So I'm down- even with being away on the weekend and missing Pilates and Zumba.  I get a little nervous when it's more that 1 pound- it just doesn't seem right- BUT I'll take it.

After being at a stand still I went back to some of my old stuff that I tend to forget.......

Water- Drink water before anything when I think I'm hungry!!!!

Prepare my food!!!

I bought small containers that can hold my protein like chicken-

AND

the small side item containers from KFC are perfect for prepping for the week.

These containers are reusable and perfect in size.

I used them to hold my grain of brown rice- 1/2 cup.

So what I did Monday night was purchase a roasted chicken from the store and a bag of brown rice.

I'm trying really hard to like brown rice, but it hasn't been easy.  After doing some research I read about boiling it in broth so I did that and I think it's helping me to enjoy the rice.  Eventually I'm hoping to not have to add the broth!

Here's my containers

So here's what my lunch looked like this week

The chicken was good- but not a lot of flavor.

Next time I may try preparing my own chicken with different seasoning blends.

Maybe a chicken with some olives- YUM!

The broccoli is just olive oil and lemon juice with sea salt.

And the brown rice wasn't too bad- I have to admit I put a little dab of butter on them when I heated them.

The rice I used was from Full Circle

Full Circle is Organic- and I find mine at Weis Market

I also love there individual packs of oatmeal.

 
Also thought more about grabbing a piece of fruit and also was trying to make 1 smoothie a day with some protein powder.  I think I was tending to not eat enough.  So I would make a smoothie to drink on my way home from work and it was delicious and helped me to get stuff done at home in time to get to the gym at a decent time.

Also cut back on dinner......made sure my dinner was healthy......I try to have all my meals around the same size and I eat about 6 mini meals.  Keeps me steady.

Also I carry a bar or beet stick in my bag/purse when I'm caught somewhere and hungry.  I tried the Ostrim Beef and Ostrich Jerky and I really like it.  I bought mine at GNC.

On my cheat days I think about my cheats and if they are going to throw me off too much- Are they really worth it?  Try to also watch for too much salt or sugar- Oh and white bread and pasta.  I do better planning for 1 cheat MEAL a week not a whole day.

Another thing I have to remember when trying to stay on track and get to the gym- like what I'm wearing.  There are many places to find cute things.  TJMaxx is probably my favorite.  I also love Walmart's athletic Danskin bras.  Even Forever21 has some athletic items that look fun.

Forever21

These just look like they would make your butt look good!

Also I like Lucy.com

 and LuLulemon- but that's a treat! 

I'm hoping to treat myself to a LuLulemon tank for my bday!

Keep going girl!!!!

Date.............Age...Height.......Weight..........Chest......Hips....Lf Arm……...Rt Arm…….............Waist

2/5/12..........42... 4’11”............137.2............ 39.0”..........41”........ 11.5”..... 11.5”…......…...... 36”

2/10/12.................................... 136.2........…38.5”......... 39.5”..... 11.5”..... 11.5”......................35”

2/17/12.....................................134.6........... 39.25”....... 40.5”...... 12”........ 12”....................... 34.5”

2/24/12.....................................134.2

3/2/12.......................................134.0.............38.5”.........39.5.........12”.........12”........................33.75”

3/9/12.......................................132.8

3/15/12.....................................131.4..............38.5".........38.5".......11.75"......11.5"…….....…...33"

..

3/23/12.....................................131.0

3/30/12.....................................130.4..............37.5"...........38"...........11.5"......11.5"..................31.75"

.

4/6/2012...................................129.6

4/13/2012.................................128.0

4/20/2012.................................128.4

4/27/2012.................................128.6..............37.5"...........38"............11.25".....11.25"……..........32"

5/4/2012...................................127.2

5/11/2012…………………….125.8………...37”….……..37”……….10”……….10.25”……….31”

 I had a birthday goal of 125-  I hope I get there and I hope it sticks!!!!  Maybe I should shoot for 124 being 24 is a good number of mine!

The Derby was so fun and Rob and I even won a fire ball for best dressed couple!!  Forcing him to wear that suit paid off!!!

A breakdown of what I bought:

My feather was from one of the Renaissance Festivals

Rob's tie was on sale at Boscov's for 10 bucks

My flowers were a gift made by my Rob's mom one Christmas

My necklace - Oh I love you - Betsy Johnson I stalked on-line until it was 70% off.

My hat, origianl dress and Rob's suit was from the Salvation Army

I had purchased a dress for myself which was this one-

OK this isn't the best picture.....but the dress is actually from The Loft and really cute.  The problem was I didn't have the right bra and although you could go without- you can see my distorted chest.  And besides I did have a back-up.  Which was a dress I had worn at my niece's 1st Holy Communion. 

The hostess gift I took was also from the Salvation Army

I found 2 sets of glasses I thought would be great for the Derby party because of the silver accents.

There were 10 of each glass- I loved these!

I washed them really good and  wrapped each on in different colored tissue paper and they fit nicely in a tub Amy ended up using at the party!

The Mint Juleps were adorable!

The food and drink was Derby Fare and it was all delicious!

I found a cute pair of nude gloves at a vintage shop- but how about this- I forgot to wear them!

I just love the idea of nude gloves

We had so much fun with Keith and Amy

Thanks you two!

Pinterest

Can Pinterest drive you nutz?  For sure!  Can Pinterest help you look good?  Absolutely!  Can Pinterest save you money?  I'm sure.......The DIY projects are great on there- BUT I'm finding I myself can save on my clothing spending by using my pinterest.  AM I crazy- a little bit- but it's not the worse habit I could have!

So here's what I do- I pin stuff/outfits I like and then I create a board of outfits I know I want to wear someday.  Some outfits are for weddings or parties and others are just for whatever.  Then I create a board for myself to have (a hard copy).  With the hard copy I can actually look through what I already have and check them off.  So then when I'm out shopping I have an idea of the pieces I need to complete outfits.  Being that my outfits are for some day I have more time to browse and get the best price.  I can also go to the sales rack with an item in mind.

Here's an example of one of my boards

The items with the smile face are the things I know I already have.  Like the red dress- I bought that for $12 for Rob's birthday party and I love it with the polka dot shoes- BUT I haven't found a pair I like for the price I like.  I'm in no rush so I'm still keeping them in mind.  There are some other things I may have, if not I may have something pretty similar that gets the point across.

I even post things I would like to make the cream skirt and green belt/sash- I just love that outfit- but finding a skirt like that would be hard.  You can even pin hairstyles and make-up ideas.

It's fun to try new things and sometimes pinning can be overwhelming so I find that organizing it a step further helps this scatter brain!  :)

Here's a couple of my other boards~

Oh how I love people's Polyvore sets!!!

Finally moving in the right direction again!

 Finally I'm seeing 127s......the dress I choose for try on was an old one I had -  just to see if it would fit.

Not sure when this was taken- I believe Aug 2009.  I was in no way the weight I should have been, but I'm just trying/hoping to fit into some of my old stuff.

It fits!!!!!!!!!!

I also choose this dress because I was inspired by this picture I seen on pinterest- I'd love to recreate this outfit and I'm getting close- still working on it.

So I'm packing up for the weekend and the Derby party!!

Nailz

Ombre

Still not happy with Rob's outfit.................................

I even pulled out my own tie collection, but nothing was really coming to me

Date.............Age...Height.......Weight......Neck........Chest.........Hips........Lf Arm...Rt Arm....Waist

2/5/12..........42... 4’11”............137.2...... 12.5”...... 39.0”..........41”........ 11.5”..... 11.5”...... 36”

2/10/12.................................... 136.2..... 12.5”........38.5”......... 39.5”..... 11.5”..... 11.5”.......35”

2/17/12.....................................134.6......13".......... 39.25”....... 40.5”...... 12”........ 12”........ 34.5”

2/24/12.....................................134.2.....?.............?.............?...............?............?..........?.......?

3/2/12.......................................134.0......12.0’”.......38.5”.........39.5.........12”.........12”.........33.75”

3/9/12.......................................132.8........?.............?...........?..............?..............?..........?........?

3/15/12.....................................131.4........?..............38.5".........38.5".........11.75".....11.5".....33"

3/23/12.....................................131.0........?..............?.............?...........?...............?..........?........?

3/30/12.....................................130.4........12.5".........37.5"...........38"...........11.5"......11.5".....31.75"

4/6/2012...................................129.6............?..............?..................?..............?..............?...........?

4/13/2012.................................128.0..............................................?............................................?

4/20/2012.................................128.4

4/27/2012.................................128.6..........12.5.........37.5"...........38"............11.25".....11.25"....32"

5/4/2012...................................127.2...........? no measurements this week........................................

Caring for our pet mouse.............

Well the biggest thing is cage cleaning- and it's not a lot of fun.

BUT when it's nice weather and I can do it outside I don't mind it nearly as much.

The supplies-

Spare cage

Rat Gloves

Bedding

Food

Cleaning supplies

New toys

We do not use the little ball you can put them in as they pee constantly and it's messy (INDOORS)

OUTSIDE would probably be better

 Now getting Dilly out of one cage and into the next has been hard as he is hard to catch......So you see his wicker type hut?  He coax him in there and then just lift it and move it to the other cage.

In his waiting cage I put bedding and a little crawl thing that I believe he can nibble on

I know he's just a mouse, but he is pretty interesting to watch. 

He checks everything out.

How cute is he???

 Hiding/Playing

 This one day I left him in his waiting cage for a few hours so that his stuff could AIR OUT in the great outdoors.

 I love these metal hangers.....this one had wood pieces, but you can change them up

I thought these Candy Chews were so cute~ and yeah he ate them all!

Yummy

Finally found a bedding I like

This couple of months Dilly is eating Tropical.....It's Gourmet- Ya know

All set to go 

 Once he is back in it's hard to get his picture as he has to run around and check everything!

I love Dilly

Now if I could only get a sweater on him like Stewart Little!

some stuff.........