Are you eating bread out of your purse?

Why yes…yes I am...

So my friends and I are playing a game, a dieting game. It is called the Game On Diet. It is more than just a diet, it is a lifestyle.

Every day you receive points for:

• Eating five meals a day that include a carb, a healthy fat and a lean protein.


• Drinking a minimum of three liters of water.


• Sleeping at least 7 hours a night.


• Exercising at least 20 minutes.


• Eliminating a bad habit.


• Practicing a healthy habit.

You also lose points for not doing the above and for cheating.

Which explains why I was eating bread out of my purse.

The other night darling husband and I took our older boys out to dinner. I knew I would have no problem getting a healthy fat (avocado) and protein (chicken) on a salad, but I knew getting an acceptable carb at a Mexican Restaurant would be hard so I brought a piece of whole wheat bread in my purse. While everyone else at the table was eating chips and salsa, I ate a piece of whole wheat bread…out of my purse.

Why did I do this? Because not eating a healthy carb or eating chips and salsa would make me lose points. Not only do I lose points, but my team loses points. This is what makes this work, not only are you playing the game for yourself, but for your teammates.

My team is doing well and I feel great! I am losing weight and can see myself living this way the rest of my life.

GO-O-O-O-O-O BOD SQUAD!

Summer '09

This summer has just flown by! We have had three birthdays and all of our children have officially hit double digits.

We started the summer with my nephew visiting from Utah. Public school was still in session but many things were open to homeschoolers so he was quickly submerged into the homeschool culture and declared that homeschooling is AWESOME! It is pretty awesome!

Last week we spent a week in Port Aransas. We really enjoy our time in South Texas. It is so relaxing! There was a bit of excitement. Darling husband was barbed by a stingray. I read online that the toughest surfer dude is brought to his knees in tears after being barbed by a stingray. I guess if the toughest surfer dude can cry, then my darling husband can moan and groan a bit. My husband is tough, but the article said “the TOUGHEST surfer dude”.

Something else I learned on vacation is that “NOBODY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BOOBIES!”

How did I learn this? There was a group of college girls at our condo. They were out by the pool drinking and smoking and decided it would be fun to not only show, but take pictures of their breasts. I saw the first one pull her shirt off and heard from the other side of the pool some woman scream “NOBODY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BOOBIES!”

I was going to talk to the girls in a calm manner without drawing attention to them. Someone went to the office and the girls were immediately escorted from the pool and since we didn’t see them again I think they were asked to leave the condo. I wasn’t mad at the girls, but sad that they thought this was something they should do.

I have been cycling like crazy and love it! Next summer whether I lose more weight or not I am wearing a bikini. This is my motivation to continue working out. I am not saying that it will be my main bathing suit, but I will be buying one and wearing it. So, if you are at the pool with me next year and hear some old lady screaming “NOBODY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BOOBIES” just know that it is gravity and not intentional.

Garden Update

I thought I would share a picture of our garden taken yesterday. It is a jungle! We love our garden, the vegetables are so much better than what you buy at the store. We have an abundance of cucumbers and tomatoes! We also have 2 kinds of beans, 2 kinds of peppers, squash, zucchini and herbs. The corn grew beautifully and then it got the dreaded corn fungus. Ugh!

Right now we are planning our fall garden. What a fun family project!

Square Foot Gardening

At our last house we grew all kinds of vegetables and berries mixed in with our landscape and in pots on our pool deck. We loved growing our own food!

This year I decided that we needed to grow our own food again. It is so much better for you and I thought it would be a good experience for the children to tend a garden.

Darling husband and son number 2 bought the cedar at the lumberyard and built the frame. They did a great job!

We bought several types of organic compost and mixed it with peat moss, expanded shale and some organic top soil. We mixed it all on a huge tarp and then dumped it in our garden. It sounds easy, but it is back breaking work. Darling husband and I mixed all of the soil and the whole family planted the seeds.

Everything except three tomato plants and two peppers were planted from seed. It is truly amazing how quickly our garden has grown.

Here is what we have growing in our garden:

Sugar Snap Peas
Green Beans
Wax Beans
Garlic
Onions
Lilac Peppers
Ivory Peppers
Watermelon
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers (2 varieties)
Tomatoes (4 varieties)
Radishes
Cilantro
Spinach
Lettuce
….and more

We also have some strawberries on the patio. We had a ripe one that I was going to pick. It was there in the morning, but gone in the afternoon. I am thinking bird or Goldendoodle.

The children love the garden, especially the youngest. She checks it first thing in the morning and several times throughout the day. She waters it with a watering can and pulls the few “weeds” we get.

We should have lots of fresh, organic vegetable to eat in a month. Yum!

Day 3

We have since moved some of these plants. The garlic was started from cloves in the fridge and took off. They are in the first square on the second row from the back.

Day 25

We can't believe how everything took off! I am so glad we planted most things from seed. What a great experience for our family.

Dolce

Coffee? No!

New Bike? Si!

Last year my darling husband bought me my Sweet Ride. I told myself that if I rode my Sweet Ride regularly for one year that I would upgrade to a road bike.

Well I couldn’t wait a year. I forgot how much I love to ride! Last month I bought a Specialized Dolce. Wouldn’t you know that Dolce means “sweet” in Italian, and she is SWEET!

Nowadays they have bikes that are Women Specific Design or WSD in bike lingo. My Dolce is a WSD. If you are a girl and haven’t ridden a WSD, you are in for a treat! The geometry of the bike is engineered for women who typically have longer legs and shorter torsos. The handlebars are narrower and smaller for women’s hands and the reach to the handlebars is shorter so you are not as stretched out on the bike. I could go on and on about the greatness of the WSD, but I will stop here. In the age where everything is engineered for a man, I am thrilled to see that someone has engineered a bike specifically for a woman.

I try to ride every day for at least one hour. I ride several miles away from home so I have to ride that many miles back. There are points where I can turn back and shorten my ride, but I always talk myself out of it.

I love my new bike and I love riding!

Gustus...the Couch Potato

Is he allowed on the couch? No! Did he think he would get away with it because he is so darn cute? Yes! And he did!

Young @ Heart

My whole family watched this documentary together. What a sweet, heartwarming film. We laughed and we cried. Most of all we were inspired.

Young at Heart is a chorus made up of members ranging from age 72 to 90 plus. They perform all over the United States and Europe singing songs from The Clash, James Brown, Sonic Youth, Coldplay and more!

These seniors are so passionate about their music and being in this choir. It gives them something to look forward to, a purpose. The music is great, but the real charm is the individuals themselves.

During the filming of this documentary, two of the members passed away. Despite their sorrow, the chorus decided the show must go on. The songs they dedicate to the members they just lost are so touching. I didn’t realize Bob Dylan’s song Forever Young was so beautiful.

The film ends with Fred, an eighty-something year old man with congestive heart failure singing Coldplay’s “Fix You”. He has a beautiful voice and if you listen you will hear the gentle puff of his oxygen. If you watch the movie, this performance will mean more to you.

What a touching story, with a powerful message!

Trying to Fit on the Ladder

My good friend and I have a weight loss blog. It’s private and only the two of us read it. We call it “Trying to Fit on the Ladder”.

A couple of years back my friend, for privacy’s sake let’s call her “Batman”, was spending the night at my house with her kiddos. My darling husband was out of town so we were having a FUN girl’s night - it was great!

I had to go into the garage for something and that is when I saw “the rat”. I called Batman to the garage and showed her “the rat” and we both screamed. The thing is, neither one of us is really scared of anything, but for some reason that night we screamed like little girls.

Right next to us was this step ladder. Batman quickly jumped on it and before I joined her I read “maximum weight not to exceed 300 pounds”. Do you know what is worse than having a rat in your garage? Having a rat in your garage and realizing that you and your friend’s weight together exceeds the recommended maximum weight on what I call the “salvation ladder”.

Sure, we could have probably *fit* on the ladder, but have you ever fallen off a ladder? How much would that suck?

So this year the two of us decided that our goal would be to fit on the ladder… together. Let’s get this straight…separately we fit on the ladder, just not together.

We are off to a good start and my goal is to burn 1000 calories a day over what I consume. I have given up refined sugar for now, but allow myself one small square every day or so of DARK chocolate. I have always eaten pretty healthy, but I am being much more vigilant about every calorie I consume.

I figure that if I stay on track and burn 1000 extra calories per day that I should lose 50 pounds in 175 days…wouldn’t you know it, July 4th – Independence Day!

Who knows, maybe I will break my “no posting family pictures on this blog” rule just to post a picture of Batman and me (Katwoman) fitting on that damn ladder!

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. It is a story about Jamal, an Indian boy from the slums Mumbai who wins money on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". The night before he answers the final question he is arrested and accused of cheating. He is a "slumdog" so how could he know all of the answers?

The story is not about the game show, but is a platform to show flashbacks of Jamal's life and how he knows the answers to all of the questions on the show and why he is on the show. The actors they chose to play Jamal were great choices and the music and cinematography were outstanding.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

Happy New Year

It seems like I just started this blog, but it has been one year!

Christmas was very relaxing this year. I ordered most things online so I didn’t have to go out in the crowded mall. I love the internet…thanks Al Gore. Ha, ha!

Darling husband has been off for nearly three weeks and I really enjoy having him home. I wish he would work from home or start consulting again. I love spending time with him.

My dad gave my mom a laptop for Christmas and darling husband is downloading digital scrapbooking software on it so we can make a family cookbook. I thought it would be a nice way for us to spend time together and to document recipes that have been in our family for generations. I come from a long line of bakers and have fond memories of being in the kitchen with my grandmother, grandfather and my mother. I can’t wait to get started on this!

I am battling a cold so getting well is the only resolution I have at this time! I feel that I made some positive changes in my life in 2008 and can’t wait to see what I accomplish this year!

May God’s richest blessings be yours in 2009!