Breaking into the 40's

Well it is week 3 of my determination to fit into my jeans. I got another kick in the bum to get busy when last Friday for "Dress Down Day" I had to dress down in my maternity jeans. No one noticed, but I knew.

Therefore, I was careful this weekend (unlike last)and watched what I ate and my portions. I mean, I only ate 2 pieces of pizzas at a birthday party and one little, itty bitty, tiny piece of cake. And that was sooooo hard because that cake was sooooo good (just like everything else that isn't good for you). Boo! But with this new found self control, I just knew I was going to make a dent this week. It was ON!!

The best decision I made was to buy some salad mix (since it is super easy) and take my lunch every day. I bought my favorite which is the Fresh Express Pear Gorgonzola. It is super yummy and taste much like the salad of the coveted Red Bar in Grayton Beach,
Florida, which everyone should experience at some point in time (the restaurant not the salad). Anyway, it is delicious with almond clusters and dried pears, and it only had 120 calories per serving. The bag has 2 servings in it, so it turns out to be a good amount of salad. I just split one bag between two days and divide up the salad dressing. It's that easy!

Alas, the inevitable (see previous post, It's Inevitable) happened. I got sick. I woke up Sunday morning with a sore throat and congestion. What else could be expected when 75 third graders are hugging on me all day, and my own three munchkins were ALL getting over being sick. This resulted in my absence from the road in the early morning. I deemed it more important to allow my body to rest and get better than to get up early and exercise. Given how bad I have felt this week, I would say it was probably a good idea.

So it was with great trepidation that I stepped on the scale this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost 3 pounds from last week. I am telling you the key is to count calories, and then exercise will push you in to the next level. I plan on giving myself a few days to get better and then get to that next level starting Monday.

In the meantime, I am super excited because I am Breaking into the 40's...even if it is only at 149.6. Hey! I will take what I can get, which is hopefully to be soon packing away those maternity jeans.

Shrimp & Mushroom Linguine

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds of shrimp (peeled and with tails off)
1 box linguine
1 package sliced mushrooms
2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed
(I actually use much more. I love garlic. Hoping it won't keep Edward away)
2 sticks of butter (oh shut up! It will be okay this once!)
lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large pan. Saute garlic (yummy smelling) for about 5 minutes. Throw in mushrooms and let them cook down. Meanwhile, cook linguine as the box instructs. Add lemon juice to mushrooms amount is up to your liking. I usually do 1/4 of a cup. After mushrooms have cooked down, add shrimp and cook only until they turn pink and start to curl. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve over linguine.

The End is Near

Every Saturday morning, my husband lets me sleep late. He rises with the sun, any roosters around, and all three of my munchkins and allows me to snooze it up until my little heart is content. Sometimes this is only until 8, but many times it stretches to 9 and sometimes (gasp) 10. Have no fear, I know I am lucky.

When I finally do emerge from my slumber I eat my bowl of cereal (this morning they were the extremely healthy Fruit Loops), fix my cup of coffee, and blog hop for a while. This "while" sometimes stretches into a couple of hours seeing as I just love visiting and comment on all of y'all's fantabulous blogs!

This morning I called my husband over to share a couple of blogs with him. (One was Gina With Love, which was soooo true and funny.) After reading the third blog and realizing I had been enjoying my bloggy session for over an hour, he proclaimed, "You have a problem!"

And he was right. He was not referring to my grey hair, which is certainly a problem that needs to be dealt with. Nor was he referring to my problem of trying to lose weight, which I am currently working on. He was referring to my "Every Thing Blog" addiction. And I am woman enough to admit it:

Hello! My name is Liz, and I am addicted to blogging!

Seriously! I love everything having to do with blogging. Two weeks ago I spent over 4 hours trying to figure out how to redesign my blog. I am constantly adding gadgets and learning how to add other tidbits of fun. Everyday I check in with my dashboard eager to open new blogs posted by my peeps and with as much anticipation as a kid opening presents. I have even become addicted to VoiceBoks, a phenomenal website dedicated to mommy bloggers.


Each night, when I finally sit down after teaching third graders, gymnastics, dance, homework, laundry, cooking, fixing lunch for the next day, picking out clothes, mediating fights, changing diapers, giving bottles, bathing children, etc., I dive into my blog eager to see who has visited during the day. I almost get so sucked in that it is difficult to climb out of what I can only describe as a bloggy black hole.

I know I should be doing other things: more laundry, unloading the dishwasher, grading papers, working on lesson plans, doing college work. I blog all the while feeling guilty. Guilty because I think about what I SHOULD be doing. Especially, my class work for college.

I am getting my Educational Specialist right now. I have been going to school for the last 3 years, and now I have one semester left. This is it. Soon I will be free. Soon I will get a major pay increase. Soon I will be considered smarter. Soon...soon...soon I will be able to blog guilt free because I won't be thinking about the classwork I should be doing instead of blogging. The End is Near...for now I better go and work on my next assignment!