What's Up Wednesday- September 2015 Eddition

What we're eating this week: I'm on week 3 of my healthy living transition. Here's a look at my meal plan:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs w/spinach, 2 slices of turkey bacon, while grain Kashi waffle, grapes

Lunch: while wheat pita with chipotle chicken and spinach, carrots and hummus, string cheese

Dinner: spaghetti squash with ground turkey and zucchini, okra and tomatoes with shrimp and brown rice

What I'm reminiscing about: Mexico! I'm nearing the end of the first six weeks of school. Why am I thinking about summer 2016!? Because vacation was bomb this year.

What I'm loving: my new found motivation to workout. I finally found a program that is fun and that makes me sweat. 

And loving friends who will sweat with me

What we've been up to: Mr. B has been working late, but we've managed to squeeze in a fun painting date. 

We're also watching lots of football. Texas Tech is off to a pretty good start. The Cowboys are, well, the Cowboys. Let's just leave it at that. And for some reason Mr. B roots for Greenbay. 

What I'm dreading: our new dismissal procedure were starting next week. It'll be great once it's up and running, but the first few weeks are going to be rough. 

What I'm working on: redoing our master schedule and tweaking things in our day. I'm also working on arranging my small groups and organizing the materials and planning for them. It's a lot of work. 

What I'm excited about: the progress I've been noticing in my weight loss journey. I feel so much better, have more energy, and my clothes fit better. We really want to try for a baby next year, so I've got to be on my healthy game. 

What I'm watching/reading: Fall TV is back on. There's something just about every night it seems. The list of shows I watch is ridiculously long (and it's an embarrassing amount of TV) so I won't go into detail. Watching football...of course. I'm reading, too (believe it or not). There's some shows I listen to in the background while I read. I'm giving Elin Hilderbrand novels a try. I just finished "Silver Girl" and gearing up to read "A Summer Affair."

What I'm listening to: right now, I've got "The Voice" on TV, so I'm listening to some music while blogging. See, I can multitask. Proof:

What I'm wearing: I'm still rocking palazzo pants and a maxi dress every now and then. It's been ridiculously hot for September. #texasweather

I'm looking forward to boots, scarves, and sweaters. Oh, and leggings with long shirts/tunics. 

What I'm doing this weekend: I'm headed to watch the Tech vs. Baylor game with Matt and Leigh Anne. I'll be the lone Red Raider fan amongst the Baylor grads, but that makes the game more fun. I'm excited to watch the game in their sweet media room and love on baby Caroline again! If I'm lucky, I'll get to have dinner with the twins afterwards. 

What I'm looking forward to next month: my favorite time of year is October-January. The holiday season. October is also Mr. B's 30th birthday. I can't wait to celebrate with my love. 

What else is new: I'm almost done with my 21 day beach body/Shakeology challenge. I'm LOVING it. I can't wait for my next challenge starting Monday. I'm still doing the Cize dance workouts with Shaun T at home or after school. I just bought PiYo, so I'm excited to try some strengthening exercises. I'm eating healthier, exercising, and dropping the pounds and inches. I can't wait to take more "after" pics to track my progress. 

What is my favorite Halloween tradition: the past few years we've been going to Mr. B's parents' house for Fritos pie and brownies. Then we just hang out while I hand out candy to the cute kids that come to the door. Last year I dressed up in my Batgirl costume, but I don't always do that. 

Week 2 Healthy Living Check-In

I'm finishing up week 2 of healthy living. I've never felt better. I've got energy and motivation. I was encouraged to take some pictures of my progress after just one week. I was a little unsure about what difference a week would make. However, I took the plunge and did it. I'm not quite ready to post them yet. Let me just say, there was a considerable difference. People have started to take notice. My clothes fit better. I'm not bloated constantly. It feels great. Next week, I'll take measurements and final weight and yes, more pictures. I survived Sunday's potluck by bringing my own food. I wanted to taste the cake I made, so I ate one tiny bite. Go me! *side bar: I had to take this selfie of me and Mr. B watching Sunday night football on our couch. He was excited because his Packers were playing (and won).

How cute is my hubs!?

First, I set some goals last week. I did manage to workout 5 days this week!!!! Despite the fact that I had to work late a couple of days, I still pressed play. Monday, Vanessa worked out with me. She even agreed to take a sweaty post-workout selfie with me (she wanted to make the blog....hehehe). She worked out again with me on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I was joined by Vanessa AND Tiffany. Thursday, Vanessa ditched me to go shopping with her twin....(insert side eye emoji here). I was tempted to just say "oh well! I guess I won't work out today." But, no! I went home and pushed "play" and made Mr. B do it with me. The real win: I didn't even laugh once as he did his best to dance and keep up. I took Friday off since I do my grocery shopping when I get off work. When Mr. B went to work on Saturday, I pushed "play" and tried out the first intermediate routine on my Cize DVD. I got my butt kicked in that quick 30 minute workout. It went by so fast. There's not as much repetition. The final "Cize it up" routine to the music (Destiny's Child) was so fast I struggled to keep up. Sunday is a day off....or is it? To be determined...... Christy, I'm coming for you and the "Terrance experience!"

#sweatyandfabulous

I stayed on point with my eating all week. I can't remember the last time I went this long without "cheating." I feel so empowered and proud of my willpower. I just have to keep my "why" in focus: future healthy pregnancy. So, what's on the menu for this week?

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with spinach, 2 slices of turkey bacon, grapes, Kashi waffle

Lunch: whole wheat pita with spinach, chipolte chicken, and hummus and carrots

Dinner: Spaghetti squash with ground turkey and zucchini  (M/T) Stewed okra and tomatoes with zucchini, brown rice, and shrimp (W/Th)...F/S TBD

AM snack: that yummy Shakeology!!!!

Afternoon snack: yogurt and turkey jerky

PM snack: apple with peanut butter

I'm still working on my water intake. I did really well on Saturday, but I struggle while at work. 

Thursday night I hosted an Usborne book party on Facebook. I "attended" a party a few weeks ago and loved the books. I decided to host a party to earn some free books. I ended up getting $80 in free books, an additional $50 at 1/2 price, and 65% off a collection. Not too bad. The picture below shows my amazing ability to multitask. I'm reading a book, watching TV, doing my Facebook party, texting "The Thread" and Facebook messaging people. 

#productofthetechnologygeneration

And Saturday means I get to watch Texas Tech football. Right now, we're playing TCU and doing pretty well. It's still the 3rd quarter so.....

But I just love seeing this little cutie in his Red Raider gear. My heart melts for this lil' guy. 

#auntiestatus

#futureredraider

#captainjudethedude

Coming soon: I just ordered my second challenge pack through Beach Body. Their PiYo challenge pack is on sale this month. I'm ready to try something in addition to my Cize. I'm hoping PiYo will help sculpt and flatten. I hear it's a challenge. I'm ready to tackle it. I'm going to try the vanilla shakes this next time. I'm excited to be part of my challenge group on Facebook. I love getting to chat with my cousin Mikah about my progress. Y'all, chatting with her and being in that group really encourages me. I feel like I'm not only doing this for myself, but also trying to make those that support me proud. 

This week's goals: DRINK. MORE. WATER!!!

-work out 5 days this week (I already know it can be done....NO EXCUSES!)

-stay on point with my eating. NO CHEATS

-master that intermediate Cize routine 

I can't wait until my PiYo comes in and I can blog about that journey!

Week 1 Healthy Living Check-In

So this past Monday I started my commitment (again) to healthier living. I decided that if I wanted to try to get pregnant again sometime next year, I needed to get healthier. Adding pregnancy weight to my already heavy frame would not bode well for me or my baby. As my 30th birthday approaches in 3 months (say it ain't so!), I realize that it's only going to get harder. I've done other things in the past that have worked, but I just wouldn't stick with it. I loved using my Advocare products. Their 24-Day challenge is a good kick start to a healthy life style. I just couldn't handle all the pills. One of my cousins has been posting a lot about her post pregnancy slim down via Beach Body and Shakeology. I did some research a few months ago and considered it. The workout DVD just didn't appeal to me. Y'all, I hate exercising. It is very boring to me. So I opted out. Then I started seeing her posts about a new program called "Cize." It's a dancing workout DVD. Yeah, that I can do! I'm not a dancer by any means, but I know that it's fun. I took the plunge and purchased. I also got the chocolate Shakeology. I received a food guide giving me recipes, portion sizes, how many servings of each food group I should be eating each day, and a calendar of recipes for my shakes. I actually thought it would be a lot more restricting. However, when I looked through the book and saw everything I could eat, I told myself that I could definitely do this! I have to say, I rocked week 1! Here's a look at how my week went:

Sunday:

I took before/after photos of myself and took my measurements. One day I may feel comfortable posting those on here, but for now I'll refrain. The numbers are embarrassingly large. Mr. B grilled me 5 chicken breasts and steamed some green beans for me. I divided them up into 5 containers for my lunch each day this week. I ate this with a small sweet potato with cinnamon and yogurt butter. 

Monday-Friday:

I start my day at 5:45 AM by getting up and getting dressed. Mr. B cooks my breakfast (yes, I know I'm spoiled by him) of 2 scrambled eggs with spinach, 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1 Kashi whole grain waffle (plain), and grapes. I cut out my cup of coffee since I can't drink it with cream and sugar #sadday

While I have breakfast, I read from my First5 devotional app and a chapter of Proverbs. If I have time, I check email, Facebook, and blogs before making my shake and getting my stuff together before heading to work about 6:40. I'm usually at work around 7:15-7:30 (depending on traffic). I have that time to get some work done while the building is quiet. I have my Shake around 8:00 for my morning snack. We have lunch at 11:15 then I have my afternoon snack around 2:00. I have a yogurt with some granola...sometimes I'll add a fruit or eat it when I get home. Dinner this week was fish and veggies. If I ate a PM snack, it would be another fruit. 

As for exercise, I worked out 4 days this week. I was just short of my goal by 1 day. I had a doctor's appointment Monday morning, so I went in to work late. This allowed me to get my workout in the morning (I just can't work out at 5:00 AM). I'm LOVING Cize! Shaun T breaks down dances move by move and building the routine. I actually cheated and did the first routine last Saturday so I'd know what to expect. So technically, I did the first routine 4 times. This Saturday, I wanted to get a head start on the next routine. I busted out routine #2. It was longer than the first one, and it had more moves. This one was challenging to me. However, it was much more fun than the first one. I got a little bored with that first dance. This second one is just challenging enough to keep me hooked. The moves are also more fun to do. I like competing with myself, so I'll want to keep doing it until I master the dance. #justcallmemasterofthedance

Tuesday, I worked out after work with Vanessa. Wednesday, I was tempted to skip. Thanks to my Beach Body coach (and sweet cousin), Mikah, checking in on me.....I made myself push play after church Wednesday night. I did skip out Thursday and Friday. Saturday morning I got right back at it after breakfast. 

After my Monday morning Cize workout! #sweatyandfabulous

We went to Chilis for Dinner on Friday since we were out running errands. I didn't let going out to eat mess me up. I had the grilled chicken salad with honey lime vinaigrette. I didn't even pour the dressing on the salad. I dipped my bites into the little cup and only used half! #win

Will I let the weekend mess me up? NOPE!

Not only did I exercise, but I made healthy choices on the weekend, too. Kept my same breakfast Saturday and Sunday. Lunch on Saturday was my shake. Lunch on Sunday was a potluck meal with lots of yumminess. I even brought my famous loaded mashed potatoes and chocolate cake with cream cheese Nutella frosting. However, I didn't partake in any of it. Not even the preacher's wife's famous Kolaches. I had a whole wheat pita with turkey and spinach and carrots and hummus. Dinner of Saturday and Sunday was a salad with my favorite new dressing-extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic vinaigrette with minced garlic- and feta cheese with chicken and brown rice tossed in a chipolte sauce. Afternoon snack Saturday: apple with peanut butter and string cheese. Afternoon snack Sunday: Shake. Saturday PM snack: popcorn and turkey jerky. 

The good news: I'm down 6 pounds from Monday morning!

On the menu this week:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with spinach, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 Kashi waffle, grapes

Lunch: whole wheat pita with turkey and spinach and carrots with hummus

Dinner: M/T-Panko breaded tilapia with veggies  W-shrimp gumbo (brown rice, shrimp, stewed tomatoes and okra) Th/F- chicken tacos

AM snack: shake

Afternoon snack: yogurt

PM snack: not sure.....playing it by ear

I don't even miss buttermilk ranch with these two on my salad.

I'm ready for Week 2 and what results I will see.....

Next week's goals:

-workout 5 days

-drink more water

Art in the Vine Groupies and Such

The third week of school came and went. For some reason, those "shorter" weeks feel longer in the end. I was kept busy, as usual. Lucky for me, I had some fun planned for the weekend. Friday night Mr. B and I had a painting date at our favorite art studio in Grapevine. It had been a few months since we'd been painting together. The past couple of times I had gone with my friends. We made a pit stop at Starbucks so I could get a caffeine fix to stay awake. I decided to try a healthier version of a pumpkin spice latte (made known to me by another blogger I follow): pike or blonde roast coffee, 1 pump of pumpkin spice syrup, and half n' half. Not too bad. I had an iced version on Sunday, too! 

Then it was time for dinner. Next to the studio is a small Greek cafe with delicious gyros and fries. I'd tried it out with my friends last time we came painting. Mr. B hadn't had the pleasure of tasting it. He loved it! Check out this yummy piece of deliciousness!!!!

Mr. B and I grabbed a quick selfie before we started our class. I love date nights with this handsome fella.

This was not the model that the whole class was doing. When I saw the painting on their calendar, I was already thinking of how I was going to make mine different. I knew I wanted different colors than the yellow, brown, black, and red that was on the example. I also knew I wanted scripture on mine. That's what I love about this studio. They let you do whatever you want. They encourage that creativity. When I asked for a different color pallet, they gave it to me. When I asked if I could write my words with puff paint instead of acrylic, they let me. Mr. B decided to do his own thing, too. We had picked out our scriptures in advance. We knew exactly where we were going to put these in our house.

This is right above a window in our dining/living area. Our artwork decorates many a wall in our house. I joked with Mr. B that we'd soon be removing other decor we have on the walls to accommodate our growing art gallery. #totallypossible #thinkingofchargingadmission

Saturday was nothing too exciting. Mr. B had a rare Saturday off, so we went to run our errands since we didn't get to on Friday. Mr. B did some yard work while I watched some shows on the DVR. That afternoon we watched the Tech game. Well, I watched and he slept. It made me happy to see my Red Raiders get a big victory over UTEP. Our next 3 games our going to be challenging. I finished up "Me Before You" on Wednesday. I really enjoyed it. I didn't cry since I kind of new what the ending would be. I'm anxiously awaiting the sequel to come out later this month. I started reading "The Royal We" that a fellow blogger had recommended. I'm a little over 100 pages in. I don't know how I feel about it yet. It's definitely a slow read. I like the idea of the story line. I'm just not sure if I like the way the book was written. I'm not ready to give it up yet. 

Switching gears.....I've been trying to get pregnant for a while now. Deep down I always wanted to lose some weight and get healthy before I got pregnant. When I was pregnant 2 years ago with twins, I was scared because I was so overweight. I don't want that anxiety again. I decided it was time to try something new. My cousin has been raving about Beach Body and Shakeology. I loved my Advocare products, but I'm not a fan of all the pills that you have to take on the challenge. With Beach Body, I get a workout DVD. I was excited to see that their new program is a dance program where they break down the routines and repeat them over and over until at the end of the workout when you put it all together. Regular exercise bores me. That's why I don't do it. Dancing is fun. I tried it out on Saturday, and got my butt kicked. I was sweating like no other and breathing hard. But I had fun. I can't wait to get this program started on Monday and see what it does for me. 

I'll be tracking my measurements and logging my food on the 21-Day Fix app. I'm going to meal prep my lunches for the week so they're ready to go. On the menu this week:

Breakfast: 

2 eggs with spinach

whole grain blueberry waffles (Kashi brand)

fruit

turkey bacon

Lunch:

grilled chicken

green beans

sweet potato with yogurt butter and cinnamon

Dinner:

Different varieties of fish and veggies

Snacks:

AM-my Shakeology shake

PM-yogurt parfait (siggis plain yogurt, granola, fruit)

Cize workout DVD 5 days (maybe 6 if I'm feeling extra ambitious) a week. The plan is to bring my workout stuff to school and hit it right after school is out. I've got a couple of friends who are ready to tackle this dance workout with me.

I'm super excited to start this journey. Here's to hoping I have positive results to share in future updates!!!!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

OK, before kicking off the weekend festivities I need to share a couple of cute kid moments from this week. First, I get this sweet letter dropped off at my door one afternoon during our team meeting. It's from one of my little girls from last year. #imelt

Baby girl, I wish you were still in my class, too. I do still love you!

The next moment came on Wednesday during calendar time. When I asked what day of the week "yesterday" was.....one of my boys raised his hand and said "Taco Tuesday!" #idiedlaughing

Y'all, these first graders are sweet and hilarious. They are not without their challenges, however. Week two brought about the end of the honeymoon period in a couple of kids. The AP had to be called, emails had to be sent, and consequences had to be enforced. I really hate having to "grow horns" this early, but.....

I was happy to finally get my normal schedule into play this past week. I can't wait until I get small groups going in full swing. My reading tests are finished (thanks to Sue who came out of retirement to volunteer at our school) #welovesue

I was pleasantly surprised by my results. I have 5 that are really struggling. The rest are at or above grade level. I'm almost done with math testing. Again, a few that are struggling. Overall, a good showing. Now, on to that weekend!

So Wednesday I get a text from a friend asking if Mr. B and I want to go to a murder mystery dinner theater Friday night. She can get discount tickets. Uhhhh.....YES! We'd never been before. We had a great menu to choose from ahead of time. The theater is located in historic downtown Grapevine on Main Street. This is a beautiful area (especially during Christmas). Since we were headed that way, I decided to stop at Trader Joe's in Southlake since it was on the way. I didn't want to make another trip on Saturday #aintnobodygottime

We brought a cooler and loaded up. Since we were starvin' marvin and couldn't wait until 7:30 to eat, we split this delicious sushi platter that we found. #yum #itwascheap #fatandhungrywins

Then we met up with our friends at the theater. It was wild west themed. Texas of course. Each table was named after a city in Texas. Look at what table I just happened to be seated at! #lbk #806

I ordered the grilled marinated chicken breast with asparagus in a basil pesto sauce. It came with grilled veggies and bacon cheddar scalloped potatoes. It was so good!

Dessert for me was chocolate marble mousse cake. Yep, that was a winner, too.

Here we are with our friends at dinner! We had a great table.

The show was hilarious! We were laughing (and crying from laughter) the whole way through. I love how they interact with the audience and infuse modern jokes into the performance. Mr. B kept being referred to as a gigelo. #firstclass It was hilarious! I loved that my friend Kelli was friends with some of the actors #queenoftheyipsies

We even had our picture taken with them after the show!

Fun Friday night.

Saturday was a busy day for me. Since we went out Friday, I had to do grocery shopping on Saturday. I was up at 8 and out the door by 9. Aldi, Sprouts, and Kroger were on my list. I had just enough time to come home, eat, and change before meeting my neighbor at the Alzheimer's home for our bi-monthly music entertainment. This week was especially awesome because it was "country week." Those sweet people love their country music. We did some singing and dancing to country music. Those that know me, know this is my jam all the way. I had a blast! The best part was seeing my sweet friend who loves the chicken dance come out. He wasn't out the first time we played it, so we did a special request for him at the end so he and I could do that chicken dance. #lovehim

Then it was back home to watch some Texas Tech football #wreckem and begin preparations for the night's festivities with the gang. We cooked out with our besties and had a nice visit. There was steak, shrimp, roasted veggies, a veggie tray with dip, jalepeno popper dip, loaded mashed potatoes, and oreo cheesecake. #feasting

Our new tradition now seems to be that after dinner and/or games, the girls leave the guys to go to Starbucks and have "girl talk." We find that the boys aren't really interested in what we're talking about #duh and they don't interact much either. We know that while we are away that all they do is sit and mess around on their phones.Meanwhile, we're at Starbucks talking until we have no voice.

I love these 2 so much! We always have a great time and great conversation together. We can pick up where we left off no matter how much time we've spent apart. Although, we did a pretty good job this year seeing each other on a regular basis. #trioforever #twinning #thosebraidsthough

Plug for my twins here: that adorable outfit Misty (on my right) is an original that she made herself. I have talented besties!

My goal the rest of the weekend is to read read read! These three on on my list!

This happened on Sunday when I wasn't at church services. I highly recommend this book. It's a nice, clean book. Just enough romance to satisfy those of us who need that in our reading material without being too much. Only a touch of sadness. And lots and lots of food references. The main character is a chef. Check out my Bookworm's Only page on this blog for more great reads!

The rest of my day I will devote to reading this book. If I love it, it will also go on the Bookworm's Only page. When Mr. B gets home, he's going to cook us something on the grill. I love that I get this day to relax and keep it low key. It's my last "extra" day off until the Thanksgiving holiday. Does anyone else in the education world think that this is cruel and unusual punishment, too? #bringbackColumbusDay

Coming soon: I'm getting ready to start a new fitness journey. I know, I've tried before. I'm super excited about the new workouts I'm going to be trying. I also love that the people I'm doing this with are family:) Stay tuned for more about my journey....

Now, time to read my book!