"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.."

I call bullshit on that! Take chocolate for instance (in any form) that shit is AMAZING. You know what a more truer statement is : "Nothing feels as good as skinny does." At least that's my opinion. I'm not just thinner these days, I'm more fit too. And that my friends, makes all the difference in the world. I have more energy and stamina, i'm happier and healthier for it too. And as an added bonus, I don't shudder at the thought of buying new clothes. It is however, still a pretty daunting task to complete. 

In the last few days I've noticed my jeans beginning to have a bit more room in them. I was curious:  Have I just stretched them out? Or, am I getting ready to drop another size? Hmm. So on a whim today, after dropping Annaleese off at school, Peyton and I went to kohl's. They carry the jeans I prefer. So I went found them in a size smaller, and you know what? The dang things FIT! Not perfect mind you, but well enough that I could have bought them. I didn't though. I'm not ready to buy new jeans, though I probably will in the next couple weeks. I'm super stoked though! As I was speed shopping, a few dresses and tops caught my eye. I picked a few up, in sizes smaller than the last time I went out ( a few months have passed), tried them on and found out they too, were TOO BIG. I didn't have the time or the patience to go back and find them in smaller sizes. I left the store empty handed, but happy as hell! Now if I had some friends to go shopping with!

Plateaus...

Look at me, I'm blogging! The girls are napping at the same time, so here I am. Okay, now on to the post.

It seems as though I've hit another plateau. It's kinda bumming me out a bit. I mean, I've been busting my butt. And nothing! If I'm being honest ( and I try to be) as I thought about it, while I might have stepped up my exercise plan, I think a floundered a bit with the "healthy" eating. I mean, I try hard to keep junk food out of the house. Out of site out of mind, and there is no need to exercise will power as hard if it's not here. With Easter being last sunday we've had candy in the house. Chocolaty, peanut buttery, mini cadbury eggs, yummy delicious candy. And I may have sneaked a few more bites than I thought. So the plan this week: STAY ON TRACK!!!! We are going camping this weekend, so it might be a little hard. Traditionally, when camping, my family eat like kings! Not sure why the food is better and in ample supply when we sleep in the dirt, but it is.  So I will be found living in my yoga pants, exercising to videos and spinning it up at the gym! Here's to working on crushing that PLATEAU! 

...And Peyton is awake!

Meals planned

Today I sat down and went through my food board on interest and I picked four healthy-ish meals to make this week. I happened to already have some of the ingredients in my fridge. So we are gonna give these a try. I plan to make these this week!

On the Menu:

Pasta with Zucchini Lemon Sauce


Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas

Breadless Tuna Melt

Turkey Ranch Club Wrap (with turkey bacon)

Back in the Saddle

Since January and February had left the family sick most of the time,  I decided it was time to jump back on the exercise train. I took the lead from Jessica, and put together a work out calendar for the month as motivation. I actually do better when I have things scheduled out. I stuck with it for about half of the month. I think I over estimated my energy levels, but I did make it to the gym two to three times a week. 

To change up the workouts at the gym I tried a Spin class. Although it hurt the first time, I'm hooked! I love it!  The hour goes by pretty fast, and the calorie burn is pretty awesome too!

I know this seems silly, but I'm finally starting to see my self as thinner. Maybe it's more apparent to me because all of my clothes are a little too big now. But I also see it in photos of me, sometimes I do a double take, not sure who the girl in the photo is. It feels amazing, and I'm not gonna lie, I do like the compliments. Keep 'em coming people, it's motivation to keep working out.

In March I did something I never do, I don't even enjoy it. I went swim suit shopping. I didn't hate what I saw. I just wasn't completely comfortable in it. I'm still pretty self conscious. I probably looked better in it than I thought.( We are our own worst critics) But I see little imperfections and think to my self, what if someone else see me in this and thinks it's gross. So I left without buying anything. A couple days later I bought one online from a specialty shop. I also bought a cute dress from them too! And then I went shopping with Annaleese and bought another summer dress. 

So here's to a Happy Healthy April! I'm ready to get my body even more bikini ready.

(Sorry if this is all over the place.)

Here's what I bought:

Baby Bode!

Monday, January 21, 2013 our good friends, Derek and Alana, welcomed their first child into the world.

Scott and I, along with many of our friends, are simply thrilled for them! They opted not to find out the sex of the baby during the pregnancy, waiting until birth for the big reveal. I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. Part of me was even upset that they chose to wait, I wanted to know so I could pick out some cute outfits for the kiddo. It hit me though, waiting to hear boy or girl. Not only was it a surprise for the parents but everyone else was just as anxious. What a surprise that must have been!

Welcome to World BODE!

PS: Alana is doing well!

Going Away Party

Last night was Cortney's going away party. She's set to leave for Washington with Andrew,her boyfriend, come December 27th or 28th. It was a pretty good party, low key, with family and friends there to see her off. I'm not going to lie, I was the first to cry. I don't know exactly what spurred it, but I was the first one to shed a tear. And before I knew it, Cortney, Nana, Mom, and eventually Pam joined in too. 

Its not goodbye, I know that. It's just that she's not going to be here to hang out with. I'm losing my mall partner, and do nothing with friend. It's like losing my best friend all over again. I haven't felt like this since 2003. It hurts, but I know it will get better. 

Gifts and Cards

It's funny what giving and receiving makes you realize. 

The other day I was putting together a photo gift for my in-laws. My sister in-law had been kind enough to spend some time compiling an album of her family's photos to share with me so I could complete my project. Of course I looked through them all before I selected the ones I would use. While going through them it hit me, that when compared to my photos one thing was missing. Family shots. In the photos she shared with me there was at least half a dozen photos with all four of them together. I had zero. Not one. In fact the last time all four of us took a photo together was the day Peyton was born. I don't even have professional family portraits.

I love pictures. I take lots of them. I take photos everyday. Usually of my children. Scott and I are rarely in any of them, and almost never are there photos of all four of us. I'm really irked by this. I plan on fixing this. It's not that I need proof in the form of pictures that I have a family, it would just be nice too look through albums and see the four of us together.

The other thing that's been brought to my attention via christmas cards and yearly letters, Is that we don't go anywhere. I mean, we take the occasional drive to monterey for the day. But we don't take many weekends away to explore something new, or day trips to the beach. Next year - I hope to change that, and take pictures of all of us!