Week 5

Super Bowl Sunday...you are a ruiner of all diets! :)

Just kidding! I did pretty well during our party...but the soda got the best of me. I simply cannot have soda (particularly Coca Cola) in my house and not drink it.

It calls to me...

I am delicious...

Drink me...

And so I did! Which might be the reason for my limited weight loss this week!

I lost .4 lbs for a total of 6.6lbs...gone forever!

...hooray...in the right direction...blah blah blah...it's not enough! This week will be better. There will be no soda!

Coca Cola, though you are one of my favorites, you must go away, now! Never to return!

On to a new week...soda free!!!

***a disclaimer for my northern friends***
I am deeply sorry for my use of the word 'soda'. I know it is offensive, but I now live in the south, where they say 'soda'. Please know that in my heart, I am still a 'pop' girl, through and through! :)

Bella at 6 months old

I have neglected to share pictures of Bella in a while...here are a few cute ones:

This is a cute one at Christmas. She loooooves paper!

Another at Christmas time. Outside playing in the snow. So fun!

Bella on her 6 month birthday! She got a little face trim!



This is my absolute favorite! She loves to stick her butt up in the air while she's chewing!

So cute!



A weekend of organization!

I spent this past Friday evening and Saturday cleaning and organizing. There were a few things that never got fully unpacked in our laundry 'closet' and so it just kept getting piled higher and higher with...well...junk.

Because Bella is driving me bananas...I'll simply post the before and after pics and let them speak for themselves!

I'm feeling so much better about doing laundry! :)

Week 4

It's been an interesting week. There have been some really great days and some really...not so great days!

But over all, I think it was a pretty successful week because...

I lost 2.2 lbs!!!

For a grand total of 6.2lbs! Woo hoo!!!

Not quite where I wanted to be for the month of January, but not too bad either!

Week 3

This week has been a challenging one for many reasons. So...here's the scoop...

I'm up .4 lbs this week, for a total loss of 4lbs.

I'm ok with this, but I'm resolved to make a change for this week. More fruits and veggies here I come! :)

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

I brought leftovers to work today and I've been getting a lot of requests for the recipe. I don't have any pictures (sorry!), but you get the idea. Thanks mom for the recipe! :)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
28oz can of diced tomatoes with chilies
14oz can of black beans
14oz can of kidney beans (I used great northern because that's what I had)
10oz bag of frozen corn (you could probably cut down on the amount if you're watching carbs)
8oz can of tomato sauce
1 large Onion, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
1 T. cumin
1 T. chili powder
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro
Combine diced tomatoes, beans, onion, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. (Basically, put everything except the cilantro in the crock pot)  Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).

Makes 10, 1 1/4 c servings

We used fat free shredded cheddar cheese and a little sour cream and it was delish! If you like cilantro...don't skip this ingredient. It adds so much flavor!

** A side note on slow cookers. Not all slow cookers cook at the same rate. I recently learned that I'd been cooking all of my stuff WAY too long. Larger slow cookers cook hotter, and therefore faster. So...start off with the lowest amount of time if you're using a larger cooker. Trust me, your tummy will love you for not giving it overcooked/slightly burnt/off tasting crock pot food! :)

Enjoy!

Week 2

Yesterday was my weigh in day, but I either forgot to weigh in...or I'd eaten poorly so I conveniently 'forgot' to weigh in. Either way, after some encouragement/guilt from my friend Wendi at our small group last night, I held my breath and hopped on the scale this morning.

And the result is....down another 2lbs, for a total loss of 4.4lbs! Hooray!

Now, I have to say, I don't think this loss is entirely due to my changed eating habits. While I did, in general, eat well, I had a number of days where I just lost it. So, I suspect that the loss is still due to the fact that I'm not eating 15 Christmas cookies and drinking a can of regular soda a day...which I did while I was home for Christmas! That's probably a bit of an exaggeration...and I did eat some great, healthy, meals while I was home, but the cookies and pie were amazing! Thankfully the holidays are over.

I'm making a new commitment to myself today. I can DO it!