The Easiest Recipe in the World!

If you're like me, you like to cook but you don't have a lot of time. You need to make something fast, and it needs to be easy. In my WW journal, I discovered the easiest dessert recipe ever! And Hudson helped me make it. All you need is 1 can of your favorite pie filling, and 1 regular box of angel food cake. I bought light cherry filling but use whatever you like best. That's right, only two ingredients! Here's what you do...

Get your ingredients ready.

Mix the cake mix and pie filling together.

Let a little man try the batter.

Bake in the oven for 25-30mins at 350 while the little man plays with your pans.

Cool, and cut into squares.

VOILÀ!

I promise. It tastes so yummy. Another plus...it's not all that bad for you either. Go ahead...bake it!

Weight Watchers Wednesdays

It’s been a long hard week, and I always look forward to Wednesdays to bring me back to earth. I weighed in today, and did okay but not as well as I had hoped. I lost 1.8 lbs, which gives me a total loss of 4 lbs since I’ve joined WW. It’s great that I lost and it’s great that I stayed inside of my point limit, but I know that my activity level and food choices affected the total. I didn’t walk as much this week, I didn’t eat as many fruits and vegetables, I didn’t drink as much water, or plan my meals. It was a very willy-nilly kind of week. I guess I just thought if I stayed inside my points, a magical fairy would wave her wand and POOF!-I’d be three pounds lighter.

So here are my goals for this week:
1.) More Fruits veggies -I think these make great in-between meal snacks.
2.) More Water-I don’t know why I have such a problem drinking liquids all day
3.) More Walks – Jake loves to walk and I should start taking him about 3 times a week. He can be my walking buddy!
4.) Take a multivitamin – I would really love if these weren’t the size of horse pills.
5.) Planning my meals – I have a little time to myself at night when the kids go to bed. I think this is the perfect time to plan. It doesn’t take long and it makes the next day less stressful.

My goal is always to lose two pounds a week, and technically, since it’s been two weeks and I’ve lost four pounds, I’m still on track. I really want to get my five pound sticker next week! But what I really want is for all these healthy choices to become a normal part of my life.

Weight Watchers Wednesdays

Today I weighed in. It’s the first week I’ve been on the program and I was very excited to see if it worked for me. Are you ready? Since last week I am officially a little over TWO POUNDS lighter! If I have the same success next week, I will see a number on the scale I haven’t seen since I was pregnant with Hudson. I really am so proud of myself, and feel so motivated from the meeting to keep going another week.

Despite what the name may imply, Weight Watchers is not all about the number we see on the scale. It’s about how our health influences the number on the scale. The number is important to me because it’s one measure of how close I am to being my healthiest, but there are other measures. Like I’ve said before, skinny does not equal healthy. The WW class leader asked us today to list details of our success. In other words, besides what I see on the scale, how do I know my new eating and exercising habits are working for me? Well, I know because I plan my meals based on their nutritional values. I know, because I take time at night to walk. I know, because I have more energy and I feel happier. I know, because I’m making my health a priority. These are all things I’ve never done before, and now they seem important to me.

A week may sound like a short amount of time now that it’s over. But let me tell you, following this system for an entire week is huge for me. I don’t feel like I’m feeling my way around in the dark anymore. I have guidelines, I have a teacher, I have people to relate with, and I have a goal. Since I started walking, I’ve lost 9lbs. I’m so motivated.

It’s a whole new week, with brand new points. Wish me luck.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Yes, I'm on the weight loss kick, again. Today is not Wednesday, but I’m writing this as an introduction. Every Wednesday from now until the end of the year, I have a Weight Watchers (WW) meeting at work. Yes it’s a little expensive, but at my company you get your money back when you reach your goal (10% for everyone).

It’s all about points. Everything you eat has a point value (PointsPlus) that is calculated based on fat, carbohydrates, protein and fiber. Basically, these are all key components to a person’s diet but typically you want less fat and carbs while taking in more fiber and protein. It’s a careful balance. I, for example, am allowed to eat 31 points per day (no one eats less than 29 per day). I’m also allowed to have an extra 49 points per week for special occasions, weekends, nights out, etc. The WW program says if I follow the points system then I will lose weight. So if I want a Big Mac, I can have a Big Mac, so long as I count the points. But there’s a catch. Obviously, a Big Mac is not the healthiest sandwich. It’s high in protein, but also high in fat. When you figure it, a Big Mac is worth about 15 points.  15 points! That’s nearly half of my daily allowance in one sandwich. So I have to think to myself, is it worth it? Do I want spend half of my daily points all at once? Probably not. I’ve learned that a Big Mac is a treat, and if I’m going to eat it I have to be more balanced the rest of the day, and it’s best to include the Mac in my extra weekly points.

The best thing about the PointsPlus plan is that all fruits and most vegetables are worth 0 points (potatoes and corn have starch so they are worth a few points). If I use all of my points during the day but feel like I need a snack around 9pm, I can have an apple, strawberries, celery, etc. The key, as always, is to eat slow and stop when you’re full. You’re also encouraged to eat power foods like lien protein, and low fat dairy. On top of that, your daily point number increases depending on the amount of activity you do. When you burn more calories, you get to eat more points.

All in all I think this program is just a way to numerically measure your diet and nutrition. It’s nothing new. It’s nothing I haven’t been told before. But it’s helping me to use numbers in order to track what I’m eating on a day to day basis. I can write the points down or keep track of them online, or even on my phone. And I don’t have to continue the program for life if I don’t want to because I have the calculator and I know how to do it. The only motivation for staying in the program is because I am held accountable and encouraged to reach my goals by going to meetings (Oh, and I get my money back!).

I’ve been walking now a few times a week for a couple of months so I had already lost about 4 lbs before I started the program last week, but even only doing it a week, I can tell it’s working. Mostly, it’s just nice to have a formula to keep me on track, and to have meetings to look forward to. It really helps. It really, really helps. Stay tuned for tomorrow and I’ll tell you if I’m right. (Man, I hope I’m right!)

Painting Pinecones

After seeing a friends blog post, I got the idea to paint my own pinecones (with Briana's help, of course) and either put them in a vase or make my own fall wreath. I don't have a wreath, the stuff to make a wreath, or a clear vase (yet) but I did get some pinecones. So here they are...our painted pinecones. They are patiently waiting for a home.

The Lion King...in 3D!

So Briana had another 1st. She watched her first 3D movie...and she kept the glasses on the entire time!
I still cried when Mufasa died. And my favorite part is still when Rifiki hits Simba on the head with his stick.

We ate skittles, drank water, and had a good ol' time. I hope Disney does this again when Hudson is old enough to go. It will always be my favorite Disney movie!

A Serious Post...I Promise a Light One After This

I struggled with whether or not to publish a post on this topic. My struggle comes from two opposing points: privacy and awareness. The topic is private and personal to me, but it’s also something you should be aware of, something millions of Americans suffer from. It’s something I was diagnosed with as a teenager and something I think I’m dealing with currently. I am talking about depression.

Depression is more than a mood disorder; it’s an everyday struggle of the mind and body. Although I make good decisions, lead a good home life, suffer from no addiction to medication, illegal drugs or alcohol (things that many depressed individuals have trouble achieving) I can’t always shake feelings of doubt, fear, failure, grief, overall sadness, and sometimes panic in my daily decision making process. These feelings of inadequacy and negativity are overwhelming. They consume me at times. It’s like a wise and confident angel on one shoulder, and a sad, grieving, very scared little angel on the other. Every time I am faced with a decision (whether it be getting out of bed in the morning or changing careers) I have to choose which angel to listen to. Even though part of me knows I should listen to the confident angel, most days it’s just too hard. The sad angel tells me I’m not good enough, strong enough, pretty enough, or smart enough. She reminds me of all the times I have failed. She talks about my past and she fears my future. I know you can relate to this because everyone has those opposing forces in life, but what I’m trying to say is that these forces are amplified with people who suffer from depression. If you’ve ever heard the term “chemical imbalance,” that’s truly what it is. It’s an utter and total imbalance of chemicals in your brain that trigger mood responses. The sad angel is somehow much larger than the confident one, and therefore she is louder and more powerful.

Depression can lead to sleep disorders, eating disorders, daily fatigue, excessive crying, lack of sex drive, problems concentrating, indecisiveness, irritability, lack of interest in normal activities, muscle pain, and worse case scenario…suicide. Someone you know may be suffering from it right now.

So please imagine my struggle. I am a mother of two, married, career going woman. Many people depend on me. Many people ask for my advice and input. My family needs me to guide them; to shed a positive light on everything we face. At the very least, I have to pretend to be strong and happy. And why shouldn’t I be happy? I’m not blind. I can see my blessings. They are the source of what little strength that manages to exist inside me.  I have everything going for me. I am the poster mother of an American family. My children are healthy and my husband treats me right. I have home, a new car, two cats and dog. What could possibly make me so damn sad all the time? I don’t know.  I don’t know. I don’t know.

I'm tired of thinking about it so hard. I’m tired of feeling ashamed and awkward.  We must take responsibility for ourselves. I read somewhere that 2/3 of Americans who suffer from depression are too embarrassed to tell their doctor. I also read somewhere that 80% of those who get the courage to talk with their doctor, get treatment, and feel significant improvement in their daily lives. It occurs more so in woman, than men (not surprising).  I want to be of the 80%.

So this is me opening up. I don’t even like to say that I’m “depressed.” The word is too dramatic…too emo. I like to say that I’m searching for internal peace, lightness.  I think I am lucky because I still have the ability to filter my sadness. I can at least recognize and confront an unreasonable thought. Depression becomes dangerous without this filter and I think the longer you suffer from it, the weaker the filter gets. Maybe you or someone you know is experiencing something similar. You’re not alone. There is help.

I'm off to see the doctor...