The night I almost stood up Adam Levine!

Last Thursday I was in my office changing clothes for my work out class and the phone rang. The conversation that followed went like this:

Tyson: Mom that Maroon 5 concert is tonight!
Me: No it's not Tyson, it's next Thursday.
Tyson: Mom, it's not it's tonight!
Me: Son it's on my calendar for next week. I've got to go to my workout class.
Tyson: MOM , I talked to Megan at school and she said see you at the concert TONIGHT!!!!!

I decide to stop changing and look online and OMG it was that night! I instantly go in to absolute freak out mode. I started trying to call Tristin to see if she could meet us half way because I definitely didn't have time to go all the way and get her and still make it to the concert. I even considered not going because it was all a mess and not going the way it was supposed to.

On the way home I decided we were going to the concert, we were going to have a good time and Tristin and I would just have to go do something special very very soon! I had a cleanse approved dinner in the crock pot (I'll post the recipe tomorrow!) so dinner was taken care of! We ate got dressed and off we went!

Ready for some fun!

 

I have never taken the kids to a concert before and we had the best best best time! We saw Owl City, Neon Trees, and Maroon 5. They were all great. It was so fun to sit between my babies and sing our hearts out!

 

Owl City singing Fireflies

 

Neon Trees singing Everybody Talks

 

Maroon 5 singing Won't Go Home Without You

 

 

Pardon the crappy quality of the videos but I had to post some because it was just that great of a concert! Other than Tristin not being there it was a perfect night!

 

CLEANSE UPDATE: I didn't give up on the cleanse I just am a lousy updater. Today was day nine and I feel great! I felt really yucky for about six days. I really think that I was detoxing from all the sugar and caffeine and other processed crap I had in my body. I haven't had a headache since Sunday morning and I am so thankful for that! Here's the craziest part I honestly feel like all of my cravings are gone. It's sounds weird to say but I don't feel hungry at all. I love this feeling!!! I had some challenges with feeling yucky and a couple of nights that I wasn't at home for dinner and I had to get really creative but it was worth figuring it out. I'm excited to weigh and measure Thursday morning and see if I have lost any weight or inches. I will be posting my results that evening and then it's on to the next phase of the challenge!

 

Check back tomorrow I will be posting all my favorite recipes so far!

 

 

-Sarah



 

 



Things are starting to move!

Sooooooo........ I know this is way way way TMI but we're talking about a cleanse here right? I was thinking maybe it wasn't working because I hadn't well, ya know cleansed. Well let me tell yeah, not an issue anymore. I am clean as a whistle!!

Today was not very exciting food wise. I had an Advocare meal replacement shake for breakfast. It was vanilla and I threw some frozen berries in the blender with 8 oz of water. Lunch was leftovers from last night and it was still great even warmed up! Same snacks AGAIN! I'm not bored of it yet. I won't be having an apple tomorrow though because Tyson's eating the last one right now! Maybe celery and PB instead? Here's where I got super lazy. Kids ate out because it's church night and I really didn't feel like cooking just for me so I just had carrots and hummus.

I had a really really crappy evening. When I came home the first thing I did was open the fridge. I would like to think that if there was something unhealthy in there I would have had the strength to pass it up. The truth is I don't know. The good thing is I don't have to find out because this house is stocked with healthy food choices! It's the small things my friends!

I hate to post with no pictures but I'm using Kiley's iPad so I'll have to make up for it with something fabulous tomorrow!

-Sarah

Am I skinny yet???

 

I wish it worked that way!!!! I think that is one of the reasons I give up when trying to lose weight. I'm impatient and I want to see results right away. I want my body to match my new lifestyle. This time I have no choice but to keep going. I will lose this weight!

 

Remember yesterday when I told you I took a really hard kickboxing class??? My quads hurt worse than they ever have in my life. I was literally up at 3am googling stretches for sore quads. I've been miserable most of the day because of them. Crazy, right??? After I picked Kiley up from dance I stopped at Wal-mart and bought a foam roller. I came straight home and busted that bad boy out. I can't even begin to explain the noises that were coming out of my mouth. It hurt sooo bad! I had Tyson take a picture so I could show off my new Brady Band. It's Chicago Bears and I love it. These bands DO NOT SLIP! Check out the website www.bradybands.com. They are super reasonable and they have tons of cute designs. By the way I wasn't really on a sore spot at this point because the ones he took when I was my face was so awful.

 

I had to crop this picture so I didn't get the laundry in it. Looks like a stray sock showed up anyway :0)

 

Even though I was sore I took a step class at work. It was good but OMG I can't hula hoop and it is making me crazy! The first time I went to the class they used hula hoops for the ab workout at the end. I tried and tried but I could not do it! So today she asked who wanted to do hula hoops for the abs. I was like NOT ME! I just crunched on the bench so I could actually get an ab workout in. While I was at Wal-mart getting the ab roller I bought two hula hoops. After Kiley went to bed Tyson and I began project hula hoop. He couldn't do it either but I said to him that it looks like the ladies in class are going more back and forth than around and around. After I said that, it took him about a minute to figure out how to do it! I wanted to throw my hula hoop at him!!! I worked and worked and worked but still haven't got it. I will not be beaten by a plastic circle dangit! So I asked Tyson to take another picture of me, this time with the hoop. He said the only way he would is if I would put a shirtless picture of him on the blog. (Have I mentioned he's such goof ball) As irritated as I was that I couldn't get it down, Tyson and I had so much fun. We laughed our butts off and I broke a little sweat too so that can't be bad!

 

I don't know what is on my shirt? Tyson asked if I was lactating!

 

He had to move in the living room so his abs would have better lighting!

 

 

Day two of the advocare 24 day challenge is done! The hardest part today was still the diet coke. I kinda of wanted to grab one off of the table next to mine at lunch and run away with it. I might have if my quads hadn't hurt so bad!!!

 

I had the same breakfast and snacks as yesterday. For lunch I had the leftover shrimp tacos from last night. They were still good warmed up! For dinner I made Spaghetti Squash with Grilled Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes. As I was making it it wasn't really looking like the beautiful picture on the website I got the recipe from. I also dirtied like every dish I own! When it was done I was it definitely wasn't really pretty but it was FABULOUS!!!! Winner winner chicken dinner!!! I packed up the left overs for lunch tomorrow.

 

Hideous but so yummy!

 

 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Whole Spaghetti squash

2 T extra virgin olive oil

4 Cloves garlic, minced

1 Cup Chicken broth (low sodium)

1/3 Cup Sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 Cups broccoli florets

1 Cups frozen peas

2 Whole chicken breasts grilled and sliced

Preparation Instructions:

1. Cut Spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scrape/remove seeds with a spoon.

2. Cook squash in microwave cut side down and cook for 8 minutes. Let squash cool.

3. Using a fork, scrape the inside of the squash with the times to remove strands.

4. In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Saute 1 minute.

5. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth, sun dried tomatoes, and broccoli and saute 5 minutes.

6. Add peas, grilled chicken, and remaining 3/4 cup of chicken broth.

7. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover skillet and simmer for about 3 minutes.

8. Serve on top of the squash strands. Enjoy!

 

Now my foam roller and I are going to bed. The hula hoop isn't welcome. It's sleeping on the couch!

 

 



-Sarah



 

 

 

 

 





KILEY ANNE IS A TEENAGER!!!!!

Two posts in one night!!!! What the heck??? I couldn't let my baby girl's birthday pass without blogging about it! I can not believe I have three teenagers! Time is just going by so fast. I wish I could figure out how to s l o w  i t  d o w n ! There is no way to even begin to tell you how much I love being Kiley's mom. People tell us all the time how much she looks like me and acts like me and I agree we are very similar in looks and in some of our personality traits but the truth is she is so much better than me. AND I love that. She is smart, funny, beautiful, kind and she loves God so much! She is not afraid to be her own person even if that means going away from the crowd. She has a smile that lights up my whole world. Her personality is so quirky and I really love that. She never matches her socks and she wears her hair in braids every Monday. She loves being in different clubs at school and is a true leader. Kiley reads everything she can get her hands on, loves animals and thinks recycling and taking care of the planet is super important.

We celebrated Kiley's 13th birthday 4 times! That kids is LOVED! Her first party was while we were in Illinois for Spring Break. We celebrated all four of the family's March birthdays!

 

Her second party was with her friends the day after we got home from Illinois. (why yes, I am in fact super mom) We went to see Oz and it was soooooo good! I loved it. Oh yeah, the kids loved it too!

I swear these children are not on a double date even though it looks like it!

 

On Sunday, her actual birthday we went to Chili's for lunch after church. Her choice! The sang to her and she loved it and was embarrassed all at the same time!

 

And finally, we had her birthday dinner at Mom's tonight! I guess since it's been celebrated so many times I definitely can't deny that she is 13. Kiley asked Mom to get her books for her birthday. Usually Mom gets her an Amazon gift card but Kiley really wanted her to pick out the books herself. For some reason it was really important to her. Mom spent so much time getting just the right ones and worrying that Kiley wouldn't like them. Kiley was so happy that she took the time to do that!

Fake candle blow because I wasn't quick enough to get the real one!

 

-Sarah





Advocare Cleanse Day One

I'm not gonna lie folks, as I sit here writing this I kinda feel like crap! I have a headache from no diet coke (did I mention I drank a whole 2-Liter yesterday?) and my body feels pretty yuck from withdrawals from sugar and other processed crud! I hope, hope, hope I will remember how this feels the next time I decide to start eating like a crazy woman!

The only thing I craved today was diet coke. Other than that I was ok. I even watched my family eat red velvet cake at Kiley's bday party and didn't feel tempted to eat any! I also drank 117 oz of water!!! So what did I eat? Here goes:

For breakfast I had oatmeal with a handful of blueberries and a tiny bit of agave nectar.

My oatmeal of choice.

 

I took a kickboxing class at 9:30. It was hard! I had a snack after that and another snack around 4:00pm.

All natural peanut butter! Like seriously the only ingredient is peanuts!! (Look at my silly turtle posing)

Love me some cuties!!!

 

Ok so here was the one total fail of the day! My lunch was disgusting!!! I mean seriously gross! I won't even type the recipe because I will not be responsible for making anybody try this stuff. I discovered I hate the spice thyme. That may have been part of the problem. Check this mess out!

 

It was a chicken avocado salad. How nasty does this look???

 

Kiley requested cheeseburgers for her bday dinner at Mom's so I brought my own and let me tell you it was soooo fabulous!!!! Yummy baby! Here's the recipe:

Clean Eating Taco Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 pound large, pre-cooked shrimp - thawed if frozen

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. In a skillet, cook the shrimp in the olive oil and sprinkle on the seasoning in the last few minutes of cooking.

2. Mix well and serve.

3. Sprinkle the lime juice over the shrimp just prior to serving.

Clean Eating Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

2T ground cumin

1t paprika

1/2t cayenne pepper

1/2t onion powder

1/2t garlic powder

1/4t black pepper

1/4t chili powder

Directions:

1. Blend all spices in a bowl :0)

 

I served the shrimp mixture on a 100 calorie whole grain tortilla. I know you are supposed to eat your carbs earlier in the day but I didn't so oh well! ;0) I garnished with lettuce and a little bit of salsa. So so so good!
 

I had two of these beauties!

 

This yummy recipe is from www.thegraciouspantry.com. She has so many amazing recipes!

 

I really hope that there aren't too many more days of headache and withdrawals. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

 

-Sarah



 





Preparing for the 24 day challenge

I am at an all time high with my weight. I can't even begin to express how this makes me feel! I know that those of you that have experienced weight struggles understand. I am starting the Advocare 24 day challenge tomorrow. I was thinking if this doesn't work I just don't know what I will do!!! But here's the deal: It's not like the other things I have done haven't worked, I just give up and stop trying!!!! There are no secrets just eat healthy and exercise. I'm not expecting this challenge to be a magic pill it is just a tool. I'm going to post each night during the 10 day cleanse phase with what I have eaten for the day and what my exercise looks like. I will post results on day 11 and day 24. I have all my foods for tomorrow prepared and my bag packed so I can take the 9:30 kickboxing class at work. It looks like I am moving in to work I am taking so much stuff!!!

I have my eating for the first 10 days all planned! Here are a list of the meals I will be preparing and eating. Each night when I post about the day I will include the recipes.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal and fruit
Egg scramble and fruit
Black Bean and Egg Scramble

Lunch:
Leftovers :0)
Chicken and avocado salad
Grilled chicken with pineapple brown rice
Avocado egg salad
Salmon Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad

Dinner:
Warm pineapple and chicken salad
Slow cooker salmon
Asian chicken stir fry
Zesty bunless burger
Chicken and spinach skillet dish
Slow cooker chicken burritos
Spaghetti squash with grilled chicken and sun dried tomatoes
Taco shrimp

Snacks:
Trail mix
Fruit and almonds
Hard boiled egg and fruit
Apple or Celery and natural peanut butter
Veggie and hummus

I am excited to see some results!!! I'm not thinking it's going to be easy but it must be done. I'm the most scared about NO DIET COKE!!!!! Check back through the week for some recipes and hopefully some pounds gone!

                                                                                             

-Sarah

Spring Break

We went to Illinois for spring break this past week. I moved from Ill to Texas at six years old with my family. I spent many summers in Ill with my Grandparents, cousins, Aunts and Uncles. I also lived there from 18-23. This is when I met my ex and had my kids. All that to say, Illinois is like a second home for me. I am very very close to my family that lives there. My Aunt Jenny and her husband Chad gave us a very generous gift for Christmas that paid for our trip. We had such a wonderful time. It was hard to leave. Goodbyes really stink! Here are some pictures from the week.

Uncle Rick and my girls.

 Tyson and our cousin Meghan.

 



Kiley and MANY of the cousins.

Kiley playing hide and seek with the little ones.

The kids even got a run in on vacation!

Enjoying blue moon ice cream at the mall!

The girls got their cartilage pierced! OUCH!

The kids and Nanny. She looks so short!

Saying goodbye to John and Meghan. So hard!!!

 

                                  

                                                      -Sarah

                                                                                                      

Valentines Day (a little late!)

I love Valentines Day!!! I have ALWAYS loved Valentines Day! It doesn't matter if I am single or attached I still think it's a wonderful happy day! I think part of that is because my Mom always made sure growing up that we had a fun day celebrating our love for each other. When I was married the ex and I would always celebrate Valentines Day the weekend before or after and he would take the girls out on the actual day and Tyson would take me out on a date. I have such good memories of going to the batting cages, movies, bowling, and go cart riding with Tyson when he was a little bitty guy.

This year was no different. I got flowers delivered to work from my secret on and off special guy.

Aren't they beautiful???? Tulips are my most favorite flowers! EVER!

 

 

The ex has really fallen down on the whole taking Kiley out for Valentines Day deal so I asked Tyson to please ask her if she would like to come on our date. He said no. That's stupid. She's coming anyway and she's my sister, I'm not going to be all will you be my Valentine? Two nights before Valentines Day she was very excited after school and telling him all about her track practice. Did I mention Kiley has always hated to run and I have a strong suspicion that her sudden interest in track has something to do with the fact that running is one of Tyson's passion's and she thinks he is super awesome and loves his approval????? Anyway, as she was walking away he said Kiley do you wanna come to Valentines dinner with me and Mom. She oh so casually said sure. I made very very sure I did not even glance in their direction!

 

We went out for sushi!!! Tyson and I are sushi lovers! Kiley not so much. She ordered steak. We waited forever and ever an EVER for our table. Some of that is too be expected of course but this was crazy crazy! So by the time we got our table one of us (me) was a little grouchy. Tyson said I have something to lighten the mood and pulled a list out of his pocket that said this:

 

10 things I love about the girls in my house:

1. You guys are so hilarious

2. You guys are so strong willed and independant

3. You're the best Mom and Sister I could ask for

4. You can both beat me at Just Dance

5. You love God

6. We all share freckles

7. We can share anything with each other

8. Y'all support all my crazy goals and ambitions

9. You listen to my stories about working out (and act like you're interested)

10. You never let me get too full of myself

 

Truly one of those nights you never forget. I really love these crazy kids!

 

My dates!

Ahi tower appitezer! So yummy!

Our three amazing sushi rolls!

 

 





Weigh-In Wednesday FAIL!

I'm not going to sugar coat it. I blew it big time this week.

 

Thank you, Dr. Phil. It's' true!!! I stepped on the scale this morning and I was right back to 224. Everything I had lost right back on! Let me tell you why.

 

It started very innocently with a work luncheon last Thursday. I picked out all the bread and just ate the sandwich innards. Had the fruit and stayed away from the dessert. I couldn't decide how to log it so the reasonable thing to do was go eat Mexican food for dinner. WAIT!!! WHAT THE CRAP???? Then I had to put on a luncheon at work on Friday. Right before lunch this very rude women was very well rude and so I decided to punish her by eating all the bad stuff at the luncheon. WAIT!!! WHAT THE CRAP AGAIN???? I was so mad at myself after lunch that I decided to skip dinner. So guess what? I woke up STARVING! My darling niece requested donuts for breakfast Saturday morning and Aunt Sarah aims to please. I ate a few million donuts because thats what good Aunts do! We spent the day at Kiley's dance recital and I ate nachos from the concession stand.

Is she not the cutest???





That night was Tyson cross country banquet and by this point I was so out of control that I ate everything that wasn't nailed down!!!! It was a very long night and the last three hours were spent watching the teenagers dance. I LOVE TO DANCE! I was given strict warnings not to step foot on the dance floor. Doesn't Tyson know nobody puts baby in the corner!!!!!! My table was right in front of the candy bar so needless to say, we became well aquainted.

Cross Country Rookie of the Year!!!

 

I ended the week on Sunday with a chili lunch at Mom's and a fajita dinner at church. It was a bad bad bad food week!

 

All I can do is put my big very friggin big girl panties on and get back to it. I don't want to be this weight. I am physically miserable! I was at an all day work thing on Thursday and I truly could not sit comfortably. It was hard to cross my legs. I know what to do, I know what to do, I know what to do. I just have to do it.

 

Check out my fellow bloggers who are participating in Weigh-In Wednesday. I hope they had a better week then I did!

 

 

 



                         

-Sarah

Weigh-In Wednesday

So yesterday I was getting ready for work and I felt SOOOOO happy. I had a serious spring in my step. I was trying to figure out what the heck I was so happy about. Did something happen the day before I couldn't remember? Was there something great on the agenda for the day? Then it hit me!!!! I didn't feel sick, I actually had energy! Farewell flu, you dirty whore!!!!

Eating went good this week. I stayed under my calories every day. I weighed in this morning and.......

 

 

 

Minus .8 pounds baby! Normally that would totally bum me out but I am choosing to be happy with it! I am going in the right direction and I'm not gonna stop until I get to my goal. (who is this positive person????)  So I'm down a total of 3.4 since the first of the year!

 

I have discovered the yummiest breakfast EVER!!!! It's the low fat eggo waffles with cinnamon laughing cow cream cheese spread and a banana cut up between the two waffles. It's 238 calories.

 



I had to hold the plate up high so you couldn't see all the clothes on my bedroom floor oh and check out the banana on my thumb. Classy!

 

Last night for dinner I made this quick and easy number. It is chicken breast strips, red and green pepper, mushroom, and onions. I cooked some whole wheat elbow macaroni and poured marinara over it. 337 Calories for the this fabu dinner!



 



 

So this week I'm going to continue counting my calories with the lose it app. Now that I'm feeling back to normal I am going to get back on the treadmill and tackle the stairs again. The other thing I am going to work on is drinking my 100 oz of water. I am currently drinking about half of that right now.

 

Somebody posted this smoking hot chick's picture in MLFC and I had to copy it. I think she looks awesome and this is a great motivation picture for me. I would LOVE to have her figure!!!





 

Speaking of being creepy and copying pictures of people I don't know off facebook I took a screen shot of a conversation from fit club because I am in love with Toni's bangs. (I don't know Toni but if you do tell her not to sue me for being a stalker!!!!) Anyway, I'm going to have my fabulous sister in law/hair stylist hook me up with some bangs!



Aren't they sooo cute!!???

 

Alright, that's all I've got for now!!! Check out my fellow Wednesday weigh-inners!!!! 

 

 



 

 

-Sarah

 

 

Weigh-In Wednesday

I've got the flu and let me tell you something it sucks! Big time! I have so much going on at work and do not have time to be sick! Apparently the flu doesn't care!

On a happier note I weighed myself this morning for the MLFC Biggest Loser competition and weigh in Wed and............................

 

 

 

Down 2.6! I'll take it! I'm so excited and I am so committed to keep moving in this direction! I have been tracking my calories on the lose it app staying between 1400-1500. I was staying on track with my 30 minute treadmill and stair routine until this crappin flu came along. Just another reason I am irritated!!!!!

 



The stairs and I! We have a love hate relationship!

 

I'm gonna close with a few pictures of my meals from this week that I remembered to take before I got sick and went into survival mode. Thanks for sharing my journey with me and don't forget to check out the other bloggers who are participating in Weigh-In Wednesday!

 



Salad with eggs, cucumber, grilled chicken, tomatoes, tiny bit of cheese and ff zesty Italian dressing.

Tostada! 511 calories for two! So good!

Goat cheese, grilled chicken, cucumber, strawberries, slivered almonds and raspberry vinaigrette dressing!

Asian stir fry with brown rice!

 

 

-Sarah

Weigh-In Wednesday!

Ok kiddies, I'm trying something new. I've never participated in a link up before so I hope I do it right! I have found this wonderful support group on facebook and it has led me to some really great blogs that I LOVE reading. When I'm thinking, reading and talking about fitness, weighloss and nutrition it helps SO much! I am excited about being held accountable each Wednesday.

I weighed in this morning and let me tell ya it wasn't pretty! 224 lbs. What? 224 lbs. Yes, there I said it. This is my highest non pregnant weight EVER!!!! It's actually 29 lbs higher than when I gave birth to Kiley. I've been close to this weight before 3 times and lost it the following ways: weight watchers, diet pills and cigarettes (hey we're being honest here right?), and last but not least lap band. After the craptastic band came out I have watched it creep up for the past three years! And in the past 6 months just straight the heck up no creeping involved!!!! I'm done. I know I've said it before. In this blog actually but I am not giving up!

I mentioned in my New Years post my weight loss goals for January so check those out if you're curious about the plan. Oh and speaking of plan that seems to be one of my keys to success so tonight I made two fabulous salads for lunch for the rest of this week. Go me! Tomorrow is payday so I will be meal planning for the next two weeks before I go grocery shopping!  I had Tyson take a before picture of me Monday. Can I tell you how tired they are of taking before pictures? I'm not prepared to post it at this point because it is HEINOUS!!!! Here's one more clothed though:

Such a shame that I have a picture with this precious new nephew and all I can think when looking at it is how FAT I am!

 

This is me Thanksgiving 2009 somewhere between 155-160. That is my goal!

 

 

 



Go check out Erin and Alex who are sponsoring this Weigh-In Wednesday extravaganza!!!!

 

 

-Sarah