's burgers and they were pretty much the best tasting burgers ever. We ended the meal splitting homemade ice cream sandwiches.

And with that ice cream sandwich, we ended our weekend in California. Caroline and Eric drove us to the airport, and we hopped on the 11:05pm flight to Detroit and then to Raleigh.

Eric and Caroline were pretty much the most awesome hosts ever. They were so accommodating from super cleaning their kitty house for my allergies, taking time off of work, to loaning us their air conditioning unit at night (um, we totally brought a NC heat wave to LA that weekend bringing their normal 75 degree temps to 90 degrees), to driving us miles and miles and miles so we could see everything, to eating out way more than I am sure they are used to. The time spent with my brother and his wife was priceless. Having two kids who adore their aunt and uncle is great, but when they are home, it's pretty much constant "UncleEricAuntCarolineUncleEricAuntCarolineUncleEric..." Having adult time with them for 4 days was such a blessing, and we shared so many laughs and made so many memories. I am soooo thankful for this trip- not only because of time with E and C, but of course, time with my sweet husband. It really is true that I am about 90% mom and 10% wife when we are home. To be 99% wife and 1% mom (when I was texting and emailing home), was what we needed. It was wonderful for us as a couple....a not so young couple anymore. :-)

I survived the time away from my babies. I had not gone more than 2 nights away from them before and that trip was just about 2.5 hours away. Flying to the other side of the country to the other ocean was pretty much like ripping off the bandaid. But we all did great.

And I may not even wait 10 more years to do it again. :-)

Saturday: Eating our way up the West Coast

Saturday was "Beach Day." Though ironically, we never actually made it on the beach.

We started with a trip to Venice Beach where the crowd was definitely unique to say the least. Lots of musicians, skate boarders, and doctors. And by doctors, I mean "doctors." "Doctors" that sold "Medical" Marijuana. They even had their own stores. Lots of them. Yes, I am serious. And no, we did not walk on that side of the street. :-) We ate lunch at this place called The Cow's End where I had a great BLT wrap with blue cheese. Yummy.

We walked around for a while longer and then went back to the car to head up the coast. Next stop was the Santa Monica Pier.


I bought a few knick-nacks for the kids, but it was super crowded being a Saturday, so we stayed just a bit and decided to check out how the other half lives.

In other words- Malibu.

Jennifer Aniston- here I come!

Forget a "Star Homes Tour" bus. We had smart phones and Google.

As we drove around Malibu and through the Hollywood Hills, I spent much time googling road names + celebrity homes. With that, we are fairly certain we drove by both Dean Cain's and Will and Jada's homes. Score!

Some unexpected heavy traffic made our trip to Malibu a few hours longer than we expected it to be, so we went straight to dinner.

An experience I had been waiting for.

Korean BBQ

Korean BBQ is a pretty cool Melting Pot meets PF Chang's experience where you receive sauces, rice paper, some random sides, a green salad, potato salad, and then you choose your (raw) meats to cook on a griddle in the middle of your table. It's all you can eat and you start with 4 meats and can ask for more after you finish what you have. We started with marinated pork BBQ (yum), beef BBQ (yum), pork belly (kinda like bacon- yum with sauce in a rice paper), and spareribs (yum yum). We then added chicken (nothing special) and squid (Eric and Caroline's favorite. I tried it- not a yucky taste, just a weird rubbery texture.).

Caroline had much enjoyment in cutting the squid with scissors while Chad was utterly grossed out.

Though we were stuffed to the gills, we had a very important experiment to conduct.

Do the cupcakes that you can get after hours from the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM machine taste as good as the cupcakes you get fresh from the store?
That's right, folks. As if California couldn't get any cooler, they now have CUPCAKE ATM MACHINES.

OMG.

Fatness 24/7.

Someone slap me because that was the most awesome thing ever.
I went to sleep very happy (and very full) that night. :-)

Friday: Crossing State Lines

Part of the fun of the vacation was the mini road trip we had planned with Eric and Caroline. We checked out of our Vegas hotel Friday morning and hit the road to LA- approx a 4-5 hour drive. Traffic was great, temps were hot, and yummy Greek food was consumed at Mad Greek in the middle of the desert.


Oh yeah. And Wilson Phillips was rockin on Pandora.

We made it to Eric and Caroline's super precious home sometime that afternoon and settled in. Which for me, meant popping a few Sudafed thanks to Furbaby. :-)

Furbaby was NOT happy that his Mommy cleaned up and thus banned him from the guestroom. He was very curious who we were and why we had invaded HIS kingdom. :-)

We decided to go see a movie. ("The Campaign" was opening that day and I wanted to experience a "Hollywood movie theater.") Not to mention, Chad and I rarely experience movies at home anyway so its always a treat. We also walked around some and passed by Nickelodeon Studios- home of iCarly and Victorious. We immediately took a pic to send to Brooklyn.

After the movie, we headed to Malo Cantina, where Eric and Caroline had held their rehearsal dinner last year.
I had a yummy beef and pickle taco and a chicken taco. They also have really cool soft tortilla chips and a "salsa fleet" where we could try lots of yummy salsa.

With full bellies and still cracking up thinking about the afternoon's movie, we went back home for a little bit of TV watching (they turned us on to Honey Boo Boo Child and we showed them The New Girl) and then bed time.

More fun- and lots more eating awaited us Saturday!

Thursday: All Vegas, All the time

So, last I left you, I was dreaming of this:

And why shouldn't I when the temps looked like this:

Chad wanted to play a few poker tournaments and I wanted to bake in the sun, so while we did spend a half a day of our "honeymoon" apart, we were both in our element.

And I was thrilled that I only had to sunscreen ONE person.

Eric and Caroline spent the morning and part of the afternoon with me at the pool and then the four of us cleaned up and headed down the strip.

First stop: Caesar's Place

Then we moved on to the Cosmopolitan where we ate at the Wicked Spoon.

Also known as the best.buffet.ever.

We were very happy to be there.
Very happy.
The thing with this buffet is that eveything comes in its own tiny bowl, plate, cup, basket, etc. It helps with reducing waste but also makes everything self contained.

And just looks plain cute.

(spaghetti and veal meatballs and mac and cheese)

(fish and chips)

And can you believe that they actually open all your crab legs for you? Yup. Split right in half.
They should for a buffet that cost more than our two night stay at the Excalibur hotel. :-)
Oh, and the desserts......

After we all left in a food coma with smiles on our faces, we walked down the strip and just enjoyed the sites.

We all had an "awwww" moment when we walked by the Bellagio fountains and they had just started their "show." Each time I have been to Vegas there is a new song and show, but what a cool moment when we realized that this evening's song was Elton John's "Your Song," the song that our parents danced to at their wedding, the song that Chad and I had played during our wedding ceremony, and the song that Eric and our mom danced to at his wedding reception.

The post where I bare all (all belly flab, that is)

I seriously think I now have a girl-crush on Jillian Michaels.

Remember when I declared that I was starting this?

Well, when I did, I kinda looked like this...

[Actually not "kinda," that's really me about 2 months ago.]

I started the 30 Day Shred on June 9th. I took this "before picture" a few weeks prior when I was doing P90x, but as I mentioned here, I was not really that great to sticking to the "diet plan." :-) So, I don't blame P90x for my lack of results, and if anything, P90x really helped me get into shape endurance-wise and helps me really keep up with Patrick in Zumba.

But back to the 30 Day Shred...

I took measurements on Day 1, Day 15, Day 21, and Day 30. I really wanted to see what this program could do, but I also knew that I would have to be diligent with it and make the commitment. I vowed to do 30 days in 30 days....not like my P90 in P106.

Then I realized I would be on vacation for 9 of those 30 days.

Well played, Jillian. Well played.

But hey, I am up for the challenge, and it was a trip to the beach, not an international cruise where my video capabilities would be limited.

And I am proud to say that I did the 30 Day Shred in exactly 30 days.

Holla.

So, I gave it my all. I stuck to the program. I did 28 minutes every day. Sometimes at 6:15am, sometimes at 9:30pm, but by God, I didn't skip a day. However, I was not quite as diligent as I set out to be with the diet plan. I ate red meat...and desserts...and french fries.

Oops.

With that being said, are you all curious as to what results I saw? Since many of you blog readers have supported and encouraged me the last almost 2 years as I have transformed into a more healthy mama, I feel very comfortable sharing with you the hard facts. After all, nothing is worse than admitting my weight on the internet and facebook as I did in late 2010.

Before measurements/ 15 days/ 21 days/ 30 days
Weight: 156 pounds/155.4/152.6 = 3.4 pounds lost
Arms (upper): 11.25 inches/11/11/11 = 0.25 inches lost
Thighs: 24 inches/24/23/22 = 2 inches lost
Calves: 15.5 inches/15/15/14.5 = 1 inch lost
Chest: 32 inches/31.5/31/31 = 1 inch lost
Stomach: 36 inches/35/34/34 = 2 inches lost
Butt/hips: 39.5 inches/38.5/38/38 = 1.5 inches lost

So, overall a 3.4 pound and 7.75 inch loss! Not too shabby for 30 days AND while on two vacations.

I count it a huge success because two years ago I would have never sported this bathing suit on a public beach...

So, if you know me well, you know that I can't stop now. I need something else. When my 30 Day Shred ended while at the beach, I kinda got nervous because I didn't have anything else lined up. I imagined myself backsliding. I did run twice, which I haven't done in a while, so that felt good. But there's just something about Jillian.

So, I did some Amazon research and then a quick trip to Target today and picked up this...

Ok, Jillian, let's see what else you can do. Bathing suit season isn't over yet.

Running Advice from a Non-Runner

(We interrupt this blog post for a shameless plug advertising the Girl Scouts Thin Mint Sprint 5K on Saturday, September 10th!)


So, I have probably ran about 15 times in my life, and the last 10 times have been in the last month or so. I am probably the person voted "least likely to run" so I figured if I can do it (and somewhat enjoy it), then it might help those of you out there going "Hmmmm....maybe.....me?"

So, here we go. My advice to those of you who are considering taking the big leap...er, stride?


1. Only run in perfect weather conditions. Too hot, too cold, too sunny, or too windy are unacceptable conditions and not conducive to a good running experience.


Oh, what's that you say? You live in NC? Or anywhere in the world pretty much except for Los Angeles, California? Oh, you can't count on perfect weather conditions? Well, then at least try and do it first thing in the morning before it gets too hot during the summer or invest in a treadmill. Unfortunately, you will probably going to be running 95% of the time in non-optimal weather, so you just might wanna get used to it.


2. Wear the most expensive, cutest, trendiest clothes when running. I mean, if you hate it, at least you look good doing it.


What? You don't have tons of expendable income? You shop at Target and Kohls? Well, me too. However, I do have one good sports bra, a pair of shorts that eliminate uncomfortableness between the thighs, and some sleeveless tanks. And I do laundry often.


3. Buy top of the line running shoes. Check and see what celebrity endorses what product and Just Do It.


Ok, this is kinda true. I need to take my own advice and buy a new pair of shoes since the ones I am running in now I have had since the Clinton administration. I think my shins and ankles will thank me for that small financial sacrifice. Maybe you don't need $200 shoes, but those of my friends who do run often and long distances do make the sacrifice and buy a good shoe. I love my New Balances so I will probably stick with those. Just maybe some that were made in this decade.

4. Music is Key. Good Tunes = Good Pace

Ok, so when my iPod is rockin to some Pink, Lady Gaga, or Glee Journey Covers, I get into my happy place and can keep the pace. When the shuffle fails me and I land on some Fleetwood Mac "Landslide," however, I tend to slow down and ponder for 3 minutes and 45 seconds just how out of shape I am. Now, I love me some Stevie Nicks or a great ballad, but not when I am trying to make my way home before dark. So, to alleviate this issue, I programmed a play list in my iPod for running that ensures I only get upbeat, motivational music.

And finally...

5. Be proud of yourself no matter what.

No jokes here. Straight up. Whether you are going from sitting on the couch to walking 10 minutes or from running a mile to running a marathon, be proud of your accomplishments! I seriously have never ran more than a mile before I started and that was in high school when they make you do the PE test and I probably wogged the majority of it. I ran 5 minutes straight a few weeks ago and when I didn't die or get struck by lightning, I thought "hmmmmm." So, then I ran for a bit longer and then longer still. I am up to running about 1.75 miles straight and though I probably won't be running the entire Thin Mint Sprint 5K, I will be proud of what I do run.

And a bonus pic for you for hanging in and reading this blog post. Here's an all-natural pic for you....unwashed hair, no makeup, baby belly gut, and sweaty from a 33 minute run-walk.

Just so you know I am all talk with a bit of action. :-)

I'm feeling the love, y'all!

So, what a nice surprise when I logged in to facebook today and saw this announcement in my news feed. Thank you all so much for all the clicks! You all are the best! :-)

In other news, I purged these clothes from my closet this weekend and went on a mini shopping spree for new clothes. It was finally time to rid myself of the clothes that were too big. I have been in a bit of a weight loss lull the last 3 weeks so I needed an incentive to keep going. No bigger incentive than buying clothes that just fit...no room for extra pounds in my new shorts and skirts. :-)

I itemized for Goodwill and came up with 7 pairs of jeans, 18 shirts, 2 track pants, 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 dress shirt, 1 pj's, 7 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 capris, 7 khakis, 2 bras, 1 shorts, 5 dress slacks, 1 cotton shorts, 1 skort, and 4 bathing suits. A value of $960.00 to write off on my taxes. Not too shabby.

Weigh In Wednesday!

This week ended Season 2 of the Biggest Loser at work. [We also ended Season 1 of Iron Scout, but as I may have mentioned a few weeks ago, I was in no way going to win that but it was still fun to participate and it gave me motivation to work out. All in all, I did work out 41 days out of 84 days (the three winners all worked out all 84 days out of 84- unbelievable!). And 41 days in 12 weeks is probably more than I have worked out the last 7 years total...seriously.] But, anyway, back to the Biggest Loser. As you know, Season 1 proved quite successful for me in the weight loss journey. I lost all my Jake-weight and was veeeeery close to losing my Brooklyn weight at the end of the 18 weeks. This "season," I am proud to say that I placed 3rd place (out of 14 contestants) with a 6.79% weight loss. I lost an additional 11 pounds for a total of 37 pounds since August 1st. I am definitely below my pre-Brooklyn weight now, but I am aiming for the wedding weight (about 6 or so more pounds) and then my ultimate goal will be to lose 50 total pounds by August 1st. This loss will put me well into a healthy BMI range and weighing in at 138.00. So, just for re-caps and because I loved the response it elicited the first time around. I weighed 188.0 in August 2010. I weighed 162.0 in January 2011. And now I weigh 151.0. And I crave working out again. I make it a priority. I make it a necessity if I have eaten a bit too "freely" that day. And I make it fun (thank you Netflix on my smartphone!). Thank you again to all of you who have supported me throughout this journey thus far. Thank you for talking me down from the McDonald's cheeseburgers. Thank you for watching the kids so I can get on the elliptical. And thank you for all the sweet comments and compliments. They truly encourage me and keep me going. And so to continue this journey, we are buying a nice digital scale for home (the "floating needle" one we have is just too subjective), and Chad and I will be weighing in on Saturdays. I will post a sidebar weight loss ticker for both of us (Chad did give me his permission), and we will continue to work towards getting those summer bods we so wish for. :-)

Next week...

Next week starts up Season 2 of my work's Biggest Loser! I am excited to get back into the weight loss saddle again after taking a few weeks "off." I am also participating in a second competition, Iron Scout, that tracks fitness over 12 weeks. I figured if I do both one will help the other and maybe I have two shots at some extra cash. :-)

And more importantly, I am excited to lose another twenty pounds. This would put me in the "normal" range for my BMI. I am encouraged in the fact that after Season 1, I went from this:
to this:So, hopefully after Season 2, I can get back to this: Game on!

(I am also posting pics of Chad to brag on his progress. It's been wonderful going through this with my partner. It helps a lot!)

Let's Chew the Fat, Shall We?

So, here's the skinny on the Biggest Loss competition at work...


(and I think I am done with the fat/weight loss puns now.)


On Week 1 (beginning of August), I made this announcement. I was the heaviest weight I have ever been. 188.0. There I said it. It's in print...and ON THE INTERNET. Horror. But I have got to start being honest with myself (and ya'll) if I am ever gonna stay accountable and continue to lose weight and get healthy.

Over the last 16 weeks, I saw encouraging numbers and weight losses as I weighed in on Tuesdays.

Week 2: -3.5 pounds
Week 3: -1.5 pounds
Week 4: -4.0 pounds
Week 5: -3.0 pounds
Week 6: -0.0 pounds
Week 7: -5.0 pounds (*This week was my first celebration/met my first goal because I was officially under my pre-Jake weight by 2 pounds- 171 pounds.)
Week 8: -0.5 pounds
Week 9: -1.5 pounds

*Around here was when I gave you guys this mid-season update, where I shared what I had been doing and how things were going.

Week 10: -2.0 pounds
Week 11: -1.0 pounds
Week 12: -0.0 pounds
Week 13: -2.0 pounds
Week 14: -0.0 pounds
Week 15: -1.5 pounds
Week 16: -2.5 pounds
Week 17: 1.5 pounds (*This was my second goal! At this point, I had lost 29.5 pounds and was official below my pre-Brooklyn weight. I weighed in at 158.5 (was 160 when preggers with B), and was super excited.)

And then Thanksgiving happened...and all the leftovers that followed. But this was a great test for me. You see, we had our last weigh in at work on Tuesday, November 30th. And I have to be honest here and say that I didn't really work hard at the weight loss or exercising over the Thanksgiving break (and I know watching The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now? on TV does not count!). I came in and had gained 2 pounds this final week. I have to say that though I was not surprised, I am a bit disappointed in myself in that I really didn't make any effort over the holiday. It scares me to think just how quickly I can fall back in my old habits of eating. Much like the BL contestants on TV, when they leave the ranch and enter "real life" again, they do all naturally gain a bit of the weight back, but it then becomes a mental challenge to stay strong and stay the course.

But, I cannot dwell on one bad week when I had 16 good ones, so with that two pound weight gain this week, my final weight loss was...


27.5 pounds, or 14.63%!

And that my Blogger and Facebook friends was enough to make me the Season 1 Girl Scouts BIGGEST LOSER!!!!

[you may insert your own cheers and confetti throwing here...I did. :-)]

And my current weight is 160.5. Still not ideal, but much better than 18 weeks prior. :-)


I have a plan to talk to my doctor in a few weeks and find out what I weighed when I graduated college (the summer before I got married). That was probably the healthiest I have ever been and probably the most fit. I could have unrealistic goals of looking at high school weights, but well, 2 children + getting older...you ladies know what I am talking about. Many of you may believe that the number on the scale doesn't matter. "As long as my jeans fit, right?" I used to feel that way, and I have to say that statement (for ME) equals DENIAL. These days, jeans are made out of stretchy material, so yes, my jeans still fit, but I happened to sneak in an extra 20+ pounds in there. So, for me, I have to continue to look at the number, because that number is what held me accountable and gave me the harsh truth week after week.

Several of you have said that I have inspired you over the past 4 months, but I have to say that you all have been so inspiring to me as I have been traveling this journey. To not only be accountable to the scale and people at work, but also to all of you, my wonderful blog readers, it was sooooo helpful for me to stay on the right track. Many of you have emailed or left FB messages or picture comments, and I treasure them so much. Thank you!!! You have all helped me along this very difficult (but long overdo and much needed) journey.

[ok, enough Mrs. America acceptance speech fluff]

We start "Season 2" at work in January. My journey is only about halfway over in the "loss department" (and then it's on to maintanence!). After all, it's not a diet...it's a lifestyle change (Bob & Jillian would be proud!). I'll keep you posted! And again, thank you all so much for the support!

The Biggest Loser Midterm Update

So, I try not to make a huge deal out of this since many of you just come by the blog to see the kiddos and what they are up to, but, several of you have shared with me that you are keeping track of my weekly weigh-ins on the right side of the blog. I thought this Tuesday I would just share a little about the journey thus far and how things are going since we are officially halfway through the Girl Scout's Biggest Loser Challenge.

I have weighed in 9 times and have 9 more weigh-in's to go before the competition ends on November 30th. After 9 weeks, I am proud to say that I have lost 19 pounds! This has not been easy for me. I have had to completely shift my diet and eating habits. I have given up a bunch of yummy foods (and drinks!), but I know it will all be worth it in the end. (Actually, it already has been worth it).

A little history: After giving birth to Jake, of course I lost a big chunk of my pregnancy weight right off the top. However, I actually got cocky (and lazy) and thought "oh, I am breastfeeding! the weight will just melt away!" Not true. In fact, I lost about 30 pounds after having Jake and then GAINED 10 back....while breastfeeding. I read a few articles and chat forums on the internet about weightloss and breastfeeding, and it is actually true that some women do NOT lose weight faster/better when they breastfeed. And, unfortunately, I was one of them. Crap. I had thought this was gonna be easy. At the rate I was going, I was gaining about 2-3 pounds a month. I knew that if I didn't do something, I would just say "oh, hell...whatever...I'll just wear elastic pants." But then this competition started at work (started by a co-worker who had just been released from the hospital after having blood clots in her lungs- and she's YOUNG!). We all decided that whether you wanted to lose unwanted pounds or just live a healthier lifestyle, then this would be an awesome experience for everyone.

So, I paid my $5.00, joined the competition, and I decided that I would go the old fashioned route: diet and exercise. Unfortunately, since my schedule does not allow for much exercise, I knew that would really have to be strict about my diet. I started using a calorie counter on my iPhone- My Fitness Pal- and use it to journal everything I eat and to also to look up food information (especially when we are out to eat). Chad and I also have been having fun looking up what we used to eat and how, in one meal, we were probably eating almost a day's calorie allowance. There has been a lot of education for both of us (and Chad is seeing results, too!).

So, basically, I have gone from consuming about 2500-3000 calories a day to right at 1700. When I am running out of calories, I don't eat that extra nighttime snack or just eat something like a green salad with fat free dressing. I drink lots of water and have given up teas, sodas, juices, etc. I get my calcium from fat free yogurt or a small glass of skim milk. We measure our cereal now. I count my Cheez-its. I don't finish my children's plates. If I know I want to indulge one meal, I just make adjustments the rest of the day with my other meals. We eat the Diet Soda Cake with lite Cool Whip as a snack. We try not to eat past 8pm. And we are avoiding fast food at all costs. Brooklyn doesn't even miss it, and Jake will grow up knowing what a "vegetarian night" is.

And because of these simple things? I didn't break a sweat or run out of breath trying to pull on a pair of jeans this morning from two years ago. :-)

I call that success.

yummy goodness in a hard candy shell

What an education I had in baking this weekend! My mother-in-law was hosting a floating wedding shower for my brother-in-law and soon-to-be sister-in-law this weekend, and I volunteered to do a dessert. Since it would be a floating shower, I was thinking something "finger food-ish" like mini cupcakes, but then I remembered I had the cutest things at one of my baby showers for Jake- cake balls, or also known when put on a lollipop stick- cupcake pops.

I will never ever claim to be a baker or a chef, but I can usually follow directions pretty well. Unfortunately, as I got into this project and started reading up on how to make these, I found that there are so many different ways to do this- and some ways are more succesful than others. So, after some trial and error, and a few pictures snapped with the iPhone, I give you...

The Evolution Of Cupcake Pops (dum dum duuuuuuum)

First you need to bake a cake (any flavor) according to the box's directions.

After it cools for about 15 minutes, use a fork and "rake" the cake to make it the consistancy of dirt. You can also have a trusty assistant who uses a small bowl to collect the "larger chunks" where she can snack from later.

Sidenote: If you are on a diet, then make the cake according to Elizabeth's recipe here. I bet it will turn out the same and you can save a few calories.

Random note: If you use a light colored cake mix, like yellow seen above, I would only use the middle of the cake and avoid the darker parts. When mixed it makes it look brownish and just not as pretty. I also did a Devil's Food cake mix, and of course, that looked just fine being all dark brown.

Then you take your "dirt cake" and mix in a tub of any flavored icing. Some websites say a whole tub and some say 3/4 tub. I did a whole tub of white icing with my yellow cake and 3/4 tub of milk chocolate with the Devil's Food cake. I think I liked the consistancy of the ball better with only 3/4 tub. It was easier to work with later. Mix it all together and make one large ball on wax paper.

Then, allow the large ball to freeze for about 30 minutes. This is when I ran to the bank and back to the grocery store to get some things I forgot the first trip. Perfect timing.

Then, remove the large ball from the freezer and form into smaller balls (about the size of a ping pong ball...though towards the end I think mine were looking more like golf balls).

Then, place your balls back into the freezer and freeze for at least 6 hours. (I ended up doing overnight because the 6 hour mark would have been about 11pm, and Brooklyn would have had a fit if I did the "fun part" without her.)

Then, you are supposed to take any kind of chocolate melt and coat the balls. Easier said than done. I went to Michael's and bought the candy melts in brown and green (the shower colors) and started with the brown to coat the yellow cake. The bag says you can microwave it so I did. I got about 6 ghetto balls done when the chocolate just solidified and said "I'm done." I was not happy. And they were not pretty.

So, I thought that maybe I could do the saucepan on really low heat (as the bag directions also suggest). I used my green here.

I'll let the next picture speak for itself. Pure mess.

At this point I was not happy, and Brooklyn was more interested in trying to use the cookie cutter to cut the green chocolate blob. I took my unshowered, non-make-up self to the Teeter and bought Chocolate Bark (which another website recommended). I bought white chocolate and milk chocolate.

I actually attempted the microwave again, and this time it worked great. Brooklyn and I were cooking with gas now!

I saw a great technique online where you take plastic forks and break off the two inner tines. They were great to dip the cake balls without much mess. Once they were fully coated, I dropped them back into the chocolate and pushed a lollipop stick down the middle about halfway. (Gotta do this part quick because the chocolate hardens fairly quickly.)

So....Brooklyn and I did this about 40 times using one package of each color (worked out perfectly as far as the amount of chocolate verses cake).

Then, we got a sexy model to help display our creations.

All in all, once I got my technique down and bought the new chocolate, this project turned out to be quite easy and fairly inexpensive.

And it made a pretty cute addition to the wedding shower food table, if I do say so myself.

If you are interested in getting a more professional tutorial, then visit this website to get the best directions.