Spoiled?

For today I'm going to take a little aside from talk of dieting and exercise and write about something that has been heavy on my mind and REALLY having doing a number on my moods as of late.

So when you grew up never having heard the word budget how to you become a frugal adult? I wouldn't say I was an overindulged youngster. (Hmmm...is that what all spoiled kids say? Ha!) I wasn't really into labels growing up. In my household I don't ever remember seeing the 'rents balancing a checkbook or making a grocery list from a store circular. I went to college right out of high school (OK, Jr college) and towards the end of my freshman year I met the man that would become my husband the next fall. This man had been on his own for 6 years (out of his parents' home, with student loans, a job, and a weekend warrior with the Army Reserves. Man, talk about grown up!!

During our first few years I thought I was Superwoman and could do the whole budget, keeping house, keeping up with the bills, and be the best wife and mother EVER thing. We wound up in the red in the bank and having the biggest fight we'd had up to that point. I couldn't do it and that crushed me. Sadly, with my husband's growing salary I thought we could live high on the hog and soon learned that this was not the case. We still needed to budget and I needed to NOT spend so much of our money!

But how do you learn to budget when you've never been taught and seems like every inch of your fiber is fighting against it?!?! I know things would be much better between the Hubby and I if I could master this task. And I know that I would be a happier person and likely feel more like I am contributing in a tangible way to this household.

I feel like a small child when I want to grab a bite to eat for lunch away from the house when I'm on my own during the day. I feel like I should go home and sit in a time out chair or do some other penance for my misdeeds. I sold several bags of books to Half Price Books and find myself having to explain myself for buying my son dinner before he heads off to do chains for a JV football game instead of making him wait until he gets home 4-5 hours later to eat something. How do I change my way of thinking about money and budgets without feeling like I'm changing who I am? How do I stop crying and alienating my husband every couple of days because I feel like I can't measure up to his idea of a good manager of our money?

You're getting sleepy...sleeepyyyy....

So the other day I was wandering around Half Price Books waiting for my couple of dollars for the boxes of books I'd brought in when I found myself in the "Audiobooks" section. One of the CDs I perused was on hypnotism to help you stay on your diet. I didn't buy it, mostly because I'm somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to all things hypnotic. Supposedly this thing was supposed to help teach you how to go into a "trance," overcome cravings, keep yourself motivated to stick with your diet, encourage rethinking about exercise, and more. Something along the lines of this.


I won't lie to you...I almost DID grab it up to see if it'd do anything to help. I've stuck with my weight loss path pretty well recently. Through migraines, sickness, etc...I've managed to workout on a regular basis and say NO to many tempting food stuffs! Yay me!!

OK, anyway, back to what I was saying...in the past I've gotten CDs that you're supposed to listen to at night that help you subliminally be excited to exercise and motivate you in general. But my problem is that I don't sleep alone. There's that pesky Hubby in bed next to me most nights. And because of this cohabitant I would have to use ear buds/earphones to listen to anything "in my sleep," as he wants it silent and as dark as we can get it in the room for an optimal sleeping environment. I'd use ear buds, but I have to tell you I have a somewhat irrational fear that I'm going to get the cord wrapped around my neck and be strangled to death. For the record, I do NOT want to kick the bucket before I get laser hair removal on my chin/neck...Hubby's threatened to "let it grow" postmortem. I DO NOT want THAT look at my funeral!!! ICK!!

So I'm curious if there's any of you out there in the blogosphere that have any opinions concerning hypnotism for more than just embarrassing yourself at a stage show or laughing at your friends when they start clucking like a chicken every time the dryer bell dings.

Pink hats

This past week I joined a new group! A friend of mine asked me if I'd like to come over to her house for some fun and friendship. I jumped at the opportunity (as getting out of the house and being more social has kinda been a thing of mine these days) and headed over. I soon found out this was no ordinary group. These were some WONDERFUL gals!! The group is called "Disorganized Divas" and actually a chapter of the Red Hat Society!

For those who might have heard of the Red Hats but don't know anything about them, I'll let you know a little something. From my understanding its a social group of ladies. The ladies over 50 wear royal purple and red hats. Anyone joining who is younger than 50 wears lavender and a pink hat. So that makes me a Pink Hat. They get together for meals, shopping, vacations, and just to be together. So far they have been LOADS of fun!! I went over to our Queen's house for pizza, companionship, and karaoke that first night. Then yesterday I met with some of the ladies from our group and another group for lunch downtown.


We laughed SO much and had a fabulous time!! They gave me a little ribbing for ordering a salad at lunch, but ah well...all in good fun.

The Red Hats are a worldwide organization and such a great group of women! If you have the opportunity I would suggest finding one for yourself in your area. I can say with all confidence that I believe I've made some life long friends (and possibly even a workout buddy! Yay!!).

Move It! Move It!

One thing I've discovered over the years I've been searching for that tricky little thing I call skinny is that I LOVE to dance!! The great thing is that dancing is a GREAT work-out when you really get in to it. Usually I'll just work on Dance, Dance Revolution, which has their own song list. but sometimes I like to do step aerobics to my own songs on Wii Fit. Here's my workout song list, its pretty varied (don't judge..ha!) and includes current songs as well as some older tunes.

3 - Britney Spears
4 Minutes - Madonna & Justin Timberlake
1985 - Bowling for Soup
Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
Alejandro - Lady Gaga
All Star - Smashmouth
Anywhere USA - PYT
Baby Don't Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
Back in Time - Huey Lewis & The News
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Black or White - Michael Jackson
Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
Break the Ice - Britney Spears
Bulletproof - La Roux
Bye Bye Bye - N*Sync
California Gurls - Katy Perry
Can't Hold Us Down - Christina Aguilera
Candyman - Christina Aguilera
Celebration - Kool & The Gang
Check On It - Beyonce
Circus - Britney Spears
Cold Hearted Snake - Paula Abdul
Cruel Summer - BLESTeNATION
Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy
Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
Disturbia - Rihanna
Down - Jay Sean
Dynamite - Taio Cruz
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert
Gimme More - Britney spears
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory
Gotta Get Through This - Daniel Bedingfield
Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
Hurts so Good - John Cougar Mellencamp
I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff
I Like It - Enrique Iglesias
If You Seek Amy - Britney Spears
Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas
Jump - Van Halen
Just Dance - Lady Gaga
Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
Let's Get Rocked - Def Leppard
Locomotion - Kylie Minogue
Love Game - Lady Gaga
Low - Flo-Rida
Magic - Selena Gomez
Me Against The Music - Britney Spears
Music - Madonna
My First Kiss - 3OH!3
OMG - Usher
Party For Two - Shania Twain
Please Don't Stop The Music - Rihanna
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Rise above It - Lock, Stock, & Barrel
Rock That Body - Black Eyed Peas
See You Again - Miley Cyrus
Secy Back - Justin Timberlake
Shake That - Eminem
Smack That - Akon
Step By Step - New Kids On The Block
Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall
This Ain't A Scene - Fall Out boy
Tik Tok - Ke$ha
U + Ur Hand - Pink
Up! - Shania Twain
Walking on sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
We Got The Beat - The Gogo's
Yeah! - Usher
You Can Leave Your Hat On - Tom Jones
You shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Your Love Is My Drug - Ke$ha

That's the total 79 songs, which is WAY more than I'd probably need in any one workout session. Although, if I REALLY get into it, you never know! Ha! Do you have a song list that pumps you up and keeps you going? Is music even a motivator for you while you're "in the zone" of calorie burning?

Mixing It Up

Recently I have to say I've been doing pretty well with my weight loss. I got on the Wii Fit this morning and had lost 0.4 lbs since last week. No, its not exactly anything to write home about. Yet, I feel considering the fact that I've been sick over the past week, its a success nonetheless!

One of the things I've been trying to do is to mix it up with my food choices. Money is SUPER tight around our house right now, so eating out has definitely been cut from the budget!! I'm eating at home every day!! And in order to keep myself from getting bored with the same things every day, I have to search out new recipes that are tasty, filling, and still healthy for my personal goals.

I have MANY cookbooks around the house, but also get the magazine Cooking Light delivered to the house. So monthly, I thumb through my periodical in search of something yummy. Here's some examples of recipes I've discovered and found to be SUPER delicious.

Chicken stuffed with spinach and feta

(above is the dish cooking)

Chicken stuffed with spinach & feta cheese
served with brown rice and green beans

Tuna Salad in a Pita
ingredients:
Tuna (canned in water)
Craisins
Celery
Green Grapes
Dill Pickle Relish
Light Mayo
Ranch Dressing
Hard Boiled Eggs

Another treat that just doesn't photograph as well, is Sugar Free Jell-O mixed with Fat-Free Cool Whip. I just combine the two in a bowl and stir together gently. I usually cube the Jell-O and add it to a bowl then add in the Cool Whip. This is a delicious light afternoon snack or great somewhat impromptu dessert.

All of these things have been super tasty and very filling!! Do you have any recipes that work for you that are budget, taste, and weight loss friendly?

Happy dieting?

I've known many women who have dieted, some have been successful...others not just yet. One thing I have come to notice is that dieting seems to change people in more ways than physically. This phenomenon also changes you emotionally. I have come to notice that larger gals, myself being one of them tend to get pigeon-holed into a certain role. We are expected to be jovial, in a sense. I think its kind of a "Santa Claus Syndrome" where you are expected to laugh fully and be a vessel of happiness to all around you. Even thumbing through a Lane Bryant catalog, most of the women appear to be smiling.



Then I catch a glimpse of a fashion show on TV supposedly aimed at the every woman (saw it on the View) and not a single model is smiling. If I do achieve somewhat of skinny status someday, am I to be doomed to not smile if trying to look fashionable? Why are they always looking so upset and unhappy? I know women who have lost weight and it seemed a little more of their bitchiness came out. Now, far be it from me to say that I can't bitch out with the best of them. I just don't think its excused as easily when I'm heavier.



So I wonder is does this transition into a less positive attitude always happen when losing weight? I can say that I have known people who are still just as happy and fun folks be they heavy or thin, so I do not say this as a blanket statement. I guess I'm saying I'd just like to see the occasional professional fashion model smiling on the catwalk.

Do you know people whose personalities seemed to change with their dress size?

Be back soon

This post will be a short one. I've been doing well with my eating and keeping everything in a food journal. I have not been doing well with exercise, however. The reason for this is that I've been sick. Ick! So, I've assured Hubby that if I don't get to feeling better later today, I'll go to the doctor tomorrow. It's been a miserable mess if stuffiness, headaches, sore throat, fever, and overall feeling of yuckiness for about three days. Here's hoping things improve today.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Stay on track

It's not always easy to stay the course when you feel like you're on a weight loss plan by yourself in a house. Last night I did manage to get hubby to do 30 minutes of yoga (had to convince him that doing so naked would only make me laugh hysterically and throw off his balance).

Again this morning I woke up around 4:30am. The only difference was this time I stayed awake all day instead of taking a 2-3 hour nap mid-day as I did yesterday. I've been going to bed around 10pm every night, so I guess by then my body is just done sleeping for the evening. Ah well. I've gotten out of bed in the morning rather than try to fight it because it seems like in the past when I have gone back to sleep I've just laid around the house all day and gotten absolutely NOTHING done at all!

I've been keeping my food diary on my iPod, so I'm pleased with that facet of this process. I didn't pick the best food choices today, but I have managed to stay under my calorie goal by about 600 calories. I've tried to at least have a bagel in the morning for breakfast, or a s*** fast shake, so I get things going early on. I know all too well that skipping breakfast can only hurt you rather than help you when trying to lose weight.

Tonight I think I'll do some Wii Fit Plus yoga, a little strength training, and then finish up with some step aerobics. Now that I have songs on my iPod again, I want to take full advantage of the upbeat newly added tunes.

I think I'll take the movies back to Blockbuster tonight, too...that way I can get the next set in the mail and get the new ones that come out next Tuesday when I'm ready to trade out again.

Postings everywhere!!

Welcome to my new tool box! Yes, Post-Its/sticky notes! I have put then up all over the house to remind me to do little things throughout my day. =) One of the messages greeting me at every corner says this:

As I mentioned before, I do better at keeping up with weight-loss related items if I blog on a regular basis. So that should explain this one.

The next is also kind of self-explanatory.

This one is the most prevalent in my household. I think I have one or two in almost every room in the house. This morning it seemed to do the trick, and I'm hoping that it will continue to do so later in the day when I go for workout-round 2. I'm trying to mix up my workouts these days, so I don't get so burn-out so quickly and just let it fall by the way-side. This morning I started with some yoga, followed by a little cardio dance instruction courtesy of a Dancing With The Stars DVD. This afternoon I think I'll hit the EA Active "game" on the Wii. Then I'll follow it all up with some Dance Dance Revolution this evening.

Here's the last post it:

Again, kind of self-explanatory. We seem to have a problem with achieving a steady stream of finished laundry in this house. I placed one of these by all the hampers in the house (master bathroom, son's room, daughter's room), on the wall in the kids' bathroom, and on the door that leads to the laundry room. By doing this I'm hoping that at least three loads of laundry will get done every day. I know that may seem like a lot, but eventually it'll even out and we'll have to do less (I hope!). And for the record, I already started my load today.

I'm thinking I'll make some chicken salad for lunch today and have it with some pita bread. I LOVE that stuff!! If it turns out to taste super yummy, I'll post the recipe. I think its one I took out of a magazine.

Be well friends!

Time management

I have recently acquired a new laptop. Well, sort of. My mother-in-law seems to have this thing for buying electronics. They're kind of disposable for her. She bought the one I'm talking about and then one day discovered that it no longer turned on. So she put it aside and went and got another one.


With my penchant for laptop repair, hubby thought he'd bring it home and see if I could diagnose and fix the problem. Knowing already that it wouldn't turn on, I decided first to check the battery. I took the battery off of my laptop and plugged it in (as my battery was fully charged). And wah-lah! We have start-up! Turns out the problem was simply that the laptop wasn't recognizing the AC adapter. So I went about dismantling the case to get to the appropriate plug. I got to it, sort of...its encased in plastic that I was unable to free it from without probable serious permanent damage.

So comes the chance for some serious time management. With a fully charged battery, I have just under 4 hours of life on this portable life support machine I call a laptop. Ha! Yes, I could go upstairs and play around on the desktop PC up there, but I'm trying to save that one for business purposes only. So I am resigning myself to cutting down the time I spend "plugged in" to the virtual world I keep in my head and on the Internet. This should help me with my exercise routine as well. If I'm not always on a computer, then I will have time available to do other things.

For more years than I can remember, when I've asked hubby what he wants for his birthday, he has responded with: "a clean house and a BJ." So this year, seeing as how we are in a cash tight situation for the time being, I've decided to give him just that! So today the kids and I are busy cleaning the house and organizing things. I even got the kids to help me move a non-working car out of the garage so I could get another dresser and move it into our bedroom for more storage room. I'm kind of good at the second part of that request, and even enjoy it, so that shouldn't be a problem either (after the kidlets get tucked into bed for the evening and the appropriate doors locked...ha!).

Another advantage of this new scheduling adjustment in my days is more time to keep the house clean! This is another constant request from hubby. And truth be told, I do feel more at peace when habitating in a tidy abode. *grin* Just don't tell hubby!! Ha!

So I'm off to take care of some other online duties, before my timer runs out and this contraption starts yelling at me telling me the battery's about to go out on me; then its off to more cleaning. He'll be home in just under 2 hours after all!


Good luck in all your endeavors, friends!

She lives!!!

This past month, August, has not been one of my better months, I must admit.

Kyle and I had an unfortunate, but altogether necessary, financial "come to Jesus meeting," which ending in my "voluntarily" surrendering of the credit cards. My neighbor and good friend's mother passed away. My old maid great aunt passed away. And to top it off, I fell HARD off the weight loss wagon.

At one point this month I thought I'd made a real breakthrough! I had started consistently using Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii as a workout tool. I'd dance for about 30-40 minutes a day. I kept this up for about 10 days without missing a single day. Some days I even managed to work in an hour or more with this new trend I was starting for myself. Then death hit across the street. I was spending so much time doing whatever I could to help out a friend (pick up family at the airport, shop for upcoming birthday presents, pick up and pay for food for the reception to follow funeral services, etc...) that I'd stopped making time to work out. School was about to start for the kids and I thought this would offer me the time I was looking for to get back into it.

The first day of my kids' new school year hubby and I were headed to South Texas for the visitation and funeral services for my aunt. We stayed in a hotel overnight and then came home to a lot of busy days. We got back to the house early Tuesday (Aug. 24th) evening and then Wednesday (Aug. 25th) evening I had a meeting at the church for this year's confirmation class. On Friday (Aug. 27th), there was a Meet the Pirate night scheduled (a scrimmage football game and fundraising opportunity for the AFJROTC at the high school) that I was fated to attend and help out with. The next Monday (Aug. 30th) was Meet the Teacher night at both the high school and junior high. Of course, they were both pretty much at the same time as each other. Dear hubby had to work and I needed to be the one meeting their teachers anyway (I'm the one, not he, that deals with homework and parent-teacher communication throughout the year). For Meet the Teacher night at the high school I needed to compose a sign-up sheet for parents to fill out for AFJROTC (I'm the current secretary for the booster club) and get it up to the school and enough copies printed/copied for the task at hand.

Tuesday night (Aug. 31st), dear hubby left to go hunting for the week/weekend. The kids had school and so we stayed up here. We thought about meeting up with him at the farm house on Friday (Sept. 3rd), but the kids wanted to stay in town and attend a youth function at the church instead. Then I found out dear daughter has duties to perform at church on Sunday (this morning, Sept. 5th), so we're staying around here for the entire time hubby's away. Dear son went to a lock-in at the church Friday night and then to a LAN gaming party last night; so his social calendar was all kinds of full this weekend. Hubby will be back some time Monday evening, and until then the kids and I are keeping it low key at home (well I know I am, at least). Hubby DID leave me a credit card for the week/weekend, but with distinct instruction that it ONLY be used for groceries and gas for the car...NOTHING else! And eating out does NOT constitute grocery spending.

So I just haven't made time is what it boils down to in the end. I've been trying to eat better, which not having access to a credit card helps tremendously with that little task! No cash/no credit cards = No dining out!! Hubby shops for groceries, so that keeps me on the straight and narrow as far as eating better goes as well.

I guess in the end I know that I need to buckle down and just DO it! Perhaps I'll post little post-it notes all over the house telling myself to exercise and write my foods down in a food journal...and to BLOG REGULARLY!! I am being honest when I say that blogging on a regular basis has truly helped in me in my efforts. It makes me feel accountable to many people online. And somehow that seems to help me more than even being answerable to a local group of people. I feel like I'm letting various readers of this blog down when I don't update regularly.

So here's to my re-birth into the world of weight loss and blogging! "Dorsey will never go away agaaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnn!" (Just picture me singing it to the tune of "Hello, Dolly!" I'm sure that'll at least give you a chuckle.)