Lookey Lookey

I got my Secret Bandit Gift this weekend! Check it out...

MyoTape Measuring Tape! It's awesome! You can bet I was walking around the house measuring whatever I could find. It was good times!

Would you believe me if I said that was me?! ha!

I also got this doo dab...

A Body Fat % reader. Took me a min to figure this one out!

I am pretty sure several months ago both of these would have been in box in the basement, but now they live in a cute black and white fabric bin next to my bed....along with my camera charger, mommy journal, condoms, lotion (for my legs!)... You know...all the essentials!!

Thank you Secret Bandit!

If you haven't sent you gift.....DO IT!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 13

                     Weight:  178.6 lbs            Loss: 2.5 lbs

To say I've been busy would be an understatement, so it is nice to see I can still lose weight without being 100% dedicated to it. I am smart enough to know this won't always be the case.

I went to the dr this week to get some allergy meds because lately I have been wanting to scratch my eyes out at night! I randomly mentioned a pain in right side and she ordered me up an ultra sound to check on my gallbladder. My mom had to have hers removed after her weight loss surgery. I hope I don't have to go there. We will see what the ultra sound says.

"Can I still workout?"
"It would be ok for you to take a week off of working out until we know more"
(in almost hysterics) "I can't do that! Tonight is Zumba!"
(blank stares)

I still went to Zumba, but I didn't work out Tues or Wed, and went to Zumba last night and will go in the morning. I figure 3 quality workouts are better than little 20 min everyday. Plus, the pain went away, so I doubt it is anything too serious.

Best friend, Meliss comes into town tomorrow! Yippee!! She is going to the Jason Mraz concert with her hubby, but at least I will get to see her a bit. We had baby boys 2.5 months apart. We have been best friends since 2nd grade. She lives in CT so I never get to see her. We are going to see another one of our besties (another one of my bridesmaids) We have all remained close since high school graduation.There are 5 of us, which I often refer to as the FAB 5.  They are all smart, and successful and the funnest, sweetest girls! They are all SKINNY SKINNY! My friend Kari is a 0 and has never worked out a day in her life and am pretty sure her main diet is break n bake cookies and beer. lol. Jovonna is a size 2 at the most even after having a baby. Sarah and Diana are 6's. Meliss is struggling getting her weight under wraps after having her baby in Feb, but  at her biggest was a 16 and has always been able to loose weight FAST!  Diana is getting married in June and DUDE....I am gonna look awesome!

I owe this blog a better picture, but you can prob see in my face at least I've lost weight. A lot of my clothes are just falling off of me. I seriously have no butt. Never in my life has my butt been so small, even at 150 lbs. So... it's kind weird. Now I just need this belly to follow suit!

Happy Freakin Friday Ladies!!

This is my "did I just hit the right button?" smile

10 Things Thursdays (In 10 words)

Work.

Nap.

Dinner.

Babies.

Bath.

Zumba.

Bedtime.

Blogging.

TV.

Night.

Send Your Secret Bandit Gifts!

Hi! Hi!

Just wanted to put in a friendly reminder to send your secret bandit presents BEFORE September ends. This week would be perfect! You know who you are!! (I don't, cuz my hubby is keeping it on the DL)

And remember....it doesn't have to be expensive every month or any month. Just be creative and put some thought into it!

We shifted some things around since we lost one of our bandits, and I would like to welcome Ronnie to our party! Yeah, she's the one that pretends to be EVERYONE's Secret Bandit even though she wasn't.....but now she's in!

KEep addressing all your packages to my home address to keep things even more secretive.

If you have any questions, or are not getting your packages let my hubby know. He is good about tracking things down!

Happy Monday. I am sick....again. (anyone else get sick with a dramatic change in the season?) Maybe a blessing in disguise as 10 students brought in food to share with the class today. Won't eat it if I can't taste it!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 12

Weight: 181.2    Loss: 1.2 lbs

As I stepped on the scale this morning it was doing that thing the scale in Biggest Loser does.....jumps all over the place before it lands on a number....... 145.6, 178.8, 185.4, 180.8....oh the suspense..........181.2. It stayed on that 180.8 just a little too long and then switched over to 181.2. In the words of Stephanie Tanner.... HOW RUDE!  I was in the low 181's last night, so I thought after my good day of eating (minus the 1.5 cookies) and the Zumba class it was gonna be in the 180's, but I have a feeling it will be soon.

As a Foods and Nutrition teacher, I am pretty excited about the MyPlate that just came out in the spring. I've always had my students track 3 days of eating and input it into the food tracker on the mypyramid.gov website so they can get a sense of their calorie intake, fat, protein, sugar... I have them write a 2 page essay assesing it and then to complete it I have them make attainable goals. It could be to eat more veggies, drink more water, workout more, whatever.

This year I thought it would be fun to make "tickers" like the ones we all have on our blogs. But instead of having them on the internet, making them on paper in class and hanging them around the room, so we can all support each other in whatever goal they are trying to complete. Here is mine...



It's 30 lbs total with rewards for 10lbs, 20lbs and 30lbs



There I am in my little mini convertible!

The whole thing

This is the one I've made on one of my doors. I used pounds instead of my weight. I listed my rewards and deadline. I hope having the kids in on my weight loss will help them to be inspired to make and succeed at their own goals, not matter what they are. I hope it's as fun to them as it is to me! Hey they get a party out of it if I reach 30lbs.

Well it's the perfect fall weather for a football game tonight! Tomorrow I am teaching a class at my church on how to make yummy recipes with food storage (non perishable type things). I have a few recipes I will post soon....including one with brownie mix and black beans....together! Yup. You heard right!

Have a great weekend!

Ten Thing Thursday - NSV STYLE

NSV #1: One of my students from last year yelled down the hallway this week "Hey Skinny"

NSV #2: I noticed I don't huff and puff walking up 2 flights of stairs at school. 

NSV #3: All my work out pants are falling off of me and my sports bra I just bought is too big.

NSV #4: My students made dirt pudding at school..... that would be 5 classes over 2 days with chocolate pudding, gummi worms and OREO. A few times I had my hand on that OREO package and then walked away.

NSV #5: I can wear heels again without wanting to kick them off across the room after 30 min.

NSV #6: I can run again. I have been doing the 1st and 2nd week of C25K. In June I tried running for a min and wanted to die. Now it is no problem!

NSV #7: Sex is easier. 

NSV #8: I said this one in my last post, but I fit into a size 14 jeans!!

NSV #9: I feel like something is missing from my life if I don't workout. I just really love being an active person again.

NSV #10: I am getting more comfortable being naked around my husband. Sex is one thing....it's dark, but changing in front of him terrified me. Not too bad anymore.

Can We Be Friends Again?

Yes. Yes We Can Mirror!

The mirror is finally agreeing with me lately. I am enjoying what I see in there. Tonight I went to Target* and everything I tried on fit or was too big. I ended up buying a size 10 pencil skirt because the 14 was too big and there wasn't a 12. It is tight in the hips, so I have to wear it higher on my waist, but darn it, it zips! It even looks great with a longer shirt. A 10 people. A 10.  As for jeans, I got into a 14 no prob. EXCITING!

I really needed this boost after yesterday. 

Oh and I took a pregnancy test..... Negative. Phew. 

*They have coupons for clothes you can print off their website all the time, and mobile coupons you can sign up for which comes in the form of a text message....I saved $8 on a skirt I bought and $3 on a  cardigan that was also on promo. 

Day 1: Failure

hmmmm. Today didn't go as planned.

Pretty much blew all of my goals.

Didn't drink enough water. Over 100 g carbs.

Drove 40 min to Zumba in traffic just to get there to find out the times had changed and it was ending as I got there. I was pretty pissed  by the time I drove home (another 30 min).

This did not help my goal of doing something nice for my husband. I entered the house grumpy to find my babies still had not been fed dinner (it was 7pm and they eat at 5:30pm) and some not so nice words were exchanged. Maybe exchanged isn't the right word since Jake never has a mean thing to say. To make it worse, I came home to this after school. On the stairs up to my house it says "GiGi (Logan), WeWe (Zoey) and Daddy, We Love You. Happy Anniversary Mom" (our 4th anniversary is this week) Melt my heart. Apparently it wasn't enough to keep my grumpiness at bay. 4 hours later I was storming around the house mad about Zumba, pretending my babies eating dinner at 7pm was the worst thing in the world. Geez. I'm pathetic.

No period either.

No workout (it was Bachelor Pad finale people.....it was 3 hours long!!)

And....to try and be a nice wife we went to Cold Stone for ice cream cause Jake really wanted ice cream. There goes sweets #1 of 2 for the week!! UGGG

Can I have a do-over please?!

New Week, New Woman

I think some of you have a good thing going setting weekly goals for yourself. Even if no one reads them, I will still know they are there. I have obviously been thinking about weekly eating and exercise goals, but also "I can be a better person" goals too. There are so many things I need to work on, but I guess I will just take baby steps. I really wanna reach my goal of 177 before I leave for Utah on Sept 29th.


So here goes the goals...

1. Workout 5x this week

2. Cut down on my carbs. Goal <100 g carbs a day at least 5 days this week. (this italian girls gotta splurge a few days to feel normal!)

3. Drink 64oz of water a day

4. Limit sweets to 2x this week

5. Stay at 1200 calories or less

6. Eat more veggies ( I really hate veggies)

7. Do something nice for Jake every day. He deserves it. I've been a grumpy butt with him for no reason.

8. Pray everyday, read scriptures everyday. This might help with goal #9.

9. Get my period. Not sure how I can make this happen, but it sure is a goal of mine!

Did I mention my period is 2 weeks late? Not that I've ever had a regular period.  Not gonna freak out....yet.

10. Have a friday weigh in of 180.6 lbs. Random number, but it sounds good!

I think this is a good start. I feel a good week coming on!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 11

            Weight: 182.4?  Loss:  3.4 lbs?

My scale is kinda shady. It often gives me several reading everytime I step on it, even if I step one the scale 3 times in 1 min. Come on... you know you all do it! So this morning, 1st reading 183.4, 2nd reading 182.4, 3rd reading 182.4, Sooo. I'm going with it!

Last week on Facebook a woman who goes to my church announced "what should I do today?" Both her kids went back to school and she gets 6 HOURS to herself EVERY SCHOOL DAY! I can't even comprehend this. I don't know if annoys me or I am just really jealous. Lately I find that when I share with people what I do, I kinda come across as a crazy person.

"Hi, my name is Stacey and I am a high school teacher, run a little cupcake business (150 cupcakes this weekend), am planning an entire wedding for Oct, work out 4-5 times a week, am planning 2 church events this month, am on my own at night with 2 kids under 2 cuz my hubby works at night, and am possibly taking up teaching dance next month to get a free gym membership"

"Um... ok psyco"

Yesterday I thought my kid's pediatrican was gonna write me a perscription after chatting with her about my schedule. In my mind, it all seems normal. I'm not even stressed about any of it. So... I can't even imagine just having 6 hours everyday to do whatever. I barely get 6 minutes. What do people do with all that time? Cook? Clean? Do laundry regularly? Maybe one day I will take up those things. :o)

I went to my 1st support group this week. It was alright. I'm already an expert because of all of you, and so I felt it was more a waste of my time. I prob won't be going back, but I did get to refer a few ladies who are trying to get approved to my blog and potentially to all of you. I gushed about blogland! I am pretty in love with you lapband ladies!

All my tight clothes in my closet are getting super loose now. I am THRILLED!! I am now also only Obese Class 1. I did my BMI after Ronnie shared her awesome news about only being "overweight". Haha..skinny people must find us fascinating to be excited to be "just obese"!

This weekend I will try to get a picture in... when I don't hate my hair!

Things Thursday (10 to be exact)

1. I did Day 1 of the Couch to 5k today. It felt AMAZING. I don't remember the last time I ran, but it had to have been about 7 years ago. It was so easy, it was shocking! I really am in such better shape!  I can't wait to do it again.

2. I had a 2 hour delay today because of the rain. Sweet.... except I didn't realize until I was 20 min into my drive to school. So I just went in on time, blasted Pandora (The Band Perry Station) and made the 150 cupcakes I had to for orders this weekend. Having 6 ovens in my classroom is very helpful in situations like these!

3. Went to Logan's 9 month check up today. He is 40% weight, 60% height. What a peanut! All that crawling and climbing and trying to walk is burning calories! If I do what he does for a day do you think I could get to 40% weight??

4. Had a tiny hissy fit today as I was making frostings after school at my house. I couldn't stop trying the 4 flavors of buttercream I was making and just got so pissed at myself. Thankfully Jake took over and sent me on my way to the gym to blow off steam before he left for work. Why does buttercream have to destroy my life sometimes!

5. Before I left Jake announces.... "You just need some really good sex". Love that he thinks sex solves eating problems!!

6. Um.... it is REALLY still raining?

7. I was blowing bubbles for the kiddies to chase. Zoey caught one in her mouth and goes "MMM...delicious" in her cute little slurry toddler voice that you have to listen really hard to understand. Made my night! Didn't even know she knew that word.

8. There is a teacher next to me that walked into the copy room and goes "you seriously are looking so good".  She is obese and was telling me how frustrated she is with it and not having time to workout and making bad food choices. I really wanted to suggest weight loss surgery....but how do you do that without telling someone you had it done, without sounding completely insulting???

9. Yesterday I ate 1 1/2 reeses pb cups. I felt ashamed. I didn't wanna workout. So, at 9:30pm I said to myself "Self.... write down all ur calories from the day and if you are over 1000, do a workout video" So... 1600 calories later.... I was doing 30 Day Shred at 10pm! My butt is sore today. Go me!

10. I miss my long hair.

There It Goes...

....into the trash can, in all it's glory. The best part of the sandwich now left to live its days in a landfill, unloved and uneaten. Oh how I wish to stuff my face with your golden buttery tastiness. The eggs and the sausage will have fill my soul and belly, but I realize, they will never be you.  We can no longer be lovers my beautiful McDonald's biscuit. I will remember our times together, the way we used to sneak around to keep our love a secret. How I looked forward to holding you in my hands and stuffing you in my face.

 Into the trash you go. I will miss you.



RIP my friend.

Beware of the Spotted Dog

Today was a really great day! 

I got up this morning and went to Zumba and sweated my little heart out and burned many-a-calorie! Yay!

I then went to the hu-mungo outlet mall with a new girlfriend and got Zoey these freakin cute boots for winter! And while I was shopping for the little ones tried on this SIZE LARGE yellow pea coat from Old Navy. It buttoned all the way up and while I thought it looked a little tight it didn't feel tight. Everything in the store was 40% off. Awesome right?! I didn't buy a single thing. I'm stingy like that.

To cap off a fab day, I went on a date with Jakey Poo tonight! The plan was to go and test drive the new mini cooper with the 4 doors. I've been dying to get inside of one, just to see how it drives. I had to give up my mini cause there was no way a car seat and stroller where fitting in that thing. Sadly, the dealership was closed....sigh. Another day.

We hit up Outback. Jake works there, so we get 50%. It's a no brainer! Our bill tonight was $7.52. It wasn't my best night of choices. I got the kids grilled chicken (ate 1/2) with a side of mac and cheese (ate 1/3). I had a bite of Jake's sandwich and a piece of bread and a few blooms of the bloomin onion that one of the servers dropped off at our table even though we didn't order it. I had only had 300 calories up until dinner so I felt like I splurge a bit.

I knew going to Outback I wanted the Spotted Dog Sundae to share with Jake. It's the kids sundae with ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, oreo crumbles. I figured since it's on the kids menu it can't be more that 500 calories tops, and splitting it with Jake I would be golden. Well.... I got on my calorie counter AFTER eating it and found these nutritional facts...

Calories	922  cal
Carbohydrates	99  g
Dietary Fiber	2  g
Total Fat	54  g
Saturated Fat	29  g
Trans Fat	0  g
Protein	9  g
Cholesterol	146  mg
Sodium	388  mg

um.... ouch! That wasn't expected! Thank goodness I exercised today and basically every day this week. I will be closing eyes as I get on the scale tomorrow (that makes no sense now does it?)

So my friends..... stay away from the spotted dog sundae at outback, or share with 4 other people! (if that is even possible cause it's so darn it all good!)

Time to cuddle up and watch a movie with Jake! Night!

Weekly Weigh In: Week 10

                          Weight: 185.8       Loss: 1.4 lbs

Finally saw a 185 this morning. I am getting so sick of the numbers 186, 187 and 188.

Life is so busy. I hate when my "to do" list can fill out an entire spiral bound notebook. Between teaching, church things I am involved with, being a mommy with a hubby who works at night, and being the wedding planner for a wedding in Oct, oh, and don't forget my cupcake gig, I feel like I am struggling to get a grasp on it all, let alone my diet and exercise.

I really pushed myself this week to eat well and find time to do some sort of exercise. I can't help but think back to my college days when I could exercise whenever the heck I wanted. I would have been at Zumba everynight if it existed. I tried to go three times this week already and only made it the 1 time (695 traffic = road rage stacey). I can't just drop everything and work out. I work all day and to go to Zumba which is 20 min away, would mean I am away from my kids for almost 2 hours. I need to be a mommy first ya know? In college my priority would have been exercising. Time changes things. (sigh) I will have to find other ways to get my good workouts.  I ended up buying the Juliene Hough dance workout to do after the kids go to bed. It's pretty good. She is cute and so freakin tiny! So glad I don't have to dance next to her!!

We survived the hurricane ok. It was a pretty scary night. We put Zoey in the basement instead of her room upstairs. About 9pm branches started falling on the house. It wasn't too bad until one branch came down and shook the whole house. I thought a tree came down. It hit so hard the nails in the upstairs ceiling are sticking out. It really scared me, so we all ended up sleeping in the basement. All was well, until I tried to transfer Logan from his crib to the basement. Apparently basement = party time. Then.....power went out, which meant darker party. We tried really hard to get them settled down, but with no fans or AC to block the noise, they were both up till 4am. It really sucked.  Amazingly enough we got by with only a 10in whole in our room and branches all over the yard. Our neighborhood lost a lot of big trees. Some still don't have power. Ours came back the next afternoon.

I have been trying to read everyone's blog and comment when I can. Give me 1 more week to get in the swing of things and then I will be posting like a mad woman. Have a great labor day weekend ladies!