Setting goals and making plans

I took a couple of pictures over the last few days and tried to get some of the pictures off my memory card onto Hubby's computer. He and I are sharing a computer for the time being because mine got zapped in a lightning storm. :( I can share the iPhone pics, but that's it because my card reader isn't compatible with Windows 7, and he doesn't have a built in like mine did.

 

Emma is doing much better riding her bike now. We went the full half mile all the way around the apt complex, and she started to get comfortable with going faster towards the end of the ride.

When we went to lunch, she wanted a picture of how tall she is now. She can stand in the back seat her head touches the roof now! She's really tall for a five year old.

I also took the time to make a reminder poster for our goals. One of them I can't list here because it's a surprise for my kids, but the other three are "Exercise today!" "Eat healthy today!" and "Study today!" By doing these things daily, Hubby and I want to lose 38 pounds by the time my kids come to visit, and that's directly related to their surprise. 

I am also studying to take my GMAT exam so I can start grad school in the fall. I'll be working towards my MBA! I'm excited and scared to begin grad school, mainly because it's been so long since I was in a traditional classroom setting. Being able to complete my bachelor's degree online let me take open book tests, so I didn't have to commit nearly as much to memory. But, I think that may have hurt me in the long run because I frequently feel like I don't know what I'm doing. They tell me at work I'm doing a great job, so I shudder to think what kind of work my predecessors were doing! Maybe I'm only guilty of being human, and being silly enough to listen to the negative self-talk. I'm always telling Hubby not to listen to that voice in his head that doesn't like him, and here I am doing it too. At least by recognizing it I can hopefully change that behavior!

I'm glad I had the sense to put on the goals reminder sheet to do each of those things "today" rather than "every day." I think that will help remind me that I don't have to worry about what I did yesterday or what I have to do tomorrow. I only need to focus on living one day at a time and making it my very best day TODAY. Now if I can only keep those goals in my head when there's King Cake and doughnuts around...

The end of an era

Tonight was the last raid night for Team RamRod. For those of you that don't know, I have been playing World of Warcraft since 2005. I've taken breaks here and there, but I always seem to come back to the game and get much more involved than I intend to. It's my guilty pleasure and addiction, and it has a habit of taking over my life. Lately I've realized I've become too involved again, and it's time to hang up my raid banner.

Team RamRod has been raiding together at least twice a week for the last four months. Spending so much time with people through a computer is not the typical way to get to know someone, but these guys and gals have been like a surrogate family, celebrating life's achievements and providing a welcome distraction to hardships when needed. We've conquered nearly all the game has to offer in a relatively short amount of time, and we did it all through teamwork and communication. Even though real life tried to get in the way before we reached our goal, we stuck together, rebuilt when needed, and stood together proud and victorious on the steps of Shrine of the Seven Stars astride our new Kor'kron War Wolves. 

But, as all things must, the era of Team RamRod has come to a close. We've conquered Garrosh Hellscream, decked out our toons, and now we will go our separate ways. Some will find new groups, new guilds, and even new servers. But I know the friendships I formed here as a part of Team RamRod will live on. It's bittersweet dissolving a group. I look forward to getting my evenings back, but I'll miss my teammates. And guys, dirty is still done... Do y'all remember when this used to be hard? :) TEAM RAMROD!! 

Those are my numbers!

Does anyone else out there find the patterns staring them in the face like I do? When I do something and I look at the time and it's the time I was born, or shows the date I was born I take it as a sign that I was meant to do that thing. For instance, it was 7:17am my time when I posted the previous blog post on my other blog (which I have since copied & pasted here because I want to use this blog instead). Although it was 7:17 my time, the blog post showed up with a timestamp of 5:17... a very significant combination of numbers for me. I notice it everywhere... street signs, products I use, things that are shown to me. Of all the random numbers in the universe, I notice that one all over the place. I'm curious if anyone else is as aware of certain numbers as I am? Maybe I'm just weird like that. :)

Where has the joy gone?

Many years ago, back when I was married to my ex and lived with my kids, I really enjoyed creative pursuits... Not the drug kind, I mean arts and crafts! Scrapbooking, paper crafting, painting, decorating, cooking and baking, etc. Over the years I've let these things slip away. Whether it was for financial reasons or time constraints, crafting ceased being a necessary part of my life along the way. I find that I feel stifled if I'm not creating though. Has anyone else experienced this?

I've thought that perhaps subconsciously I'm punishing myself for how things turned out with the kids living so far away. Are there any other long distance moms out there? It is so hard to be away from them, even though I'm certain they are in the best situation they can be. 

I'm going to endeavor to create something new every day for a year. Whether it's photography, crafting, blogging or cooking. I'll share my journey here, and hopefully by March 12, 2015 my joy will have come back from vacation!

Chicken Casserole #3 - REVISED

Ok. I think I have this right now. It was SOOOOO good last night!!! =D

1-2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up and sauteed in olive oil (then I broke it up further into little pieces)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg wide egg noodles, cooked

1 cup sour cream

4oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine chicken, salt, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and pepper in pot or skillet. Cook on low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine noodles and sour cream, softened cream cheese. Layer 1/2 the noodles, then 1/2 the chicken mixture, then a layer of cheese, and repeat the layers in greased 9”x13” pan or 3 qt casserole dish (I used my new Pampered Chef Stoneware Deep Covered Baker). Top with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Chicken Casserole #3! MMMmmmMMM

Ok so this is sort-of a repost, but I went all mad scientist on this recipe... and its WAY better than it was! I had put up the recipe for Beef Casserole #2, but I think it was named that because it made you go #2. LOL Well, I had gotten all the ingredients for it, but we ended up eating the beef on another night, and all I had left was chicken. The green onions had gone bad too, so they didn't get included, but otherwise it was very similar... but far more delicious! I present Chicken Casserole #3! teehee!

Chicken Casserole #3

1-2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up and sauteed in olive oil (then I broke it up further into little pieces)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 16oz can diced tomatoes

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg wide egg noodles, cooked

1 cup sour cream

6 green onions, chopped (optional)

1 3oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine chicken, salt, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and pepper in pot or skillet. Cook on low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine noodles and sour cream, softened cream cheese, and green onions. Layer 1/2 the noodles, then all the chicken mixture, then 1/2 the noodles in greased or 9”x13” pan. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Day 7 The saga continues!

GO GO GO I'm doing it baby! Man today is a skinnier day than ever! People are really noticing that I'm losing weight... and it feels GOOOOD!!

On the forums today (loseit.com), I responded to a post asking what my "Thinspiration" is... I didn't realize how many reasons I had for doing this! Here's what I answered:

My Thinspiration (in no particular order):

1. Getting healthy! I'm already insulin resistant... Dr. said it isn't a question of "IF" I get diabetes, it's "WHEN." I want to make that when a "NEVER!"

2. I want to look good for my wedding... Back in 2000 when I was planning my last wedding, I saw this beautiful cake topper that I loved... of the groom carrying the bride like they do over the threshold of the new home. My mom's response to that was "Well, that's not very realistic, is it Sheila?" That still brings me to tears to think about. Anyway... that marriage ended several years ago (amicably) and now I'm looking forward to getting married to my boyfriend, and I want him to be able to carry me across the threshold! I WANT THAT DANG CAKE TOPPER THIS TIME!!!

3. We are looking at possibly getting custody of my bf's 2 year old daughter next month, and I'm going to need every bit of energy I can muster to keep up with her and all 3 of my jobs! (1 full time, 1 tutoring, 1 home based business (Pampered Chef))

4. We are having a "Biggest Loser" contest at work for a cash prize... and I want the $200 we have in the pot!!

5. I want my kids who haven't seen me in about 6 months to be surprised when I see them in April! I also want to see them grow up and have lives of their own, and I can't do that if I'm 6 feet under!

6. My mom is going blind from a hereditary degenerative eye disease at age 50. If I don't do this now, she won't ever know what I look like thin!

Wow... I didn't realize how many reasons I have for doing this... Thanks for asking the question... now I'm SIX times as motivated as before!!!

Not only can I do this... I WILL DO THIS!!

Day 6... sort of!

Ha! I guess I fail at my goals for Friday, considering I went over my calories, didn't blog over the weekend at all, refrained from dancing like an idiot, AND never dusted my house. I did do the laundry yesterday though =) And I stayed under my budget for Saturday and Sunday! GO ME! Weigh in was this morning too:

1/31/11: 299.4 pounds, 53.1% body fat

Those are some numbers I can be proud of! Finally broke the 300 pound mark, and lost 10.8% of my body fat! I had a "skinny" day on Sunday... didn't have to suck in at all to get my shorts buttoned and zipped =D yay!!!!

Weekend was awesome... I sat around on Saturday and relaxed ALLLLL day long! And on Sunday, we finally killed the Lich King in World of Warcraft, and I got the Kingslayer title! =D  Yeah, it's nerdspeak. But I <3 it! I also watched the movie Amelie this weekend, which was AWESOME! I really enjoyed it, even though it was in French, subtitled in English of course.

Oh! I also joined a challenge on loseit.com (the weight loss site I'm using), and I'm looking forward to kicking some butt there too! One of the conditions of the challenge is NO going over your budget for 30 days, PERIOD! We also have to exercise 30 min EVERY day with no exceptions! Sounds like a challenge to me!

Goals: Stay under budget! Already got my exercise today, sooo I guess that's it!