A new, (hopefully) organized year

Let's see, last time we spoke, I was drooling over the Mexican food we were finally going to be allowed to eat after the weight loss challenge.  Ohhhh, it was GOOD!!!  We had Mexican food, Indian food, more Mexican food, not to mention the gluttonous Christmas and New Year's dinner and drinks.  It was like heaven.  But now, it's back to reality!  I've tracked my food for the day in my Livestrong MyPlate account and I'm back on the wagon.  I, of course, didn't keep the full 10 pounds off over the holidays, so I've got more work to do.  My goal now is to lose 15 pounds before the month of April.  Five pounds per month should be easy after losing 10 pounds in 3.5 weeks, right?  We shall see.

In other news, after my 11 glorious days off from work, we have a semi-organized house!  I'm kicking myself that I didn't take any "before" pictures just to show what a true PIT it was, but I'll take some "after" pics tonight.  It will at least Wow my parents and my brother - they know what it looked like before.  Yikes!

We managed to reclaim our bookshelves in our living room and bought some storage ottomans from Target in which to keep the kids' toys and things and act as a coffee table for the living room.  We also moved all the writing and drawing stuff over to a bookshelf that now sits beside a newly-fixed kid's table (it had been broken for something like three years after being used as a launching pad for some sort of Gymnastic/Tae Kwon Do aerial display) and created a drawing/project area for the kids.  Last night before heading to bed, we wandered around our living room and soaked in the peace that came from the cleanness.  It was amazing.

The organizer comes again on Friday this week.  She's going to be surprised, although I'm not sure she'll really be all that happy.  She had told us not to run out and buy the first thing we found to store our crap - and really, we didn't - so I'm curious to see how she'll react to our super-organizing effort over the holiday break.  I think we did a good job and since I'm the one who has to live there, that's really what matters.  :)

The next major project I think we'll attempt is re-doing our closet with an Elfa closet system.  We've decided we're sick of having dressers in our bedroom (I don't even use mine) and what we really need is a bookshelf and a desk-type thing for the husband to use in the middle of the night when he has to get up and take phone calls from the drilling rig.  I didn't necessarily want a desk in our room, however, so we ended up investing in one of these West Elm Console Desks over the weekend, too.  The hope is that with another one of those storage ottomans under the center part, it won't look toooo much like a desk.  We can't put it together yet, however, because my dresser is in the way...

Oh!  I almost forgot about Fatty's weight loss contest prize - the husband won one of the prizes.  We don't know which one yet, but something is supposed to show up in the mail in the next couple of weeks.  I'm excited to see what it turns out to be!

I made it!

I made it, I made it, I maaaaaade it!  I'm dancing a little jig because I can't contain myself!  This morning when I weighed myself, I was down 10.0 pounds.  Then I did it again and it was 10.2 pounds.  Then I made the mistake of trying again, which resulted in my weight loss being only 9.8 pounds, so THEN I had to try again and I was back to 10.0.  I'm calling that a success.  :)

Today is my last day at work for the next 11 days.  I'm so excited to have that much time off.  The last time I had that much time off in a row ...I was on maternity leave.  Yikes.

Our plans for the holiday vacation?  Organize the house.  I know that doesn't sound like much fun - and really, it's not - but I just can't stand the clutter in the house anymore.  The husband hired a professional organizer for me for Christmas and our first session was last Friday.  I have some "homework" to do before she comes back after the New Year, but I'd like to do a little more than just the minimum she asked me to do.  It's such a good feeling to finally be doing something about the "Pit of Despair", as I lovingly refer to our house.

Tomorrow the plan is to finally go to a Mexican restaurant and pig out on chips and margaritas- something we haven't been able to have for the last month.  (way too many calories ...in just one chip!)  Mmmmm...  Chuy's...

P.S.  The husband made it to his goal of 15 pounds lost, too.  Together that's 25 pounds of fat that is now missing from our house.  Yay!!!

This exercise business is really getting in the way.

So I've been exercising religiously for the last few weeks and must continue doing so this week if I want to lose those last couple of pounds.  However, this is really getting in the way of getting ready for Christmas!

In previous years, I've been able to go Christmas shopping at lunchtime during the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas.  And to make it worse, a couple of months ago, my company banned shopping websites from our internet access.  It's made Christmas extremely difficult this year.

The husband and kids are out shopping for gift cards and other miscellaneous presents today, but there are still a few things I need to get.  Well, where there's a will, there's a way.  I just have to find it...

Getting there...

Today was weigh-in day and I'm slowly getting there.  Actually, last week on Thursday, I was at a lower weight than today, but this past weekend of socializing with friends did me in.  I'm down about 7.5 pounds today.  And I only have three days left to lose that last 2.5.  Somehow, I'll make myself do it, though.  I've gotten used to starvation!  :)

So, on Thursday morning last week when I weighed myself and found that I had finally broken that elusive goal-weight I've had in my head for the last couple of years, I immediately went and scared the crap out of the husband by waking him up and yelling, "I made it!!  And look, if I stand sideways and suck in my tummy, I almost look skinny!  And, and look!  When I pinch my fat, there's so much less there!!!"

After he figured out that there wasn't an intruder in the house, he calmed down and said, "Yes, you look great, dear."  Good husband.

And I'm off to drink some more water...

Sodium is not my friend

I stepped on the scale this morning (just because I like torturing myself) but today I was met with a pleasant surprise: I was three pounds lighter this morning than yesterday morning!  I must have been retaining a lot of water yesterday, I guess.  So, I need to remember next week before the final weigh-in that sodium is not my friend.

Last night was supposed to be our bi-weekly date night, but the nanny couldn't make it, so we spent a quiet evening at home.  It was probably a good thing, too, because Marxo's throat started hurting and she seems to have a swollen tonsil on one side.  We put her to bed and spent the rest of the evening helping Fellan to finish his homework for the week.

You would think, then, that we would have been able to go to bed early, right?  Well, at least, that's what I was fantasizing about.  But, no, we had to pick up the house and put away clothes and wash the towels and finally made it to bed at about 10:30.  I'm still recovering from the weekend, I guess - I'm still tired.

So, I'll be calling the doctor this morning to see if we can get an appointment.  Seems like the kids have been sick a lot this fall...

Really? REALLY?!!

I weighed myself last night and after starving myself for a second week in a row with only one evening of decadence, I've gained a pound since last week.  Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be female...

Need sleep...

I need some sleep after this weekend!

The husband and I went to a Christmas party this past weekend in Midland, TX!  It was fun, but it basically took up the entire weekend.

My husband does quite a bit of consulting work and the company he works through had their Christmas party this past weekend.  They usually have it here in Houston, but last year, the Midland folks suggested that they hold it out there instead.

So, we all flew out there and tore up the town.  Not really, but we did stay out much later than our normal bedtime.  :)

And, on Friday night, we were up late, entertaining friends at our house and then getting ready for the trip.  I'm really ready for a nap.

But!  No rest for the weary!  I must work out today to attempt to undo some of the harm that the tenderloin topped with lobster butter (yum!), potato cakes (yum!), wine (yum!), and flourless chocolate mint cake (yummy, yum, yum!) did to my "diet" over the weekend.  It's not going to be good news tonight when I weigh myself.

But it was worth it.

Fed Up With Lunch: Eat Along Challenge

Mrs. Q over at Fed Up With Lunch posted a challenge for this week.  (apparently, I just can't turn down a challenge!)

This week, she's asking everyone who packs lunch for their children to post pictures of those lunches.  So, this morning, I set them out and took these inspiring pictures.

Marxo's Lunch

Fellan's Lunch

Actually, after setting out their lunches and looking at them, I really found nothing inspiring about them.  But, this is what they have every day.  It is what it is - and at least there are no preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors.

Marxo's lunch is always either a Babybel cheese OR yogurt, half a sweet peanut butter sandwich on home-made bread (natural peanut butter mixed with honey), water, fruit OR vegetable (typically cucumbers and carrots), and a cookie (which many times she doesn't eat because she doesn't have time or she's full).

Fellan always eats his full lunch.  His lunch is always a cheese stick, a toasted american cheese sandwich on home-made bread, Pringles, fruit (most of the time, the kids choose to have grapes), 2% milk, and a cookie... or two.

This year, we've been making the kids pack their own lunches.  They get their fruit, cookies, and Pringles ready the night before, we make their sandwiches for them in the morning, and then they're responsible for packing it all up before they leave.

They've also been going to after-school care this year at the school and if they want a snack (they're not allowed to usually have the snack from the school because it's generally crap-food), they're responsible for packing that the previous night, too.  Fellan usually chooses a mandarin orange cup and a package of Annie's Homegrown Bunny Crackers (similar to teddy grahams - chocolate is, of course, his favorite flavor, but we've been out of those for awhile...).

Marxo says she never has time to eat a snack after school, but I've been trying to make sure she has something in her bag, in case she gets hungry.  There's currently a smashed Kashi granola bar and some raisins in her bag.  And they've been in there since the beginning of the school year.  :o

I wouldn't consider these to be in the same class as the very original, cutsie, all-wholesome lunches and snacks that others provide for their kids, but I do think they serve the purpose and they're still relatively healthy.  And it works for us.  :)

Coats!

We live in Houston.  A place that does not require a coat for probably 9 months out of the year.  Yet, we've got coats.  Lots of coats.

So many coats that they can't all fit on the coat hanger.

... and also a tire.

(Notice the "energy particle" I captured in that photo.  You know, the things they're always pointing out in those TV shows about hauntings and ghosts.  "We suddenly felt a presence and a cold draft of air came across the room.  We didn't see anything, but when we reviewed the video later, an obvious energy particle can be seen shooting through the air!")

Progress!

Last night when I got home, the husband and I went upstairs and ripped off our clothes and headed to... the bathroom to weigh ourselves. We both laughed at how funny this would look to anyone else.

Good news, though - I've lost 3.4 pounds! All that starving is doing some good! :)

I don't think this is a good long-term plan in the slightest - losing this much weight in this short of a time is just not a good idea, but I think it's going to help me finally get some motivation to keep it going and I think I should really be able to hit my goal of being fit and healthy by the time I'm 40. Yay!

UPDATED: Oh, and the best part is that the husband has lost 6 pounds, so I figure at least one of us should have a very good shot at being in the running for all the prizes. There are lots of guys who have already posted that they've lost at least 7 pounds. Us poor women are having a bit of a harder time, though...