JustJenny

Merry Christmas: Journey to milfhoods weight loss Challenge Finale

2012-12-25T21:31:00.002-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a great time with family and friends.

Today was the big day all the girls in this challenge were working towards. It has been great having people to do this with. It was the motivation i needed.

My ultimate goal is to lose 33 lbs! I will be at me goal weight if i lose this much. Did i lose 33 lbs????????????????? Nope! But you knew that right.

I did lose 10 pounds for Christmas. I am pretty happy about that! I am going to keep going. Right now I am just trying to maintain through New Years. Then set a new short term goal. 10 pounds at a time seems to Work well for me!!

Here is a before pic...it was actually a week or two into my challenge.

After to follow. I took one but it is at work...i got busy on Christmas eve and forgot to email it to myself. Oops.

Enjoy your loved ones a little more today.

It's a "Do the best you can with what you got!" kind of Christmas!!

2012-12-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

I have been a very bad girl this year and have not posted in weeks!!! I will post Christmas day for my big "Journey to Milfhood's weight-loss challenge" reveal with a before and after photo. You can find out on Tuesday if I meet my goal or not.

Life continues to be cRaZy but good. I am blessed to be in one piece, to have my gorgeous sons and to have a job that is sometimes hectic but always fun and rewarding.

Chris asked for a BIG ticket item this year....a LAPTOP. At first he wanted an ipad but then he decided a good laptop, with windows 8 of course, would be better so he could use it for homework as well as gaming. This would put a pretty big dent in my Christmas budget!!I do not charge things for Christmas. I figure if I cannot pay cash for it, I cannot afford it. I started this at about 25 because I did not want to be $40,000 in debt like many in the baby boomer generation. It works well for me because it also helps me prioritize and budget well for the holidays.

We'll, a laptop cost a little more than I was planning on spending. Last year I got Greg a netbook and those are much cheaper even for a good quality one and he has made good use of it. I know Chris will do the same and he is a great kid so, I decided to get him what he asked for. This put a BIG dent in my FIXED Christmas butget. This means that I have had to cut expenses in other places to stay within my Christmas and regular budget. I totally think it is worth it but I have to be a little more creative than normal.

I am calling this my “Do the best you can with what you got Christmas.” Since Christmas is really about the birth of Christ and not all this other crap I think it is kind of fitting. Here are a few of the treats I made for Christmas with the food I had in my pantry.

Fudge with Powdered sugar

I make fudge every year! When making cookies that had powdered sugar in them I noticed a recipe for making fudge. I decided to try it as not to waste the big bag of powdered sugar I had. It was easy.

I melted a bag of chocolate, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of butter in a pot.

I put 4 cups of powdered sugar in a bowl

Poured chocolate mixture over powdered sugar and mixed.

Put mixed well and put in fridge for 2 hours.

Whala!!!! It came out pretty good. I was suprised.

Caramel Chex Mix

I wanted some more yummy treats but didn’t want to go buy more stuff. I had all these ingredients lying around. The half a bag of caramel was a bag I misplaced at Halloween and found under my bed I have been snaking on it but had enough left to make these yummy treats. This recipe was adapted from the Chex cereal box.

Added 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs milk to the caramel

Melt and stir

Pour mixture over 6 cups chex and mix in a large bowl.

Microwave 3 minutes mixing after each minute.

Lay flat on wax paper or use a silpat like me J

I covered half with Almond bark I had laying around. And left the other half plain.

These are my boys NEW favorite treat!!!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week EIGHT UPDATE

2012-11-02T08:32:00.003-07:00

For the third week in a row I have maintained my 9 pound weight-loss. This would be great if I only wanted to lose 9 pounds. The good thing here is that my daily activity and food intake are good enough to balance and maintain any additional weight-loss which means I have established some good habits.

I am keeping my calories at a reasonable amount and my intake though out the day is pretty balanced. Here are some of my typical breakfast recipes.

Natures Path Organic Instant oatmeal with 1 tsp. Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa= 254 Calories

I was not too hungry this morning and when I wanted to eat more a few hours later I had a banana. You could easily add fruit, milk or juice to beef up this breakfast.

Shakes and smoothies are a staple in my diet. They are yummy and quick!!!

Here are two different recipes I use regularly:

1 cup of Almond Milk
2 scoops Visalus Shake mix (I think any protein powder will do)
1/4 cup Mixed berries (sometimes I do as much as a cup depending on how hungry I am)
Total Calories= 150

1 cup of Orange Juice
2 scoops Visalus Shake mix
2/3 cup Mixed Berries (I get this bag from Trader Joes)
Total Calories=270

What I really need to work on is increasing my physical activity. This has been the hardest thing to do because I have so little time as it is. That is my main focus for this week!!! Wish me luck!!

Update Old or Used Cloths: Removing Sweater Fuzzies

2012-10-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

As you know from previous posts, I buy used cloths at garage sales. I also like to host clothing swaps (Naked Lady Parties) from time to time and I get great hand-me-downs from my wonderful friends. Needless to say, I am getting pretty good at giving old cloths a new life!!

I have two great sweaters that were passed on to me from a dear friend. Yes, this is the same friend that gave me that great skirt.

Here's how I got rid of the fuzzies and made these sweaters look great and more importantly wearable again :)

First I tried using masking tape. This usually works for most fabrics but as you can see it did little damage to my armpit fuzzie problem on this wool sweater.

It looks better but still plenty of little balls around the arm pits.

So next I took a disposable razor to it. I sweep it along the fabric, basically "trimming" off the fuzzies.

Then I went over it with a lint roller to pick up the residue.

Much Better!!!

Here is a before and after of the red cashmere sweater. I just skipped straight to the razor then lint roller.

BEFORE

AFTER

Before you throw out your favorite sweater try giving it a quick shave!!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week SEVEN update (LATE POST)

2012-10-29T11:48:00.001-07:00

I did weigh in on Friday and guess what? I stayed the same for the second week in a row. This week I think I will really need to push myself to see a loss.

I have about 24 more pounds to go to meet my goal which means I need to lose about 3 pounds a week from here on out. I have decided to step things up a bit in order to push through my plateau. Here is what I am going to do

1. LOG EVERYTHING EVERY DAY. I have been a little lax on this. I will be sure to track every little bite so I can more accurately assess how I am doing and what I need to change next week.

2. STEP IT UP A NOTCH. I have been active but I have been doing pretty leisurely walks. I will jog at least 2 times this week and add one more intense activity. I am thinking dancing or Zumba.

3. ADD MORE DAILY ACTIVITY. What I mean by this is that in addition to actually working out I will take every opportunity to be more active in my daily life. I can walk to the store that is less than a mile from my house when I need to get a gallon of milk instead of driving. I can walk over to my co-workers desk to ask a question instead of e-mailing or calling. I can take more walking meetings.

Here is a great article from a very trusted site that describes plateaus, why they happen and what to do when you reach one.

This weeks succsess:

Last Monday I made this yummy soup with stuff I had in my pantry. It was quick, easy, cheap and very low in calories.

I had some packages of easy mac and cheese for the microwave the kids didn't like so I used those noodles. They cooked quick but I normally use other boxed noodles.

I got a huge pot!!

It was delicious!!

This is one of the 4 meals or side dishes I got from a big pot of black beans I cooked. I just refried some of the cooked beans to go with my chicken soft taco.

This week should be less stressful and busy. So I WILL be on time with my Friday Post!! I already have a plan on how to be ahead of the game.

Check out the other lovley ladies doing this challenge. They are all doing awesome :)

Have a great week!!

Weight-loss Challenge: week SIX update

2012-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

I maintained my weight! No loss no gain.Guess it's better than a gain. I think I have officially reached my plateau!!

I finally used one of the frozen meals I made in week two . I had one of those mornings. You know, the one where you wake up late, barley make it in the shower and forget to wash the kids gym clothes. We made it to school on time but I had no time to make my lunch so i grabbed my pre made frozen meal.

Having the item and amounts written on the container helped my track my food on my myfitnesspal app.

I also had another meal pre packed from last weeks left overs I was able to use on another hectic day.

This worked out so well I am going to pre make some more meals this weekend. This one actually had stuff from three different meals but they all worked well togather.

Week SIX Goals:

1) log 180 minutes of activity

2) Decrease average weekly calorie intake

3) Continue to manage my stress & balance my life by taking it "One thing at a time"

Weight-Loss Challange: Week FIVE Update

2012-10-15T11:05:00.001-07:00

Yes I know I am late on my weigh-in. Sorry about that. Last week was crazy!! So crazy I never got a chance to sit down and blog about the weight-loss challenge.

I also had a hectic and stressful weekend full of not good things but somehow I managed to refrain from using food as comfort as much as I normally would. The only down side to this is that it means I actually stopped doing the million things I had on my list, climbed in bed, cried a little then slept. But you know what, today I feel great! It’s okay to let our feelings out from time to time. I am so guilty of always trying to put on a happy face and not letting anything phase me. The truth is sometimes I just push stuff aside instead of dealing with it. Then I start worrying on the inside or start stress eating. I am starting to think this is worse than just letting myself get a little sad or upset from time to time. I quickly get over it anyways and am back to the happy fun Jenny I like to be in no time.

I am back to walking regularly and hope to be jogging next week. I miss jogging!! I also stopped and spent time with the kids a little more this week. This was a much better way to lift my mood than driving to McDonalds. It ACTUALLY made me happier!!

I am PROUD to say I lost 2.8 pounds since my weigh-in Friday 5^th. That means I lost what I gained (1.6 lbs) and then some for a total weight loss of 8.6 lbs to date!! I am glad I decided to hang in there. I will have good weeks and bad weeks but by the end of this challenge I will have some new habits I will be able to hang on to for a lifetime!!

Here is one of my new favorite quick breakfast recipes

1 cup chocolate soy milk

2 scoops protein shake (I used visalus products)

3 ice cubes

½ tsp of vanilla extract

This weeks goal:

Take things, "One thing at a time"

Yes I know this is kind of lame, but I need to slow down this week. In an effort to keep myself from getting overwhelmed again I will use this mantra or motto all week long.

This week is about balancing my stress, feelings, homelife and workload while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Check in with the ladies in Journey to Milfhoods Weight-loss challange:

Alexis
http://journey2milfhood.blogspot.com/
Megan
http://laviemeganfrance.blogspot.com/
Hilary
http://sweepingmama.blogspot.com/

These Lovley Ladies keep me motivated and it is a pleasure to be doing this challenge with them.

I also have a new virtual weight-loss buddy who is an avid garage saler like me :) Yay.
http://brownsistacrista.blogspot.com/

P.S. Even though I gained weight last week I was able to fit in these jeans the day after I did my weigh-in. I have not been able to wear these jeans since before summer!!

Yes, I know I still have a big tummy but the jeans fit.
That's a start!!

Weight-loss Challenge: Week FOUR Update

2012-10-05T20:58:00.002-07:00

Week four is over. It was bitter sweet! I meet my three goals for the week. I am finally drinking 8 cups of water each day, I did more than 180 minutes of activity for the week and I am consistently keeping track of why I eat and how I feel.

Despite all this good behavior, I gained 1.6 pounds. I am very disappointed. Normally at this point in my weight loss efforts I would say, “Screw it!! What’s the point? I am done!” Not this time. I made a committment to do this challenge until Christmas and I have people watching me. So I will press on.

The good news is I still weigh less than I did when I started. I also feel great. I have been getting a lot of compliments on how healthy I look and a few people have noticed that I have shed a few pounds even though I don’t see it.

I have read that being fully hydrated is an essential part of your weight-loss efforts but it may result in the scale going up a bit. Also building muscle may result in a leaner looking body but you may not see the scale go down every week. I will assume my weight gain is due to such positive changes no matter how un-likely this is. You should see some of my daily logs J

We can’t eat perfectly every day. We also can’t expect to change EVERY bad habit over night. It will take time. Each week I get better at balancing my diet and that is really important to me.

Here are two of my favorite meals from this week

Favorite Meal #1 BEFORE

Flatout bread, montery jack cheese, spagetti sauce (very little), tomatoes and mushrooms.

After: 250 calories of YUMMM!

Favorite Meal #2: Breakfast for Dinner

Homemade belian waffle, 1/4 cup syrup 1/2 cup frozen berry mix heated & mixed with syrup= 295 Calories

My week FOUR goals:

1. Find 5 ways to deal with stress that don’t include food

2. Log 200 minutes of activity

3. Stay at or under my calorie goal EVERYDAY

Birds of a feather flock togather: Helping teens pick good friends

2012-10-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

As a kid I always remember my parent’s saying “Birds of a feather flock together” or “If your friends jump off a cliff are you going to do it?” I dreaded these conversations. I would never jump off a cliff unless there was water underneath it, I am not an idiot! I am not sure what they said after these opening clichés because I think I just tuned them out. I’m sure it was a bunch of great stuff, my parents are pretty awesome but again, I didn’t hear it.

I do however remember them talking to me about the importance of picking “good” friends, which is what I think they were trying to get at with those terrible clichés. Many adults in my parent’s generation emphasized the importance of hanging out with kids from “good families”. Back then a good family was a Mom, a Dad and kids from those same two parents that went to church.

As an older child and teeneager I can remember adults around me whispering “they got divorced” or “those aren’t really his kids that’s why they are so bad”. I don't know why this stuck out to me at a young age. Maybe it was becasue I had a few friends who had divorced parents and they didn't seem so bad.

Divorce was blamed for all things bad. Kids from “broken” homes were the ones who got into fights, stole, drank, had sex and got thrown in to jail or so they said.

I always think about this when talking to my kids about picking good friends. It makes me a little uncomfortable and sometimes sad. My kids are the “bad” kids. They have no father, a busy single mom and know what life after the D word (DIVORCE) is like.

Teaching the boys about friends

Often we rely on what our parents taught us when raising our own kids. The stuff we like we keep the stuff we don’t like as much we dump or adapt.

As a single parent it has been especially hard for me to rely on the advice I got from my parent’s as a guide on a few topics like picking friends. After all, my kids are the “troubled kids” from a “broken home.” The old pick "good kids" from "good families" doesn't really work for us, mainly because of what it implies about kids who aren't from good families.

So what advice have I decided to give my kids?

Pick friends who make good choices
Find people who accept you for who you are
Don’t hang out with people who make you do things you don’t want to do or know is wrong
Find people who respect you as a person and show them respect back
Stand up for your friends and expect them to do the same for you
Hang out with people who have similar interests and goals (stay in school, go to college, religious beliefs)
A few good friends are better than a bunch of phony ones

Does my advice work? I don’t know, I hope so. I will tell you what I do know. My kids are awesome and so are their friends.

This weekend I had a house full of 5 teenage boys. They were all polite, respectful and funny. I heard no cursing all weekend. We sat at the table and ate 2 meals together. They played video games, talked about anime, talked about what it would be like if their life was a horror movie (you know who dies first) and a bunch of other crazy boy stuff. They also talked about going to college together. No talk of sex or drugs. This is not just because I was in the room. I ease dropped and even behind closed doors the boys we just having fun and being boys, good boys not trouble making perverts. They did talk about a few girls they have crushes on a few times but not in a disrespectful way.

Your Teens Friends

Friends can influence your teens in a major way. They can help keep your kid out of trouble by providing positive peer pressure or pull them over to the dark side. Talking to you kids about picking good friends early is crucial.

I think it is also important to talk to your kids friends. I have great relationships with the boys friends. Sometimes they can talk to me about stuff they don't tell their own Mom's. Nothing major here, mostly just conversations about Mom's new boyfiend or new husband and the adjusting that has to happen. I get to know them a little better and I think they feel a little more accountable to me.

When the boys and their friends walk in the door after school on a day I am home they can expect me to ask them ALL about their homework or their grades. I think they kind of like it. They know I care about them too. I believe this makes them feel comfortable at our house because they come over often, which is great! Having a house full of extra kids great may be a little more work at meal times but I know where they all are and I know they are all safe!!

While I do care about the boys friends what I really want to do is create a safe, comfortable enviornment for my boys. This means welcoming friends even when I don't feel like it and helping them pick and keep good friends around.

Weight-Loss Challenge: Week THREE Update

2012-09-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

While this week was far from perfect, it was definitely better. I am proud to say I lost 2.6 lbs this week for a total weight loss of 7. 4 lbs. I don’t feel “skinny” yet but I am happy that the number on the scale continues to go down.

I do wish I was shrinking quicker. We are never happy right? I need to remember that weight loss as a result of making small healthy changes means more moderate but permanent results. That is what I want, to keep the weight off for a life time. I also want to create habits I can comfortably maintain. I don’t know about you but I can’t live on “cabbage soup” or “lemonade” for very long. Eventually I am going to want real food!!

Here are some of my yummy but very real and normal meals I had this week.

8 oz OJ, 1/2 banana, 1 cup non-fat Dannon Light Yogart and 1/2 cup blue berries= 316 calories

8 oz. Almond Milk, 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/2 banana, 2 scoups protien shake powder= 116 calories

1/2 sandwich (1 slice double fiber orowheat bread, 1slice pepper jack cheese, 1 serving oven roaster turkey, 1 slice tomato, lettuce) 1 small granny smith apple & 1 tbsp fat free carmel dip = 262 calories

Wrap (Flatout Flatbread light original, 1 serving oven roasted turkey, 1 slice pepper jack cheese,lettuce), 1.5 cups Santa Clause Melon & Diet Dr. Pepper = 342 Calories

1.5 cups Homemade tortellini soup =231 calories

See, you can still enjoy food without breaking the calorie bank!

I must remember that I am losing fat and not just water weight or muscle like you do with some of those crazy fad diets. As I start to work out more I am actually building muscle and toning up. This is really important after 30 because you start to lose muscle mass which not only means that you get a little flabby but you also burn less calories. So physical activity and weight baring exercises are a MUST!

I am not just trying to lose weight. I want to look better, feel better and live a long healthy life. Making permanent changes will help me do all of this. It may be a slower process than I would like, but it is worth it. If you’re impatient like me, hang in there! We will get to our goal soon enough.

I want to welcome a new member to Journey 2 milfhood's weight-loss challenge . Her name is Hilary and she joined us last week. Yay Hilary!

My Goals for week FOUR

1. Log 180 minutes of Activity (20 more than week 2 goal which I exceeded)

2. Keep using the notes section of myfitnesspal

3. Drink 8-8 oz glasses of water 6 of 7 days this week

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Mellow Monday

2012-09-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

The kids made it to school on time and I have six whole hours before I have to start the afternoon pick up. It’s just me and the cat.

I need to finish a few loads of laundry, clean the kitchen and maybe watch some Live with Kelly. I will also plan my meals for this week. This should help me save $$$ and make heathier meals.

My weekly weight-loss update posted late on Friday, if you missed it, check it out. I will post every Friday until the challenge ends December 21st.

I added a cost analysis to my San Francisco post since a few of you really liked how I priced out my Santa Cruz trip. I will be sure to do this every time I post about travel from now on.

Happy Monday. I hope your week is already off to great start. If not, there is still time to turn it around.

Weight-Loss Challange: Week TWO update

2012-09-21T16:00:00.001-07:00

This week has been rough so I am going to get straight to the point. Here it is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good: I DID NOT gain weight. I pulled myself together for just enough days this week that I was able to keep off the weight I lost last week. In fact, I lost .6 pounds. I am pretty proud of this because it was a tough week for me. Here is a lunch I packed on one of my good days.

The Bad: I logged NO physical activity this week. I also went over my calories on Friday and BIG TIME on Saturday. Saturday I had a baby shower and I totally pigged out on chow mien, drank two cups of yummy ice cream & soda filled punch and still let myself have a cupcake. I went over my calorie intake by 750 that day. It was hard to recover from these two bad days. I felt yucky physically and was mad at myself for being such an oinker. How could I do so awesome the first week then totally blow it? Ughhhhh.

The Ugly: I have been stressed out all week. I am counting every nickel and dime; thank God, I get my raise next month. That will make it easier to deal with these furloughs. Work has been a little hectic. Oh, and yesterday my car did something funny so now I have that to worry about too. All of this made it harder for me to recover from my two bad days at the beginning of this week. Remember, I told you I had food issues. I often turn to food when I am stressed, frustrated, angry and also when I am happily celebrating with friends. This week had it ALL so I was making bad choices left and right! I actually started telling myself, “You must like being fat” and “Who are you kidding, YOU will always be a cubby girl. That is just who you are. ACCEPT IT.” I will not accept it. This is not who I am. I'm a super model on the inside, trying to break free. Okay, maybe not quite a super model but every now and then I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror or see a picture of myself and I think, is that what I look like, that's not me! I can do better. I am working toward being the best me I can be, inside and out!!

I am glad this week is over. It took me a few days to get back in the game but I won my battle with food, this week anyways. I have a net loss of 4.8 pounds, which is GREAT. I just need to lose an average of 2.07 pounds per week from here on out to achieve my goal by Christmas. That is totally doable! I am still on the right track and I am ready for week three. Bring it!!

New Week: Fresh Start!

Here is the lunch I packed for today but forgot, so I labeled it and threw it in the freezer for next week! (Don't worry, I had a salad for lunch so I am still on target for today.) I put the amounts of each type of food on the lid so I can easily log it when I finally eat this yummy meal.

Since I was at it anyways, I put a slice of left over homemade lasagna in a container too and threw it in the freezer.

I just need to toss a salad or some fruit in the empty space the day I take it to work. This should help me stay on track the days that I don’t have time to pack a lunch.

My goals for week Three:

Log 120 minutes of activity
Keep track of how I am feeling when I eat in the notes section of myfittnesspal so I am aware of the reasons I eat
Drink 8 cups of water each day! (I am not getting anywhere near this right now)

I can do this! And so can you. It is not always pretty but it totally rocks when you are able to defeat your own negative thoughts. You won't know how great that feels if you don't give it a try!

San Francisco in a Day

2012-09-16T15:17:00.003-07:00

I have loved San Francisco ever since I was a kid. I love the cool air, the ocean-side views, the food, the stores, the many different and unique neighborhoods and so much more. I especially love walking around pier 39. This is usually where I go when I hit the city. The smell of the salt water, fish, clam chowder and the freshly baked sour dough bread that does not taste better anywhere else on earth makes my heart skip a beat. I make the short drive over to the city by the bay every chance I get.

Luckily my not so little anymore cousin loves San Francisco just as much as I do. When deciding what to do with our one full day together this past Monday, there was only one choice!

This trip did not go as smoothly as all of my other trips to San Francisco but it was still fun and totally worth it.

Traffic was crazy so we decided to take the Bart part of the way in. We had to try two different Bart stations and three different parking lots before we were able to find a spot to park.

After an hour and a half, we finally settled into a bench at the West Pleasanton/Dublin station.

This was already the longest trip ever to San Francisco and we were only half way there. Part of me wanted to say, “FORGET IT! Let’s eat here then go home.” Pleasanton is a pretty cool bay area city with lots of great food and one of the better malls so it would not have been a total waste.

I resisted the temptation to give up on our day out in San Francisco and persevered. It took us a total of three hours to get into the city. This is a first for me. It usually takes me 1 hour if I drive the entire way in and a little more than 1 ½ if I take the Bart.

We were on a mission, literally. We were starving and headed to the Mission District to eat at Tartine. It is a very popular little place. If you are a foodie like my cousin and I, you have likely heard of it.

Here is how to get there:

Take Bart station exit Mission/16^th.

When you emerge from down under this (ABOVE) is where you will be. Go left. You will be on 16th heading toward Gerrero.

Right about here (ABOVE) you may get a whiff of sewage or something. Just keep going, it won't last long. When you get to the corner, make a left on Gerrero.

Head toward 18th street. Tartine is on the corner of Gerrero and 18^th.

How was the food? Amazing! I had a quiche. I was so excited I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture and so did my cousin.

My cousin had the Sopressata, Fontina, Brocolli Rabe Pesto

I had to taste it and it was surprisingly good. However, if you’re not adventurous when it comes to food stick with the Panini’s.

This place was packed. If you are claustrophobic, prepare yourself. The whole dining area is about the size of my living room. The entire time we were there, a constant flow of people came in and out. My cousin and I must be slow eaters.

You cannot be shy when you visit Tartine either. If someone leaves their table you better snatch it up, if you are still in line split up! Oh and brush up on your waiting skills because you have to grab your own water and silverware. Did I mention that you get to bus your own table too?

I have never had the pleasure of visiting a place like this before and I am sure there is no place like it anywhere else. If you’re a hipster or just a hippie at heart like me, you will feel right at home. If not and you are new to San Francisco, be prepared for a fun and funky ride. It is totally worth the experience and the food is awesome.

After lunch, we took a different way back to the Bart and found the famous ELBO ROOM. Okay, so I have never heard of it but my super cool, young and hip cousin has and got very excited when we spotted it.

We also stumbled upon the Community Thrift Store. Of course we went in. When have I ever passed up a thrift store, NEVER that's when. It had the largest selection of used books I have ever seen with a pretty impressive anthropology, sociology and health section. I don't know why I was surprised, this is San Francisco.

There are at least 3 or 4 more of those tall standing book shelves in the back that cannot be seen in this picture and books along the whole back wall.

This was a very different trip than my usual visits to San Francisco but fun, adventurous and yummy. I cannot wait to hit the Mission District again in search of the best Mexican restaurant. There were tons of them and we already decided that when my cousin comes back we will go on a quest to find the best one.

If you have never been to a big city before and are afraid of public transportation, homeless people and the occasional random guy yelling "Hey you, girl with the big butt, yeah you, come here", then travel in a small group but don't let that stop you from experiencing a cool new place. It will be fun I promise. Just make sure your phone is fully charged!!

UPDATE
The cost of this trip was as follows:
Gas $16.80
Bart $11.50 X2=$23
Lunch at Tartine $26 for two including tax and tip
Book at thrift store $2.75
Total cost= $68.55

I am sure I would have spent more if we were not so tired that we missed the union square stop. If you have never been to SF, this is where all the big stores are.

Weight-Loss Challenge: Week One Update

2012-09-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

The first week of my weight-loss challenge is over! I weighed in this morning and lost a total of 4.2 lbs.

I am loving the myfitnesspal app. At first I was not so sure about it because I have used other apps with way more options but I didn’t really use them consistently. This is probably because they had so many options. Myfitness pal is simple to use in every way.

I logged in daily and having the phone app is really helpful. I ALWAYS have my phone on me which means no writing things down then having to remember to add it all up later.

Every day was different. Some days it was easy to stay within my calorie limit and others it was really hard! Knowing that someone was going to see how I did each day gave me that little extra incentive to stay on track. There were a few days where I logged my food and was in the red. So, I exercised until I was back in the green. This helped me balance out my day but I still felt kind of crappy and bloated after making poor food choices.

This losing weight thing really is about building or re-establishing good habits. It is not just about the weight for me, it really is about feeling better overall. I don’t feel as good the day after eating heavy fatty foods as I do when I have eaten a healthy balanced diet. That means choosing the salad, high fiber bread and glass of water over the brownie and diet soda. While it is okay to treat yourself to goodies sometimes, I have a tendency to eat these a little more than I should. I forgo the good foods pick the not so good foods instead and say, “Oh look I stayed under my calories, yay me.” While I may still lose weight for a little while doing this, eventually it will catch up to me. More importantly it makes me feel like crap!! BALANCE is something I plan to work on this week.

I don’t think I have shared this yet but in my former life, not so long ago, I was a nutrition educator. I knew all about the basics of eating well, working out and losing weight but it was and is still hard for me. Why, because after you acquire the knowledge you still have to put it into practice. For some of us, it’s really hard to break old habits. Let’s face it, who wants to part ways with the one who has been there for all the break-ups, bad hair days, fights with family members, flat tires, crazy mornings with the kids, birthdays, graduations, every holiday, every family gathering and all the other good and bad experiences you have had. It’s like losing a best friend, well for some of us anyways J

***If right now you’re thinking, “Wow, this lady is CRAZY!”, then you may not have serious food issues like me. If this is you, and you are just trying to lose that “freshman 15”, check out Megan’s blog. She is also in this challenge and is living a fabulous life abroad. But you are welcome to still check in with me from time to time, it may be entertaining****

The truth is, most of us already know what we need to do to achieve a healthy weight the hard part is doing it. I am glad I have made a commitment to do this for a lifetime. I am also glad I have new friends, real friends with faces and not ones you shove a fork or spoon in, to help me along the way.

Check in weekly as I share with you my successes and challenges over the remaining 15 weeks of my weight-loss challenge.

P.S. it's not too late to join us

My weekend in photos

2012-09-10T08:57:00.001-07:00

My cousin is here visitng from West Hollywood. She had a few days off and wanted to get away from the oh so wonderful but hectic LA lifestyle. We are headed to San Fransisco while the kids are at school so, today's post is short and sweet!!!

Here is my weekend in photos. I made this with my new PhotoFancie app.
It was a great weekend. Lunch in Sac with friends on Friday, a walk to our lakeside comunity pool for a swim (you can see Greg a million steps ahead of me), garage sale-ing, lunch with my mom & cousin and last night a walk along the water. Off to SF. Have a wonderful Monday!

Weight-Loss Challange: It all begins TODAY!

2012-09-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been “trying” to lose weight for I don’t know, two years maybe! Okay maybe it is more like my whole life. It has been really hard. Eating healthy and exercising is particularly hard when you commute. I started commuting in 2010. I packed on the pounds quickly after I started commuting. The fact that I was not really all that skinny to begin with sure didn’t help.

I have a hard time remembering to pack my lunch, I am too tired when I finally get home to work out and I feel guilty taking off to go the gym when I haven’t seen my boys all day. I also hear that commuting itself may lead to weight gain. I have not researched this just yet but I know it causes stress. My whole body tenses up as I watch the person behind me nearly smash into my car because they are not paying attention to the road and the long line of cars starting to slow down in front of us.

I think a big part of why losing weight has been so hard for me is that I don’t have anyone to do it with. The brief time that I was really healthy, active and a size 2 was when I had a good friend/co-worker getting healthier with me. We ate together, worked out together and held each other accountable. I really miss that. I tried to find other workout buddies after that but it never really worked out for a whole host of reason that I will not get into now.

At this point in time, I am really frustrated and sometimes overwhelmed by how hard it has been for me to find some motivation. I know I need to get this under control. I will have more energy, feel better about myself, be a good role model for my kids and finally fit into the tons of cute cloths that I have sitting unused in dusty boxes. Even though I know how great things will be if I get my act togather, I lack motivation.

Guess what, I have finally found it! My motivation that is. I decided to join Journey 2 MILFhood’s weight-loss challenge. As of today, four girls total have committed to this challenge. It is a virtual support group. I have never met any of these lovely ladies in person but I plan to get to know them over the weekend by visiting their blogs. I am pretty excited about the whole idea and can't wait to see my new body on Christmas day.

Here are the details:

Today is the day it all begins. I have added a weight-loss ticker to my blog. Talk about accountability, yikes!

My goal is to lose over 30lbs by Christmas.

All of the member’s of this challenge, including me, will blog about our weight-loss or lack of it every week.

I will post every friday, which is weigh-in day.

Wish me Luck!

Mooooom Stop Your Embarrassing Me

2012-09-06T19:14:00.002-07:00

Last week I was on top of the world when I learned that teens said Dads were more embarrassing than Moms were. Well, my bubble quickly burst when my sons found out about my bragging.

Apparently, I am still pretty dang embarrassing. Here are the top five reasons I am still very embarrassing according to my sons (well one of them anyways) in no particular order and in their (his) own words.

1. You dance horribly and out of nowhere

2. You sing off key and CONSTANTLY

3. You treat me like a child and I am 14!

4. You love me WAY too much & say lots of lovey dovey stuff

5. Sometimes, you talk too much

Of course I asked them both if there was anything I could change to be a little less embarrassing. The response was, "Nope, cus then you wouldn't be you and you’re pretty cool!" and "You're not really that embarrasing."

My sons are cool too! I know I embarrass them way more than they would like to admit. I am pretty sure they don't want to hurt my feelings. I embarrass my self, so how can I not embarrass them. Luckily they never hold any grudges against me and are pretty quick to just laugh it off.

Here is my list of things I have done or do that I think may embarrass my boys.

1. Volunteer in their classes (I am one of the few parent's that steps on the high school campus)

2. Go on field trips (again, who else wants to hang with a bunch of hormonal teens)

3. Pick them up from school bumping "Tupac" or "Prince"

4. Go with them to rated R movies (if they are going to see it they are going to see it with me and be uncomfortable!)

5. I get bad or "teenager's" hair cut

~~6. I wear thongs~~

7. I spill food on myself when we go out to eat

8. I ask too many questions about my food when we go out to eat

9. I trip on stuff a lot

10. I say, "Oh she's cute" "Don't you think she's cute?" (my ex husband never liked that either)

11. I use 90's slang way too much. What? Really? Get over it home skillet. I know I am all that and a bag of chips so just chill!

At what age do you think kids stop seeing us as perfect and start to get a little embarrassed of their mommies?

Couponing: Getting Better at it!

2012-09-03T11:18:00.002-07:00

I blogged about cutting coupons recently because I was not sure what to write about that day, so I wrote about my trip to the store with coupons. It remains one of my most popular posts and I have actually had people request to see more examples of my trips to the store.

I am still far from being a pro but I really need to cut back on my spending somewhere so I am going to keep couponing. I figure I will only get better and maybe one day I will walk out of the store with a free item or a CRAZY amount of food (like $500 worth) for under $10 bucks. Wouldn’t that be awesome, wish me luck.

Here is what I got a Raley’s this weekend:

When Chris asked for Fruit Loops, I quickly remembered that Raley’s had the boxes for $1.99 and that I had a coupon. How did I know? I was looking through my ads saturday night. I know how sad.

Note: The boys are only allowed to eat cereal on the weekends and we were out so I was going to have to purchase cereal anyways.

I only paid $6.96 for three boxes of cereal and one box of pop tarts. This was a 59% savings. This is higher than the last time i took a trip to the store with coupons.

The mail cashier said, “This is an awesome deal.” I then handed over the manufactures coupon I got online and he said, “And with a coupon even better!” I was impressed with myself too.

At Safeway:

I got all this for $21.79. In case you can't tell there are 5 boxes of toaster strudel, 3 boxes of trix yogart 2 sunny d's, 2 boxes of eggs and one 3 lb bag of apples.

I was a little disappointed when I looked at my savings it was only 45%. However, I saved $18.06 with my club card, paper coupons and just for you e-coupons. So this is still pretty good.

I think my savings percentage was not as high because I kind of messed up. I planned to only buy three boxes of toaster strudel. I added on two more at the last minute because I figured that if I did, they would last me about 2-3 months. I should have stuck with my original plan to buy three. Then come back when I printed another manufactures coupon that could be added to the in store discount. Nevertheless, I still did pretty well.

I did a separate purchase at Safeway because I forgot to put this cereal pictured below on the conveyor belt with the rest of my stuff. It worked out because I was able to see how much I saved on this cereal. I did not have a coupon for this purchase but $1.88 is a great price for cereal so I bought four. I am starting a stockpile.

Much to my surprise, this $9.64 purchase resulted in a Catalina coupon for $3.00 toward my next vist. When I pass by Safeway again, I will pick up a few more boxes. That future purchase should be one that results in a high discount percentage since I plan to go back while the cereal is still $1.88.

I am still not an extreme couponer yet but I am saving money and that’s a pretty good deal!

Morning Rush

2012-08-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

This morning could have been a disaster. Here is what happened five minutes before it was time to leave the house to drop the boys off at school on my way to work.

Son: “Hey mom, do we have a USB port”

Me: “huh?” (this was kind of a weird question)

Son: “A USB port, do we have one?”

Me: “Yeah, you have one on your netbook. “

Son: “Oh yeah, I forgot”

Me: “WHY”

Son: “I need to print a rough draft of my paper and I need to save it on my flash first.”

Me: “When”

Son: ‘Now”

I immediately thought, “What, we have to leave in five minutes. You should have done this last night! Why didn’t you do this last night?” This is what I wanted to say. I am sure we would have spent at least 5 minutes arguing about all of this. I may have then went off in to a lecture and 15 minutes later we would finally be printing the paper and rushing to school late and angry. That is what my parent’s would have done. That is what good parents do; take advantage of every single teaching moment. This was a teaching moment right? Kids have to learn somehow.

I never really liked this kind of situation when I was a kid. As a parent I don’t like it either. I never feel too good after reacting harshly to such minor (but important) things, even though I know that is what good parents do. I want to be a good parent. I don’t want undisciplined unruly kids but I don’t want to scream and yell all the time either.

I know it is my job to teach and train but I was feeling a little tired and didn’t want to start my day off badly. It also wouldn’t be fair to make my other son late to school because of something that had nothing to do with him. At least that's what I told myself. So, I let this “teaching moment” pass.

What I decided to do instead was say, “Okay, your flash drive is on the table. Grab it and save your paper while I turn on the computer.” After I took a deep breath, of course.

We had a whole five minutes, remember. We got the paper printed and still made it out of the door at our regularly scheduled time, 7:00. On the way out the door my son says, “Thanks Mom!” the stress immediately left my body. Then he added, “Next time I am just going to print it out the night before. It was done all I had to do was print it. I really need to work on my procrastination. What if something went wrong? ”

What? He still learned a lesson? How did that happen?

The boys made it to school on time with no yelling, fighting, or me driving like a crazy women to get to the school and no unnecessarily upsetting kid number two. I wasn’t on time to work but not because of the boys. There were a lot of accidents along the route I take. If I had reacted differently I would have been extremely upset, stressed and distracted, I may have been on the side of the road with my car bashed in like those other people.

I have had my moments of overreacting in situations like this morning, especially when the kids were young. Thankfully these incidents are few enough in number and happened long enough ago that the kids don’t remember them. But I do and it still upsets me.

Approaching everything in a confrontational way SUCKS! At least to me it does. I don’t want to constantly be battling my kids. Yes there are times I have to put my foot down but sometimes I can jump in and help them figure things out on their own, especially now that they are teenagers. Right? I hope so because I like this way much better.

Call me a softy if you like, but my son still learned a lesson, I still have my voice and we all had a great day.

Whose more embarrassing, Mom or Dad?

2012-08-28T10:52:00.001-07:00

My boys do not really have the opportunity to be embarrassed by their dad since he is not around but if he were, my kids would be more embarrassed of him than me.

Yes, that is correct. A recent study found that teens and young adults are more embarrassed of their dad than they are of their mom.

Dads dress funny, aren’t embarrassed of driving funky cars and their teens aren’t having it. Read more about it at mailonline. Okay so maybe this study was done in the U.K but kids are kids right!

I just want to say, I don’t remember being embarrassed of my dad but he was always styling, drove nice cars and was really nice to my friends. But I kind of always knew he wasn’t the norm.

My parent's and siblings

Aren’t you glad I am off today and had time to find and share this information.

P.S. I think "dad's" are really important (that's why we spend so much time with mine), I just thought the article was kind of cute and funny when I read it.

The highlight of my weekend: Cassava Leaves

2012-08-27T15:06:00.001-07:00

I’m not sure if I would really call this the highlight of my weekend but it was definitely cool and unexpected.

I drove to Patterson to pick up my son who was spending the night at his best friend’s house. His friend used to live down the street and we all got to spend lots of time with him. His mom remarried and now they live about 45 minutes away. The boys miss each other more than 14-year-old boys would like to admit, so I made a commitment to drive to Patterson once a month so they could hand out.

When I went to pick up my son, his Mom took me to her friend’s house. I did not know until we got there that I would be working. The friend is from Africa and once a year she goes to the flea market about 30 minutes away from where they live to purchase one year’s worth of cassava leaves. Apparently, it is a staple in many African dishes.

This is only one of the four boxes. And we already took some out before I took this picture.

We picked the leaves off and I had to pull of any tiny dead leaves in the middle. I guess they are bitter. This branch "bleed" when I did that.

See the box in the background on the left? Those are the picked leaves.

The coolest thing about this whole event was that after a few minutes it was just me and an 80 something year old Cambodian man (grandpa) on my left and a late 80 something year old African women(grandma) on my right, both of whom did not speak a word of English. They were also kicking my butt at this picking leaves thing. It took me awhile to catch on.

Grandpa was hustling and quickly caught on to the technique of efficiently picking the cassava leafs. He probably did about 5 bundles for every one bundle I did.

What did he do differently than me? Well after some time I realized that, he and grandma had been communicating all along. I stopped and watched them. He watched how she picked the leaves. Then he would do the same. She would look at him, smile and shake her bundle, in approval I guess. Occasionally he would get ahead of himself throw something in that still had a bitter part. She always caught it and signaled him. He got her signal, corrected the situation and then got back to work.

I had never stopped to watch her once or try to communicate with her because we did not speak the same language. I was wrong. I could have learned from her and had a much easier time at my task. The funny thing is, she did not watch me the way she watched grandpa. She did not give me any signals or feedback. Why? Maybe she knew I was not paying attention. Maybe she did and I didn't notice. Who knows? Nevertheless, I did learn a little something about myself. I am too quick to assume I cannot communicate with someone because we "don't speak the same language." I am not going to do that anymore.

Oh yeah: Cassava leaves are poisonous before cooked so don't lick the sap or try to bite them.

Garage Sale Gorgeous

2012-08-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here is an outfit I wore to work this past week with garage sale finds as key pieces. I know it's blurry, I had a hard time taking a picture of myself.

Cardigan (Mossimo) about .75 cents

Black Tank (Forever 21) . 25cents

Skirt (sunny leigh) FREE

Shoes (a few months old) paid $12.99 at Ross

The cardigan was less than a dollar because it was sold as a group at one on the garage sales I visited in my june post and the black tank 25 CENTS at another garage sale.

The best part of this outfit is this stunning skirt that a wonderful friend from work gave me.

See it is possible to look cute on a budget!

An awesome first day of school, FINALLY

2012-08-22T09:00:00.002-07:00

This morning was amazing. When I woke up at 6:15 am the shower in the first bathroom was already running. I could hear the sound of water dripping and teeth being brushed in the other bathroom.

Chris emerged from the bathroom already dressed his cloths matched and everything. I made breakfast while my other son got himself dressed and ready for the day.

This may not seem like a big deal to you but I remember a time when it was just me in the morning literally dragging my little boys into the shower, nagging them to brush their teeth (sometimes pinning them down) and arguing with them about their cloths. You try convincing a 5 year old that while that florescent stripped shirt his Grandma gave him may be his favorite shirt EVER he can't wear it to school.

Weather your kids like school are not, the first day can be really stressful for any parent. It can be just a little bit harder when you are the only one trying to do everything. If your still feeling a little overwhelmed by all the things you have to do alone now that you are a single parent (or just feel like a single parent sometimes) I hope you can find comfort in knowing it does get easier!!

My sons are amazing. As each school year rolls around they gain more confidence and take on more responsibility for daily activities. Now, they wake me up, often cook breakfast themselves, pick their own cloths, wash the dishes, mow the lawn and keep their room cleaner than mine. I couldn't ask for more. Except maybe a million dollars.

Okay, so maybe it's still hard to get good pictures of them, but

we can't have it all!

Social Media: Put yourself out there

2012-08-21T07:43:00.001-07:00

It feels like social media has always been a part of my life. I may not manage it well, but I am connected EVERYDAY to EVERYTHING and EVERYONE.

Like many others, I was very reluctant at first to join the social media craze. At 29, I felt like I was too old to join MySpace, is it still around? Does anyone even remember MySpace? Anyways, back to how my social media addiction began.

I have a few younger cousins, who were in college at the time that pushed me into joining. I reluctantly complied; it was the only way I could keep in touch with them. I had no choice but to accept that the days of calling your loved ones on the phone or sending thoughtful letters were long gone. I really didn’t want to lose contact with my little cousins who are like sisters to me. After about a year of contemplation, I reluctantly joined.

At first, I did not really like it. It felt weird and kind of silly but I did like being able to find music and I loved all the cute page layouts. I really got into making my page a second home with pretty backgrounds, music, and photos of my kids. Within a relatively short amount of time, something amazing happened. Not only was I able to see what my little cousins were up to but I began to get messages and requests from long lost family members and friends who could see my adorable sons for the first time online.

As you may or may not know, I was a very young mother and by 21, I was raising my two sons alone. This means I had NO time at all to connect with friends. I had already lost contact with many people when I got married and everyone went off to college, then things got rocky in my relationship. I avoided contact with most people because it was hard to talk about what was going on and I was a little embarrassed. But now at 29 my diaper changing days were over, I was comfortable with the life I was living, I had become a pro at balancing my personal and professional life (kind of) and I was finally ready to reach out to the world. Social media made it so easy!

I found a dear friend that I often thought about but didn’t know how to find. She always had a very special place in my heart. I saw her a few times after High school and before my busy single mom adventures began. If she was so great why did I lose contact with her, you ask. Well, you have to remember, there was a time when not everyone had cell phones and you couldn’t cyber stalk your closest friends just yet. When I messaged her (or she messaged me I do not remember who found who first) I was so excited and happy that I cried. A road to trip to Fresno followed shortly and the rest is history. Now, we get to see each other in person from time to time and I get to watch her adorable little ones grow up right before my eyes on Face book.

I have also connected with other friends, cousins and even meet a few new people using social media.

Fast forward to today, social media is still coming through for me! This past Friday I was having dinner with my parents when I realized I was so busy at work actually working, that I had not checked face book ALL DAY. So I took a quick peek at my fb app on my phone. The very top story in my feed was a check in from a cousin on my Dad’s side of the family (we don’t see them much). It was short and sweet, “ALONE” -In –N-Out, Sacramento, CA. I quickly commented back and sent her a private message with our number and whala (I have no Idea how to spell that but you get the point) within an hour she had joined us at my parents House. We will be having dinner with her again this week when she comes back into town for work. This time she will hopefully get to see my brother too and meet his family for the very first time.

I know it can be scary to announce your presence to the world. Just remember, almost everything in life has some level of risk attached to it but the risk here, in my opinion, is very low. The payoff is so great that it far outweighs any “risk” that may exist. If you haven’t given social media a chance yet (what the heck are you doing?) you may want to check it out.

Still worried? Here is a pretty good article about staying safe on social media sites. It’s not too lengthy but covers all the bases. Enjoy.

Last weekend before Back to School

2012-08-19T11:24:00.002-07:00

I cannot believe another year has passed. This year Greg is an 11^th grader and Chris a 10^th grader. It feels like just yesterday that I dropped Greg off at kindergarten and Chris at pre-school (Nana’s house).

This weekend I passed up the opportunity to go to Nevada with my parents. They have friends who have a great place in the mountains with lots of land, quads and access to a beautiful lake. Hmm, I am starting to re-think my decision.

School starts on Wednesday and I did not want to be coming home late Sunday night stressing out about doing laundry, getting school supplies, cleaning backpacks and everything else that needs to happen in preparation of the first day of school. I work full time so the weekends are my only chance to get all this stuff done.

It turns out the boys just wanted to hang out with me and “just me” all weekend anyways so luckily I made the right decision.

Our weekend has been great. Here is what we have done so far:

Friday Night:
BBQ’d

Went to the movies and took my niece to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog days

Saturday:
Cooked breakfast together

Video Chat with Aunt Nezzie who recently moved to Hawaii

Boys did whatever they wanted while I snuck away with my cousin to taste of San Joaquin

Watched another boring documentary as a family (Do I have the only teenage boys in the world that watch this kind of stuff?)

Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings- Yum

Sunday:
Had breakfast together again

Took inventory of our back to school supplies as a family. Made a shopping list.

Project time: we all work on something individually during the same block of time. Watching TV does not count. I am blogging, Greg is stretching and reading, Chris is writing.

Wasted an hour watching "Call me maybe" parody videos.

Later we will go shopping for back to school stuff and maybe hit the park or our community pool. I am always up for a swim.

My parent’s friends place will always be there and we have an open invitation to visit. So, after we are settled into our school year routine maybe we will hit the road and make our way to Nevada.

One thing I have learned over the past 14 years I have been single parenting is that when I over extend myself it not only stresses me out but it stresses the kids out too. What good is it if your kids look back on your last family vacation or weekend trip and say, “that sucked I never want to do that again.”

The truth is the boys and I have a great time no matter where we are anyways. Every weekend is like a vacation to us J