The Whole Jenny

New Wheels

2012-02-26T15:09:00.003-08:00

Richard got a new car!

It's a black Hyundai Elantra Touring. I am a big fan of Hyundai, Richard wanted a big warranty, and we have talked for a long time about getting something that could haul a small piece of furniture or bags of fertilizer and such, and I was insistent that we find all that without having to finance anything. This car met all those requirements!

We took it for a country drive yesterday, one of many to come.

I have always thought I would never want a new car due to the massive depreciation at purchase, but my mom convinced me that it was worth it for the piece of mind. I finally caved because really, that depreciation only affects those that get a new car every few years, but since we drive our cars into the ground, it's less of a factor. When I say into the ground, I mean that our last THREE cars had to be towed out of our driveway! I used to have a black hatchback that I bought used, and it broke down and repairs would have cost more than the car value so I bought a used white sedan and that dealer towed the black hatchback away. The white car stopped working around the time Tucker was born, and it sat in my driveway for three years until my kind grandparents took pity and gave me their car, at which point I donated the white car and the charity came and towed it away. The car Richard was driving until a few weeks ago was bought used about 8 years ago from a rental car place. It's been a real lemon all along, and a few weeks ago it started showing signs of major issues and then refused to start at all about a week ago- so we bought this Hyundai and the dealer- you guessed it- came and towed the old one away. Anyway, you see my point about depreciation not really being a big factor.

The really crazy part is that when we talked trade-in the dealer ran Richard's old car through the system and we discovered that right before we bought it, it had been in a MAJOR accident! I was horrified! At the time there was no Carfax, and disclosure laws were just coming about so no laws were broken, but it was just so dishonest of Budget Car Sales to let a young family walk out the door with an unsafe car without so much as a warning. Although the car looked good as new, there is no doubt in my mind that the impact to the engine caused loose connections and damage that resulted in our constantly having to worry and repair it. I get mad again just thinking about it!

Seriously, if you are driving a used car I would totally suggest getting it's history to be sure. We are safe for now since Richard's car is new and I know the history of mine from new to me, but you can bet I will be vigilant about getting the DMV reports next time I buy a used car- which might be just a year or two from now. Jack is about to turn fifteen, and he's already backing my car to the end of the driveway for me and studying his road rules booklet. Yikes! My plan is to save up for a new-used car for myself and pass my car on to him. I sort of like the idea of a car that served three generations! As for this Hyundai, my guess is that Richard will be ready for a new one in ten years, when the warranty finally expires- about the time Tucker is ready to drive....double yikes!

Better When We're Together.

2012-02-26T00:27:00.005-08:00

Like the Jack Johnson song, It's always better when we're together.

Kissing Cousins

2012-02-25T12:28:00.004-08:00

This beautiful little lady is Riley. She is the daughter of my cousin, which I believe makes her my second cousin. I am not sure what that makes her to Tucker (third cousins?) but they really hit it off at Ben's Second Birthday Party. For the first hour or so they played a bit, but it was when Tucker suddenly made her a note that said "I love you" that our eyebrows started to raise. She giggled and played hard to get for a bit, then slowly came around and professed her love for him. Us adults looked on in amusement, chuckling as we wondered which states their love was legal in! At one point, I went to check on them in the playroom and found him helping her out of a crawl-through play tube. "Whatcha doing, guys?" I asked, and as she smoothed her hair and her outfit she responded, "Well, he was saving me...because that's what people who are in love do. They save each other!" When I returned to the kitchen and shared this with her mother, she explained that Riley has seen a few too many princess movies! These two continued to flirt and pass more and more intricate notes, which they started wrapping and tying with bows left over from the party gifts and favors. They posed for a few pictures before they had to part.

Perhaps with our shady family tree and it's Kentucky hillbilly roots, inbreeding is inevitable. Ha!

Ben

2012-02-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

I finally got to spend some time with my nephew Ben last week on my trip to Illinois. I figured I would be smitten, but this blue eyed boy had me at hello. He's cleaning the floor at Costco after he spilled his pretzels. How cute is that?These cousins sure look a lot alike!

I miss him already!

Valentine Assembly Line

2012-02-13T15:53:00.001-08:00

Looks like Tucker is well enough to try heading back to school tomorrow, just in time for Valentine fun!

Crisis Averted

2012-02-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

I guess it was good for me to get my complaints down in writing, because shortly after posting about all that self-pity I worked out most of my issues. I had grown really tired of trying to get things done while catering to a whining, sick, child while not feeling so hot myself, but then I realized I had it all backwards. Instead of wishing my kid would stop being sick so I could work on my to-do list, I ignored my to-do list and worked on my sick kid.

I ignored the things I had meant to do today, none of which were actually crucial, and snuggled up on the couch with Tucker and watched VeggieTales all afternoon. It made for a much calmer, much quieter house and family.

Even sick, Tucker can't help but groove when they sing.

I made it through without "cheating" on my eating as well. I went online and ordered myself a new Primal cookbook. I know myself well enough to know that it would bother me to quit something that I have just spent money on. It would be a waste to quit now, what with that cookbook on the way....and I should come home from my trip to find the new cookbook waiting, with recipes to inspire me. With that done, I made some fish and green beans, and had some strawberries to satisfy my sweet tooth.

As for missing my husband, he has promised to slow down a bit on the overtime after this week, and he did take me out last night for dinner and Ikea. We went to Islands, where I had the "Rincon" which is the guacamole bacon burger- lettuce wrapped instead of on a bun, and with steamed veggies instead of fries. I have had a few people mention that they would like to see more of what I actually eat so I have been trying to remember to take more pictures with the intent to blog more, and I happened to remember at dinner and snap a few pictures.

Status

2012-02-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Sick, whiny kids.

Sick, whiny self.

Laptop has a virus, rendered unusable.

Husband working OT as usual, money is nice but feel like a single mom with a fat child support check.

Actually, single moms get weekend breaks. Feel like widow.

weight loss plateau causing serious doubts.

Just want some peace and quiet and some carbs.

Have not cheated or quit diet since I started in October, but thinking about it now.

Cannot see the point. Cons seem to outweigh pros.

Fat and happy looking like better and better credo.

Losing my mind.

Holding on for a few more days, hoping upcoming trip will cheer me up.

Lighten Up

2012-02-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

I meant to pick a word or phrase or goal of some sort to concentrate on for 2012, I really did. I thought about it a bit but couldn't really come up with anything that struck me, and then suddenly it was 2012 and I thought some more and pretty much gave up as time got away from me. Now, almost six weeks into the new year, I hit upon what, to me, feels like the perfect theme for this relatively new year.

Lighten up.

My goals for 2012 are:

To lighten up physically, weighing less at the end of the year than I did at the start. It's as simple as that.

To lighten up my surroundings. I tend to be minimal, my husband leans toward hoarding, and I am finally reaching a peace about that. We are compromising on what it's okay to hoard (books and pottery) and what it's not (dvds and old clothes and useless crap) and doing some spring cleaning. Basically, my new, lighter philosophy is that if we are going to surround ourselves with things, they should only be things we are truly inspired by or really need, and I'm trying to lighten up my surroundings with more color and a brighter vibe as well.

To lighten up my soul, my spirit, my mood, my days, to play more and worry less, to garden and dance and craft and love and breathe in sunshine and seek out my authentic self underneath these heavy layers of worry, stress, and insecurity.

I AM

2012-02-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

I watched this documentary this weekend (it was featured on Super Soul Sunday) and I highly recommend it! It's called I AM, and it really explores human nature in an interesting light. I found it really eye opening, and when it was over I felt inspired to live with less, love more, and think more. You can watch a preview and find more information on the film HERE.

Chili

2012-01-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Friday I made some bean-free chili. Several pounds of ground beef, bell peppers, garlic and onion all fried up, drained, and put in the crockpot with a can of beef broth, a can of tomato sauce, and a few cans of spicy diced tomatoes along with some chili powder. I served it with sour cream, cheese, diced onions, and even Fritos for those that wanted them.

It was pretty good stuff. I am so used to putting beans in my chili that I just didn't think this would turn out, but actually you don't even miss the beans one bit!

Oh, and as of this morning....274. 36 pounds lost!

Tucker at the Zoo

2012-01-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Jack had archery class today, which is near the zoo, and Richard was off working overtime (again) so Tucker and I hit the zoo together to kill some time waiting for Jack. Here he is posing in front of the camels.

A close encounter.

Totally amused by rolling pictures of animal parts to create new creatures.

Such as this.

He played a bit on a playground.

The highlight ending was a viewing of the 4D Happy Feet short film, followed by a ride back to the exit on the Skyfari.

P.S. 274.8, which brings us to over 35 pounds lost.

Cupcake Cutie

2012-01-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

Just sorting through some pics from a few weeks ago. This one is pre-haircut, at a wrestling tournament where the school was selling cupcakes. Too cute not to post.

Caulifower Pizza Crust

2012-01-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

Oh, the beautiful cauliflower.

I am more and more smitten with this wonder food. My love for it expounded exponentially when I discovered it can be used to make pizza crust. My friend Anna sent me a link to a cauliflower pizza crust recipe on Eat. Drink. Smile, saying she saw it and thought of me. I love that people think of me when cauliflower they see. At any rate, of course I had to try it right away!

I chopped up my cauliflower into smallish chunks and threw them in the Ninja.

I then pulsed the raw chunks in my Ninja (you could use any food processor) so that it was "riced". That means as near to the consistency of rice as you can get it. You can actually microwave riced cauliflower and use it in place of rice in stir fries or whatnot.

Mine was more like couscous than rice.

I threw the riced cauliflower in the microwave and mixed my cheese, oregano, salt, garlic, and eggs, then added the cooked, riced cauliflower and mixed some more.

I didn't have any spray oil but I greased my pan with coconut oil, then patted out my crusts. I made a double recipe, which is why there are two.

It sort of reminded me of a hash brown.

Here's what they look like after they cooked. Mine were a little burnt onto the pan. My oven seems to cook hot, and I must admit new pans are long overdue, so I would definitely blame my equipment and not any alteration to the directions.

The only way I really varied from the directions was that because my crust was a little burnt I was wary of putting it back in the broiler to melt the cheese because I figure that would just burn them on worse. Instead, I carefully scraped the crusts off the pan and onto plates, applied my toppings, and stuck them in the microwave. Broiling would have given me a nicer browning on the cheese, but the microwave worked well enough. The above pizza was topped with pesto sauce and goat cheese.

This one was simple tomato sauce (I read several labels making sure there was no sugar or chemicals thrown in!) and a high-quality mozzarella cheese.

For someone who hasn't had a slice of pizza since September it was awesome. Even the husband and kids (who dined on "normal" pizza but each had some tastes of mine) thought it wasn't bad. I will definitely be trying this again, and hopefully they will be a little prettier next time. It was surprising how little you can taste the cauliflower. It really is a wonder food!

What Fresh Hell

2012-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a hellish 24 hours. My sister was admitted to the emergency room yesterday with stroke-like symptoms. She wasn't feeling well and then was having trouble with verbal expression and numbness in extremities, among other things. I spent a rough night, trying to keep busy, up and pacing and trying to lose myself in tv, waiting for news, texting and talking with my mom, sister, and best friend, and crying to my husband. I finally fell asleep, and shortly after I woke this morning I got the glorious news that she was back to her old self. I spent today trying to busy myself as I waited for a diagnosis and prognosis. From what I gather, the best medical guess right now is that it was a freak massive migraine that mimicked stroke symptoms. She is being released to the care of her primary physician and being sent home from the hospital. I cannot begin to express how glad I am that she's okay.

It's funny, I was a machine all day, but the minute I heard she was going to be fine I sat down to take a deep breath, suddenly felt ill and hot, and sure enough I have a 102 degree fever.

Super Soul Sunday

2012-01-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

As some of you may recall, I stopped drinking the Oprah kool-aid for a while because I just wasn't impressed with a lot of the OWN programming.

Her new Super Soul Sunday show has got me back on board. I first tuned in last week to see her interview with Dr. Jill Botle Taylor, a neuroanatomist who had a stroke that changed her life and her entire thought process and outlook. It was a pretty inspiring story, so I set my DVR to tape each week.

This week, amongst other guests, Oprah spoke with Dr. Wayne Dyer. I have blogged in the past about how much Dr. Dyer's philosophies resonate with me. I watched the interview on the edge of my seat, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, having a-ha moments one after another and feeling like Wayne Dyer can somehow see inside my head, inside my soul, and speak straight to my heart. Oprah joked at the end of the interview that she could talk to him all day, and that maybe someday they should do "a day with Wayne Dyer" and boy, I wish she would.

I took a peek at the topic for next week, and was excited to see that she will be speaking with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and another personal favorite of mine.

Super Soul Sunday airs on the OWN network Sundays at 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET/PT.

276.6

2012-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

I'm at 33.4 (thirty three point four) pounds lost.

I was thinking about the little milestones I have reached so far and how reaching them helps keep me motivated, so I decided to keep a virtual list of milestones so I can cross them off as I reach them and focus on the next one- because a goal that's a few pounds away is much easier to concentrate on than one that's over a hundred pounds away. I did a little math, looked a few things up, and came up with the list that you should now see in the sidebar to the right. In creating the list, I spent some time studying BMI charts and I realized that somewhere around 278, sometime in the last week or so, my BMI went below 40 which means I am no longer considered "morbidly obese"- I'm just regular ole obese!

The Story

2012-01-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

I love this song.

I love it, I love it, I love it. It is exactly how I feel about my husband. Every word is perfect, every line reminds me of us. I definitely have lots of stories from my pre-Richard wild days, I broke a lot of rules (still do every now and again), I was beyond flat broke when I met him and he made me feel like a million bucks, I have never been able to keep a straight face and be serious when trying to profess my romantic love, my head is often a mess, and nobody knows me, gets me, or tolerates me like Richard. He even claims to love my crazy, so clearly I was made for him. I know it's cheesy, but this song makes me weep.

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you
I climbed across the mountain tops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
You do
I was made for you
You see the smile that's on my mouth
It's hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what
I've been through like you do
And I was made for you...
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you

Chicken Nuggets

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am always on the lookout for new paleo/primal recipes to keep things interesting, and I especially love kid-friendly recipes. I tried the chicken nugget recipe from Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal and it was a big hit with everyone. It uses almond flour instead of the traditional wheat, and it was easy and delicious!

277.6

2012-01-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

I am up to 32.4 pounds lost, and I really want to start getting some exercise in. I want to speed up my loss, I want to be strong and capable, and I have heard that I am less likely to have loose skin after weight loss if I exercise- and since I have only lost 32 pounds so far and I can already see skin sag that is certainly a concern.

Anyway, I promised myself I would start by going to the fitness center at least once this week, and I did that this morning. In total I walked 1.5 miles on a slight incline and then did a 3 mile "random hill" bike ride. I'm having some back and knee pain now, but nothing I can't handle.

My plan is to aim for two workouts next week, and focus more on strength than cardio.

Last Weekend

2012-01-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Here it is Thursday and I am just now pulling pics off my phone from the weekend, but better late that never. I spent most of Saturday at a wrestling tournament, where Jack got to actually wrestle for the first time. He lost, but did a great job. You can see him above getting ready to wrestle, in his singlet with his shorts still on in the center of the frame.

One of my favorite stand-up moments is this bit from Eddie Murphy, in which he talks about being a little kid and wanting a McDonald's hamburger, and his mom telling him she could make him McDonald's.

This past weekend I responded to my teenager's desire for a Starbuck's frappucino with "You want a frappucino? I'll make you a frappucino!"

I saved some strong leftover coffee from Richard's pot and stuck it in the fridge, and then put about two cups of ice, a cup of coffee, about half a cup of heavy cream, a few spoonfuls of sugar, and a good long squirt of chocolate syrup in the ninja, blended until smooth, and topped with some homemade whipped cream (heavy whipping cream and splenda or powdered sugar) and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

I don't drink frappucinos, so we will just have to take his word for it, but Jack tells me mine was better than the ones he pays five bucks a pop for.

Sunday found us stretching our legs at Chollas Lake, where we walked the loop and stopped several times along the lakeside path to feed our old bread ends to the ducks.

You'll notice that I tend to keep a little distance between myself and birds. Birds creep me out.

Monday was a school holiday, and I used it to run some errands with the kids, which included a haircut for Tucker. I always let my kids pick their haircuts. I think it's a good way to encourage self-expression and it's not a battle worth fighting since even the worst haircuts always grow back. Tucker asks for this faux-hawk hairdo every time.

278.8

2012-01-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

I hit a little plateau and was getting very frustrated, stuck at 279- but today I weighed in at 278.8 which brings me to a 31.2 pound loss so far, and with over 31 pounds lost since my start weight of 310 in early October I have now lost over ten percent of my original body weight!

That was a big milestone for me, and the way I see it I can also say I am 20% (one fifth) of the way to ideal weight. For my height (about five ten) I think an absolute ideal fantasy goal for me is to be in the 150 to 160 range, so let's say 155. 155 is exactly half of 310, which means I needed to lose half myself- I need to lose 155 to be 155. 31 pounds is 20% of 155.

My Eyes Are Bigger Than My Stomach

2012-01-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

When I started dieting in October I was a size 28+. A few pair of my bigger jeans got too big, along with my favorite lounge pants from Target and a few dresses so I sold them on eBay with the thought that I could buy a few things in the next size down.

Today I was running a ton of errands, and while I was at Walmart I grabbed a pair of capri cargos in a size 26. While I was at Target, I noticed that the same favorite pants I had just sold were on sale. The ones I sold were plus size 4. I started to get a size 3, then thought maybe I should get a 2 as motivation to lose more weight.

Once I got home, I tried my items on.

The size 26 cargo pants have to go back because they are too big. I can pull them down without unbuttoning them, so they will be going back. I assumed the size 2 pants would be too small and was totally stoked when they ended up fitting just fine already!

That totally made my day.

Jack and Mom Time

2012-01-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

Richard has been back at work over a week now and Tucker went back to school yesterday, but Jack doesn't go back until Thursday so he and I have three days with just the two of us. He still has practice every afternoon, but we've been trying to fit in some mom-and-Jack quality time before that each day. Yesterday we went to the mall. We wandered shoe stores, looking at what kind of options he has in a size 14 (not many) and then we had brownies (we saved our "weekend treat" for that) at Panera Bread (eh. Target has better brownies for half the price. Lesson learned) and then we went to the sports store and he got new wrestling shoes. This morning the two of us went to the zoo and hammed it up for a bit.
The warrior Jack and his trusty mount?

Good morning, Sunshine.

Nothing says mother and son like a trip to the zoo's tar pits.

Now we are back at home and I am enhancing Jack's classical education with a showing of Children of the Corn. my first pick was Dirty Dancing but he vetoed that. Who would imagine that a teenage boy wouldn't want to watch an eighties movie full of young romance, sultry dancing, and passion with his mom? Go figure.

Tomorrow we are planning on an early morning workout together at our fitness center followed by a movie marathon, and after that it's back to the grind for Jack. Of course, the day Jack goes back begins Richard's days off, then it's the weekend and the kids are home, and Monday is Martin Luther King day so it's a school holiday....so next Tuesday I should finally get a day to myself for the first time in a month!

Sunday Outing

2012-01-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday Jack had an archery lesson to attend (one of two lessons I got for him through Groupon) and since it was in a field quite near our zoo, the rest of us decided to hit the zoo for an hour or two while he was there. We wandered the reptile house and then let Tucker play at their playground a bit.

He tried his hand at the little rock climbing wall.

We sat and watched and enjoyed the sunny morning.

Next, we spent a little time at the petting zoo.

After that we wandered over to the bug house before heading back to the archery field.

We got back to Jack just in time for me to get a few shots of him finishing up the lesson. You can see him here in the red long sleeve tee, doing some target shooting. He had a great time and is looking forward to his next lesson at the end of the month.

Books 2012

2012-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

I ended up reading 26 Books in 2011. That's a book every two weeks- not bad but definitely something I can improve upon this year. I used to read at least twice that, back before kids and reality tv and World of Warcraft came along! The best book of the year for me was definitely, without a doubt, The Hunger Games Trilogy.

I finished my first book of 2012 today, and so begins a new list for the new year.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Dungeons and Dragons, by Shelly Mazzanoble - my husband picked this one for me. It was an easy read and light hearted, but I found it to be a stretch and the plotlines a little too scattered and pointless.

Cell by Stephen King - creepy and definitely a page turner, but I felt there was still a lot unanswered at the end. Who? What? Why?

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard - What a horrific story. The kind of story that gets in your head and you think maybe it would have been better to have gone your whole life not knowing there were people like that out there. Between this and the Stephen King book I read before it, it is definitely time for something lighter and brighter.

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson - This book was just what I needed. Light, funny, and full of a lot of truth. It's about a busy career mom, but I found so much I could relate to and actually am quite inspired to be more organized with my time and pay more attention to my kids. I hadn't heard of it before I snagged the book at the library's used book store, but it's also a recent movie with Sarah Jessica Parker (which I am watching on ppv as I type this). This book showed me I need to read more chic lit.

Second Chance by Jane Green - This was a sort of "big chill" story where a group of old friends is reunited by tragedy, It was a quick read, nothing life-changing, but I liked it.