Thank you Mrs. Crocker

My achievement for this week was cooking my first whole chicken! I wasn't sure that I could do it, but yes I could with the help of Mrs. Betty Crocker. I never knew it could be so easy!

I am excited for the start of a new school year--all the celebrations, new projects, and being a part of bringing more great girls to a fabulous school!

Another accomplishment this week that may not sound huge to the average person, but I went shopping with people other than my husband or family member. I cannot remember the last time I felt confident and unashamed enough to allow myself to be around others when I am shopping. It was fun, but I also had to remind myself to not get frustrated because I still have a ways to go, but I will never be skinny. I ended the day feeling good which hasn't been the case after a shopping trip for a very long time.

I'm back..../Not just any jeans

Yes, it has been too long. No, we have not "fallen off course." We're still going along in our journey, just kind of hit a level plain. Not mountains, not valleys. In the last six weeks we have spent time with family and friends and I have also returned to work. I've been working on a lot of fun projects that have been challenging yet enjoyable and hence not much energy when I get home. My hubby has been working lots of overtime lately, making up for the dollars spent traveling and visiting family as well as paying off some bills. I'm quite proud of the hard work he has been doing, but ready to have him back on the weekends. I guess I've gotten a small glimpse into what it is like to be a single parent and wouldn't wish it upon anyone!!


These are not just any jeans...





These are the first jeans that I have purchased for a long time that were not plus size!!!! While in Georgia visiting my in-laws, Tom and I snuck away while Brooklyn was napping and did a little shopping. These jeans are from one of my old favorite stores, Old Navy! It has been many years since I have fit into their jeans, and I not only fit into them, I didn't have to buy their largest size! I had a bit of a celebratory dance in the dressing room to say the least. My hubby has also fit himself into the smallest pants he can ever remember wearing. To say the least, shopping is fun again! Being able to shop just about anywhere I want to also allows me to be picky and look around for bargains. Here is my latest:







Not the best photo of it, but this is a stylish gold skirt (4 sizes smaller than when I started this journey), that I would have not ever thought I would look good in before. The original price was $54.50; it was marked down to $39.99 with an additional 50% off and I had a $15 coupon... do the math and I got it for a whole $5!


With my new confidence due to my healthier life, it was also time for another drastic change for my new look. My good friend Maggie blessed me with a gift card to Studio 120 for a hair makeover--and boy did I need it! I figured if I wanted to get something different, I should go all out---





and I did!


I promise to blog more and don't forget to send me recipes for your tasty healthy meals! I need to expand my recipe book to keep things changing with our eating and we won't get bored.


Till next time!

The fun stuff we are doing

I met up with a coworker yesterday to get some ideas for a summer camp I am teaching in a couple of weeks and she asked what we had been doing so far (this is technically just week 1 of summer break). I was telling her that I've been in a predicament because summer is shorter than I was looking forward to all school year (going back to work July 6), so I have all these ideas of things to do and want to enjoy the time I have off. But yet, I still want to relax a little so that I feel refreshed when I go back to work. I'm working on the balance.

With that said, I thought I'd share some of the things we have done this week and last week when I didn't have inservice meetings:

• Nashville Sounds baseball game- Tom got to see a legend coaching the Iowa Cubs (Ryne Sandberg)
• Lunch date and a movie
• Wave Country ($12 for the family with our Citipass coupon)
• Trip to the zoo (many more to come)
• Story time at the main library (a must for all young children)
• Free family movie at Green Hills Cinema
• Staying up late and catching up on movies from the Redbox since summer television stinks
• Finished a book I started on Spring Break

If you have other fun and inexpensive things to do, please share!

Today we head to Indiana after Tom gets off work. The first celebration of the summer--my little sister's engagement party! Still hard to believe my little sister is getting married because she's supposed to stay little to me and not do these kind of grown up things--just kidding Karen!

Yesterday I found out that registration for a camp increased, so next week I'll return to my art state of mind and maybe it will inspire me to do some more of my own artsy things!

Summer please slow down.

Summer has begun

I've been busy with my to do list for the month and realized I hadn't written an update in a couple of weeks. It's going to be a busy month, but we are excited to see family and friends over the next few weeks! One project I am working on is a recipe book of my own! I collect recipes from various Web sites (eatbetteramerica and Mrs. Dash are my faves), but need one place to put them all so I don't have to keep searching for them. If you have a recipe I can add to my book, please send it to me! We need to energize our menu so that we don't get bored with it!

Here's our next weigh in:

Amie has lost 2 1/2 more pounds for a total of 53 pounds!!

Tom has lost 5 more pounds for a total of 48 pounds!!

We'll post some updated pics after we take some this weekend!

Yummy dinner

Tonight I made this chicken stir fry recipe for dinner and it was very yummy. It has a kick of spicy--which we didn't expect. Easy to make as well!

Celebrations

I've been asked a lot lately how I plan to spend my summer. Although it will be shorter than expected (returning to work July 1), I do have many things to look forward to during the month of June. My little sister's engagement party in Indy, Huntsville to celebrate Sophia's birthday and Eli's baptism, Father's Day, July 4th weekend in Georgia, and squeeze in zoo trips and storytimes at the library with Brooklyn--I hope to go back to work in July to relax!

Another milestone happened last weekend when we cleaned out our closets and donated four trash bags full of clothes that are too BIG to Goodwill. We're used to donating stuff that is too small, so this felt very good.

I keep forgetting to mention that another health benefit from our journey has been that Tom's snoring has pretty much disappeared. I've woken up many times during the night and there hasn't been any snoring. YEA!!!! He had surgery for his deviated septum, tonsils removed, and other stuff four years ago to help with his sleep apnea. They told him the rest was up to him--to cure the snoring and apnea, he had to lose weight. That he has done!

Last night was the finale of The Biggest Loser and I was completely amazed at all the contestants results. We did a weigh in and here are our results:

Amie lost another 4 1/2 pounds for a total of 50 1/2 pounds

Tom lost another 2 pounds for a total of 43 1/2 pounds

I met my pound for pound challenge! I pledged 50 pounds thinking it was a far-reaching goal. WOW! I can't believe I met it! My new goal is another 30 pounds. I'm giving myself the timeframe of my sister's wedding in September 2011.

Here's to the next phase of our journey! Thanks for traveling with us!

Blessings

The past couple of weeks I have been reminded of the many blessings in my life. This Mother's Day as the Bishop of Nashville said a blessing over mothers at Mass, I got a bit emotional because I absolutely love being a mom and it defines who I am. I strive every day to be the best mom I can be and just hope that Brooklyn knows at least an inkling of how much I love her. Nothing quite describes the love a mother has for her child. It's undefinable.


As many that I know also experienced and survived the disastrous floods last week, I am very thankful for everything I have and that we did not have to experience that trauma personally. I am truly touched by the spirit and courage of my friends who experienced losing their homes and belongings to the rivers. I had the opportunity to go help in the clean up a little and wish I could have done more. I enjoyed helping out a guy named Will who needed help packing up things he could salvage (who knew the skills I learned moving so much growing up would help in a disaster as well). Our super-woman team of Deb, Pam, Jenn, Stephanie, and I did everything we could in our three hours only to find most everyone in the neighborhood we were at had plenty of help. The volunteer spirit is thriving!


We haven't given a update on our weight loss, so this is where we are:


Tom has lost another 4 1/2 pounds for a total of 41 pounds and I have lost another 5 1/2 pounds for a total of 46 pounds. Here are a few pics from Mother's Day. Doesn't Tom look so skinny??? I am in my new skirt that is two sizes smaller!