What Real Housewive are YOU?

Well based on clothing I'd be Caroline seeing we have the same taste in dresses-

Remember the dress I wanted for my rehearsal dinner

My favorite is Teresa. I just love her little girls and I kinda like her husband. Teresa seems like a real nut, but she makes me laugh.

I also like Jacqueline.


I don't like Caroline, Dina or Danielle; they annoy me.



I'm obsessed with eyebrows lately. I'm not sure why, but here are some I like.......

These are my favorite

Well I'm off my medication and feel pretty good. I've been really trying not to stress so much and do a lot of that left nostril breathing. I also started taking magnesium and fish oil. They make a great peach flavored fish oil- YUM. I feel good.

The other night when at my house Rob came across an old pair of my shorts. So cute so little. Rob said if I fit into them again he'll buy me a diamond ring! How sweet is that? Talk about motivation. I don't know maybe he thinks I'll never do or else he really wants me to do it. He's not the type to go out and shop for a ring like that.

My doctor has sent out my blood test results so we'll see. I really wish I knew what was wrong with me.

I think I'll start weighing in every Tuesday! I'll die if I don't get that ring! LOL

Today I'm 125

Changing up my blog was harder than I thought. I did have a fancy background but then it seemed harder to read. So what you see is what I decided on. My dear sister-in-law sent me the website House of 3 where I purchase my header thingy.

Thanks BECKY

Notice I'm under CONSTRUCTION!

Well speaking of construction.........tis the season

Enjoy!

I love Forever21

WHY

Because recently being that I have a lot more going on with my bod. I have to make adjustments in what to wear and how I'm gonna hide STUFF.

So anyways like everyone else I get sick of looking at things on skinny chics! I mean they don't even look good in everything, but they're the shit...I guess.

So I was so happy to see that Forever21 has a shop for girls with figures! Faith21

Example 1 Skinny Girl in a Long Dress

SKINNY GIRL 2 Looks a Little better but Only because she's sticking out her hip BONE.
Now if I like something I can go on Faith21 and see it on someone with more SUBSTANCE.

A GIRL with SUBSTANCE:

Maybe I'm kidding myself but she looks good! NO?

Another girl of SUBSTANCE

So if you are digging these lovely long beauties! Go get this one for probably under $20

And if you are a little person like me you'll rush to find this on clearance for $5

And this for $10- but get the all black one without the ruffle bottom

OK and I loved this bathing suit but.........

This outfit is hot!
Had to include it. All the outfits I posted are either Forever21, Faith21, and Walmart. If I spoke of items under $20 they are Walmart as well.

Yes... it's Veggie Wedgie Wednesday but I was too busy for VEGGIE tales and so I went with this old favorite: RED POTATOES

Rob Loves Smashed Potatoes by Rachel Ray

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/smashed-potatoes-and-cream-cheese-recipe/index.html

I know Potatoes are probably a no no...especially with cream cheese and chives, but for your hubby it's OK. I had an over abundance of chives and red potatoes for some reason.

Red Potatoes are a high potassium food. They also have Vitamin C!

The main thing is they make you feel full and happy inside.

I love Lucas SO much!

Well after having an incident at school with a boy punching Lucas I realize how much I love this kid. I couldn't even sleep just thinking about someone hitting him.

I don't think there is anything worse than dealing with someone hurting you child. It's wasn't major, but I know it was to Lucas. He handled himself well, but honestly I would rather him knock the kid in the mouth. That's bad right? Well it would have been wrong. The stronger more intelligent thing to do was walk away and tell. The only problem I have with this is when you are small you kinda have to have some sort of attitude. It stinks being called squirt! I used to hate being small so for a boy it's probably really hard. This is the age when boys are "showing who's boss."

I'm not used to this boy stuff.

Lucas really wants to fight back and yeah isn't that the natural thing boys do? It's a toss up for me. I ended up saying that if he is in a situation YOU MUST protect yourself! After that get away and tell.

Lucas is really getting big. :(

This morning was Day 2 of contacts for Lucas and it was harder to put them in today than yesterday. Poor kid even shed some tears. I hugged and hugged him and finally he got them in. Lately he's been more my buddy.

He has even offered to get up at 5am to work out with me. We used to be closer b/c we had to help eachother more when we were on our own. Now with Rob in our life it's less loads to carry. Usually it's Rob and Lucas against little ol me! Lucas isn't always just stuck with me.

Sometimes Lucas looks so innocent

He will have my heart forever!

Right now Lucas is playing Lacrosse and really loving it. He's realizing that sometimes there is nothing you can do but your best and that doesn't mean you will be the best on the team. AND THAT"S OK!

My favorite thing this school year.....

When the school library was getting rid of old books Lucas brought me this present home:

Ok- Yes it's a classic

But Lucas picked it because it was a 1969 reprint

I was born in 1969! How sweet

Veggie Wedgie Wednesday

Italian Green Beans

Here's another great site for Veggies:

http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/greenbeans.html

Green Beans are in season in the SUMMER!

Green beans, while quite low in calories (just 43.75 calories in a whole cup), are loaded with enough nutrients to not only power up the Jolly Green Giant, but to put a big smile on his face. Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. Plus green beans are very good source of vitamin A (notably through their concentration of carotenoids including beta-carotene), dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron. And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin.

Well this recipe is easy but not so detailed. Sorry. I couldn't find the recipe details.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134

When buying green beans you know they are good by their firmest and snappability!

OK- Recipe

You need

Garlic - about 3-6 cloves

Olive Oil- 2 Tablespoons

Butter or Margarine- about a 1/2-1 Tablespoon

Bacon about 2-5 slices already cooked

I used 1 package of fresh Italian Green Beans

You need put the oil in a pan and saute the garlic. *Be careful* Garlic can burn! Wait till it is past clear and turning golden. I actually put the cooked bacon in 1st and laid the garlic on top of the bacon to let the garlic warm up some; thinking I would be less likely to burn it that way. After a while I let the garlic actually touch the pan with all their goodness.

My Beans I steamed with my microwave steamer. I steamed till they were still hard like I like them.

When garlic/bacon/oil mixture is done you toss everything together. YUM

You need to add seasoning as you see fit. We could have used a little more on mine.

Add I finally took a picture of one of my veggies!!

Here's a past Veggie update. Swiss Chard- I purchased some from the grocery store and Rob didn't like. :(

Well I decided to make myself a little inspiration board at home- Just to keep me going-

I'm totally enjoying these flowers my mom brought me from her house. They smell up the place! I have to stop and smell the roses even though I'm disgusted- RIGHT?

Eating Mindfully- Turns out I'm a CHRONIC DIETER!

This is the one of my favorite parts of my father-in-laws old truck!

I attended a Spring Eating class with Jackie-

Jackie is a Holistic Health Counselor who works with individuals to create a more balanced life. She is a National Health Counselor who specializes in women experiencing digestive issues, and emotional eating habits. She works with clients in a 6 month program designed to address not only the foods you eat but your lifestyle choices as well. No diet works for everyone, and with this in mind she will give you a Personalized program that will improve your health and happiness. Together we will explore concerns specific to you and your body, and discover tools you will need for a life time of mind/body balance.

Jackie introduced us to Ayurveda.

http://www.answers.com/topic/ayurveda#Practices

Did you know?

Certain foods cool the us, while some foods warm us. Like in the winter a good beef stew appeals to us and in the summer we crave salads and fruits. The animals around us do this, but us humans have gotten to the point where we can eat almost anything at any time. We didn't start out that way; we used to eat what was in season. That's when we used to eat to fuel our body, not because we were stressed or depressed. Now we eat for celebrations as well as stress, sadness, depression and so on.

Jackie gave us a quiz to get an idea of what Dosha we are and then explained how that influences what we should eat. Here is Jackie's website:http://www.jackieonysko.com/

I realize the mind has a lot to do with the functioning of the body. Maybe 12 years ago I had a manicurist who had cancer. She spoke to me a lot about how she dealt with her cancer using her mind and prayer. She also had strong beliefs concerning doctors and how you need to be completely happy with your doctor and settle for nothing less. I learned a lot from her. She told me a story about going into surgery one time. As always her doctor would pray with her before surgery and then she would ask her doctor if there was anything she could for him during the surgery. The doctor proceeded to tell her exactly where he would be working and that the least amount of blood gathering there the better. So Toni did her meditating and visualizing. After the surgery Toni's doctor said to her, "I don't know how you did it but there was only enough blood to fill a thimble." Toni eventually lost her battle, but I think she taught a couple doctors a few things.

Thinking of all this stuff reminds me how much I love Bernie Siegel!

Check him out- If you are battling sickness he is a great inspirational resource.
Bernie Siegel MD

http://www.berniesiegelmd.com/

All this stuff ended up playing a huge part in my next book choice:
Mindfully Eating- This book is good so far. I could do without the Buddha stuff, but it is really an interesting book.
WOW it even has an exercise to practice Eating Mindfully. So much opens your eyes to our MAJOR EATING ISSUES.
I also figure my issue classifies me as a CHRONIC DIETER! BIG SURPRISE

This is a book I do make notes in! I definitely have food issues.

Weight Watcher update!

I am up 2lbs from when I started. Up Down Up Down. YIKES

I am going for blood work tomorrow. Testing for Celiac Disease, Thyroid, and hormones.

If nothing comes out of this I will proceed with getting a diagnosis for IBS from a specialist. I do not want to continue on my medication. I still feel the pain, but I can live with it. I just don't want to forget that there is something wrong with me. The medication is only treating my symptoms and I want to fix what is wrong.

Rob finally said it out loud- "Sometimes you do look like you are pregnant"

YIKES

It is nice to be able to talk about it. I'd rather him have a conversation, than just smooth things over.

So I finally said this out loud- "I will have to exercise everyday for the rest of my life" Ewww

My mom has agreed to go to the Y with me. We had our 1st appointment to learn the equipment! It was good.

Here is my father-in-law's baby

Our weekend was relaxing and fun. The FIREHOUSE had a chicken BBQ and car/truck show. Yummmmm

Lucas has me take pictures of things like this

Veggie Wedgie Wednesday- Kale

Veggie Wedgie Wednesday

Kale is in season during middle of winter till the beginning of spring, but you can always find kale in the grocery store.

Well kale was hard because I wasn't crazy about it. Because it is so good for us and hearty I had to come up with something.

Kale is a great source of Vitamin A which is good for lung health, it protects against different cancers and rheumatoid arthritis, great source of Vitamin C, and it has great cleansing ability. It also has manganese which helps with energy, and it's also an antioxidant. Is that good enough reason to eat your kale! Oh and it's great a fiber buddy.

I was working on recipes for veggies that were little work and for kale the best way I fit it in is my Morning Smoothie! You don't really even taste the kale. Here's what I do- 1 cup of either soy or rice chocolate milk, 1/2-1 banana, and 1/2-1 cup of frozen blueberries, and 1-2 leaves of kale with out the stem. The key I heard and it seems to work is break up the kale a little bit before and add it last. I use a VitaMix mixer and mix for 1 minute. Sometimes if I want to get some yogurt in I also add a cup of yogurt. Depending on how much you want to drink you can adjust the amounts.

Play around with your smoothie- there are endless things you can try.

Smoothies can be high in WW points, but you will get some really good marks for using fruits and vegetables that are healthy. I myself do track how many fruits and veggies I consume.

Other than this I like soup with sausage, kale and beans! This is more time consuming, but if you make enough you can have it for dinner and lunch the next day.

Here's the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spanish-Style-White-Bean-and-Sausage-Soup/Detail.aspx

Like others I used canned beans and that cut down on time.

Check out the fiber-

Nutritional Information
Spanish Style White Bean and Sausage Soup
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 226
Total Fat: 8.3g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 1059mg
Total Carbs: 29.7g
Dietary Fiber: 8.4g
Protein: 11.4g

And since you have kale in your house you can try this for less fat snack- Baked Kale Chips (google it) I've made them and Lucas even eats them.

Lately Rikki Lake has been my celebrity inspiration

I guess she did Food delivery from Freshing Dining- but she's still inspiring!

I have researched food delivery- but 1. some are real expensive and 2. what if I don't like the stuff.

Here's a rating of some of the food delivery services-

http://www.slim-fit-health.info/diet-delivery/

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day. I woke up and had some time alone with Rob as he prepped for his muffin making. Lucas got up and my mom stopped by with a delivery for Lucas.

My mom is the best and gave me a great magazine rack/holder! Isn't it great for my "Girl Cave"?

It's made with recycled magazines!

Rob's tradition is making Blueberries muffins for his mom and grandmother. My tradition is purchasing something for my mom. Now I purchase and he makes muffins for both our moms.

I had to get a close up of this guy. We bought him a while ago for Rob's mom because he was so cute and reminded me of Rob. Well for the longest time I kept him on my office desk, now I miss him.

Check out Rob's masterpieces-

I forgot to take a picture of my mom's gift which was a mug and CD. Darn

My mother-in-law gave me a beautiful card and flowers. I love flowers.

Rob gave me wonderful card and muffins with bananas- LOVE bananas!!!!!!!!

Lucas gave me Lotion, body wash and body spray, tote organizers, magnetic list with pens, and Epress shorts!! And then he gave me this and I cried!

This is so cute because it represents a boy giving you his heart or a boy holding your heart. This is the same imagine on the box Rob gave me the night before our wedding; which represented Rob giving me his heart. Well I just broke out in tears. Rob and Lucas were looking at me like I was crazy. I love those 2!

Here are my beautiful cards. Lucas made his in school and thanked me for buying his lacrosse equipment and getting him to practice.


He also brought me this flower from school

My mom and I both worked on Mother's Day during the day so tonight we will go to Panera Bread for dinner. I've checked my points on here:

http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html

This site is great and makes it super easy to go out to dinner. Now I can relax because I know what I can eat and I know the points! Yeah

Thank you Amy for letting me know about Dottie's site!

We were invited to a cook out yesterday at my sister-in-laws and that's always fun.

Yeah for Mother's Day

Side note- I had left my camera with Lucas to take pictures on their travels that day to visit our special mothers and here's what they took pics of...

(they did take pics of the muffins- but no mothers)

Men and cars- it's crazy

Dieting- well being we had some holidays; Becky's birthday (in which my mother-in-law makes a delicious meal), and Mother's Day. Mother's Day menu wasn't bad b/c my brother-in-law is doing WW and watching his diet so he used low fat items! Bless that man.....

Anyways I weigh the same, but it's OK. I did work out Saturday and it felt good. I feel so much better. The fasting was good and made me appreciate my fruits and vegetables! Eating healthy/fasting really makes you realize how different you feel eatting better.

Food is a huge part of us! It affects our physical as much as our mental functions!