4 Pounds!

I have now lost 4 pounds in two weeks! I wanted to blog about it to keep myself accountable to keep at it and so that I can look back at this post when I need inspiration in the future.

This is what I've been doing:

- Running three times a week. I put Will in the jogging stroller (thanks Stacee!) and run around my neighborhood. I've been running for 20 minutes, walking 5, then running 10 more.

- Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD. I just started last week...I think I did it 5 times. I love it because it's broken up into 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs...then it repeats 2 times. I think it goes by really fast and it's only about 20 minutes.

- Counting calories. I think I've mentioned before that I have an app on my iphone called Lose It. It has a lot of foods already in there, but you can also add foods that you eat. You also input your excercise so it adds the calories you burned to the total amount of calories you get to eat for the day. I only went over once last week...darn bread pudding.

This is what I've been eating:

- Breakfast - Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk or a Nutrigrain bar with skim milk

- Lunch - Most days I've been eating a sandwich without the bread...I just roll up the turkey and cheese (thanks to my friend Dena for giving me this idea). With my "sandwich" I eat Garden of Eatin blue corn chips (my favorite) with pico de gallo. I buy the kind that United makes...yummy. I usually eat some fruit at lunch too. If I'm not at home, I just try to eat something very light. Oh, and I can't forget my Dr. Pepper. I'm not planning to give them up, so I've just been having one can a day...usually at lunch.

- Dinner - I've pretty much been eating normal dinners, just smaller portions.

- Snacks - It is hard not to eat snacks with Will around. Pretzels are one of his favorite snacks, so a lot of times I'll eat a few with him. We've had a big bag of M&Ms around, so I've also been eating a few those...but only 10 or so a day. Or sometimes I'll go back to the blue chips and pico.

- Dessert - Chris loves ice cream, so we usually have a ton of it in the freezer. Sometimes it's really hard to resist, so last week I bought some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches to eat when I crave ice cream. I've only had one so far, but it was delicious!

I am by no means a guru on any of this, I just wanted to share what is working for me so far. Please feel free to share any tips or suggestions you have!

House Pictures!

Okay, this is sure to be disappointing since I've talked it up so much and really don't have that much to show. We haven't decorated any of the bedrooms, the office, or the second living room...so that basically leaves the dining room, living room, and kitchen...and that is what I am going to show you! They are still missing some finishing touches, but good enough for now!

I need to give a shout out to my interior designer (Donna Hill) and my mom for helping me decorate!! We went for a different/funky look...but not too funky. :)

Dining Room


Before





Living Room


Before




We didn't forget to decorate the mantle, we are actually getting the TV hung up there tomorrow. I need to hang something above the windows and I want more pillows for the couch.

Kitchen


Before




I decided that I like the color of the cabinets and I don't mind the countertops either. But we HAVE to get new backsplash. The current backsplash is seriously white shower tiles...?? I also need to get some rugs for the kitchen and underneath the table.

Master Bathroom


Before





That's it for now! I may post more pictures as the rooms get decorated, but who knows when that will be!

Random Thoughts Update

This is an update to my random thoughts post below:

- I saw a product on the Today show called Freeze & Go. It's a cream that is supposed to work like botox, but only temporarily (for a day...maybe?) so you have to put it on everyday or just whenever you want the freeze, I guess. They said it really worked, so I thought this might be my solution! So I bought it (it wasn't cheap) and it doesn't work (at least not on my problem area...which is lines under my eyes). I took before and after photos on my iphone to show you, but then I decided they weren't even worth uploading because there is no difference. I was really disappointed and I am now even more disappointed after reading about this on Darci's blog. I wish I could get my money back and put it towards that! Oh well, maybe I was just meant to have lines under my eyes. :)

- I booked our 5-year anniversary trip to Mexico! After looking at this website, I feel comfortable with our decision to go back to our honeymoon spot in Mexico...but we got trip insurance, so we can always cancel at the last minute if we get nervous about it. I'm so excited that I've been reading reviews of the resort everyday...even though I've been there myself twice already! :)


That beach bed is where I will be spending my days for an entire week.


- I am STILL running three times a week! And I finally started the Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD last night. I am really feeling motivated to get in shape for our trip. I have also sadly discovered why they tell you to only weigh yourself once a week. According to the scale, I lost .7 pounds from Monday to Wednesday of last week. Then another 1.1 from Wednesday to Friday...for a total of 1.8 from Monday to Friday! I was totally excited and then I weighed again on Sunday and had gained .4...weighed again this morning and had a gain of .7. Granted, I did eat pizza last night. :) Anyhow, it is still a net loss of .7 for the week and I think I would have felt okay about that if I had only weighed last Monday and today. We'll see what happens this week.

- I can't believe I haven't taken pictures of the house yet! Honestly, it is because I haven't felt like removing all the toys from around the house to make it look like a toddler doesn't live here! :)

That is all the updating I have for now!

Top Ten

We went to San Antonio last week with Brice, Kristin, and Emma Kate! These are my top ten favorite things about our trip:

1. Sea World! The kids loved it, but I think the adults loved it just as much. We went to all of the shows, visited most of the sea friends, the boys rode a couple of rides, I rode a water ride with them, and then we played in the kiddie splash park before leaving.









2. The Riverwalk! I hadn't been to San Antonio since I was a kid so I didn't remember much about the Riverwalk, but I thought it was great. I love how there is so much going on in some parts and then it is quiet and pretty in other parts.

3. The Food! We ate some really good food mostly on the Riverwalk. My favorite was Saltgrass, but we ate at an Italian place on the Riverwalk called Paesanos that was really good too.

4. The Hotel! We stayed at the Hyatt Regency right on the Riverwalk and the best part is that I used priceline.com to bid for our rooms and got them for only $70/night! I loved that we didn't have to load up the car everytime we went to eat...we just walked right out onto the Riverwalk and there was plenty to do.

5. The Boat Ride! Will was obsessed with watching the boats go by and he really thought it was cool when we got to actually ride one. We had a funny boat captain that also made it a lot of fun.



6. Church! When we first got on our boat, we turned a corner and there was church going on right there on the river on a Friday night. I thought it was so cool. On one side there was a stage with a worship band sing "Mighty to Save" and on the other side all the people were on these steps worshipping. And all the boats were going right through it! After we got off of the boat, we walked over to the church and stayed for a few songs.





7. Ben & Jerry's! I looove Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream and they had a shop right across the street from our hotel. I ate it two nights in a row...oops!

8. Shopping! Kristin and I went to San Marcos one day to shop at the outlet malls. Shopping is always fun for me even when I don't buy anything...but I think I bought a little too much this time! :)

9. Family Time! Of course I always love hanging out with my boys.



10. Friend Time! We had a really fun time with the Fosters. I'm sure we'll do it again soon...but we'll need more than one car next time. And no, I'm not hinting that I'm pregnant...but Kristin is!



So if you can't tell, I thought this was a FABULOUS family vacation and I can't wait to go back. I'm thinking I could take Will every year...or maybe twice a year. :) Chris and I both said that we wish we had stayed longer. I highly recommend it!

The Hunt

Will took Easter egg hunting pretty seriously this year. Although, he wasn't necessarily hunting for himself...he put a few of the eggs he hunted in the other kids baskets. :)

He Loves Us!

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. John 3:16 (The Message)



This is a really awesome video that I remembered today while I was thinking about the sacrificial and unconditional love that God has for us. It's from a church in Amarillo...I saw it on several blogs awhile back. It's such a great reminder of how undeserving we all are of His love and grace, yet He freely gives it anyway. Amen!

Snow

When it snowed a couple of weeks ago, Will wanted to go outside and play in it sooo bad. By the time I finally gave in and got him dressed to go outside, it had already melted. Bummer!



Will's favorite thing to do outside right now is play with his bubbles that come out of this little bubble machine. He could not figure out why they wouldn't come out after he had pressed the button...I guess they were frozen. Poor kid.





Sorry I haven't had much to say lately!