Diet Slip...oops!

Ok here we are week 6 of the diet.  Weight 166.0.  Not much of a loss in the last 2 weeks...
Hubby went out of town for a couple of nights on business and I sort of fell apart diet wise.  It was weird.  I never realized how lost and empty I feel when he isn't around.  I ended up at Central Market to pick up some fish for dinner and walked out with a couple loafs of artisan bread and some gourmet cheeses and wine...not good.  I think I ate half a loaf ...no.. MORE than half a loaf of olive bread in 2 days and half a round of cheese.  Ugh...That was some serious damage.  Spent the rest of the week just trying to come out even...that's including Superbowl weekend at my parents.  Dad made gumbo and smothered dove...  So in essence I didn't lose a thing last week.  Bad Ali...shame....
So now to get back on track again....
Today I have to make a weekly menu and go to the store.  Purge my fridge of bread and cheese.  Get rid of the leftover chocolate birthday cake that's sitting on my kitchen table.  Try and find a way to get my husband to move the elliptical machine from storage into our bedroom.  HAVE TO WORK OUT TONIGHT!  It's raining here so Sophie, Dave and I can't take our usual afternoon walk.  So we will just have to power walk through the grocery store I guess.  My sister has this Ap on her iPhone called from couch to 5K.  It looks interesting.  I am by no means a runner.  Never have been.  I have short thick squatty legs....not meant for long strides you know.  But I have always envied those women I see jogging down the street with their Labradors and Golden Retrievers.  Just jogging away.... So I might give it a try.  Anyone try it?  Anyone want to try it with me?  My schedule is pretty open....
Anyway...I need to update on the latest recipes I have tried and love...
I think I'll do that later today.

Weight: 166.0lbs
Total weight lost to date: 8.5lbs

**Oh yeah did I mention that my husband has lost like 15lbs??!  UGH!!  GAH!! SO NOT FAIR!!  And he doesn't even work out.  He just takes afternoon walks with me and eats my cooking.  =/  Oh well. **

Little Things

Thought I would share with you some cool things Ive found on the interweb

 

  

  

Saw this on Eat Drink Chic earlier this morning.  I am in luv with the Horo collection from Brevity Designs.  WANT!

Etsy....did I mention I luv Etsy?

I do!

My sister Amy and I are big time Etsy shoppers...My recent purchase:

New Camera Strap for my new DSLR from August Blossoms.  It even has a pocket for you to put your lens cap!

And for a random bit of bling check this out:

  

Yeah I know right?

Antique Old European cut diamond.  Over 2 carats...Beautiful.  They only want $59,000 for it...psh...

And did I tell you I have a new adoration for Karen Millen?

 

I think its great for your late 20's early 30's.  Yeah

More to come later !!  Gotta get the baby from her nap!

Perspective

I want to write a blog.  I really do.  But I have a problem.

As I sit here and pour over my favorite blogs (which I neglected over the holidays...I have a kid and it was Christmas...I feel justified) I start to realize :  They have so much more talent than I do.  I'm not brilliant, not perfectly skinny and blonde, I dont have a gift for witty writing, my photography skills are sub-par at best.  I don't know how they schedule their days to find and create everything, and then on top of that photograph it perfectly and then open Etsy shops and go on book tours....  I cant seem to keep the house clean and the laundry done.  So, although I have such amazing visions and aspirations of creative grandeur, I have not the capabilities... le sigh. 
So what should I do?  Well, I suppose the only thing I have left to blog about is the stuff I do everyday.  Sounds boring.  But I have been on a mission lately.  You see I gained over 60 pounds before I had my beautiful little girl.  And I have been trying (the wrong ways) to lose it for a year. 
Let's backtrack.  Before I was blessed with the gift of carrying my first beloved child I worked at a gym.  I was your local personal trainer.  Yes, me, I know.  At about 137...I'm 5' tall...I was pretty muscular.  Trim and fit.  I had abs, I had definition in my thighs, ah yes...that was 2 years ago this March.  And even at that...I was never conventioanlly skinny.  I was curvacious and a little on the (as an old friend used to call it) "thick"  side.  But I was happy with the way I looked.  I looked pretty good.

that's me on the far left.

breakin it down on my wedding day

Now lets come back to date.  

this ain't pretty folks

really really not pretty...

Over the last year I managed to lose 10 pounds of what was left of my post-partum weight through mainly yo-yo dieting.  Only to gain 8 pounds of it back over the Holidays.  Obviously not working. 
And you know what this year is don't you?  Oh you don't have a copy of my yearly schedule in front of you?  I'll help you out.  It's 2010.  It's the year of my high school reunion.  Ouch. Not only one reunion to attend.  I'm going as my best friend's date to her high school reunion....which happens to be my hometown reunion. (I switched HS half way through so I have the HS I graduated from and the HS that I know everyone from growing up).  Did I mention that my husband graduated the same year I did?  Yep, one more high school reunion....where I get to run into all of his HS ex girlfriends and meet some of his friends for the very first time.  David fell in love with a pretty hot tamale.  I don't want to embarass him.  And if that isn't enough, it's also the year one of my girlfriends from college gets married.  In Mexico.  I've never been to Mexico.  I've barely been anywhere.  I have to get a passport for the first time in my life.  And I refuse to go to Mexico for the first time and sit in sweats at the bar while everyone else bakes in the sun getting all leathery and brown.  I want to have fun too and I don't want my self esteem to get in the way of my vacation. 
So you see I have no lack of serious motivation.  I gotta get crakin'. 
So when we got back early January from Missouri I put David and I on a diet.  And the right way this time.  I know what to do.  I studied Nutrition at Baylor!  I was a personal trainer!  I have the tools....why don't I use them?  I mean if I can't do it then I'm just not trying am I?
So here's the goal.  I want to lose 20-25 pounds by April.  That's about 1-2 pounds a week.  Which is healthy and slow.  That will put me at 11-6 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant.  I can live with that on the beach.  I just want to wear real clothes again.  I want my energy back.  I want to feel like me.
Now, I am not trying to make this a weight loss blog.  I'll probably mention the weight loss week to week.  But the new thing that I've been getting excited about also involves my passion.  Food.  I love food (obviously, it's a borderline problem).  But I realized that about every night this week I have made a new dish for dinner.  Always light and low fat and healthy.  But all have been surprisingly tastey and good.  So if I review a new low fat recipe here and there don't be surprised.  Sometimes I feel like I just have to share.  Doesn't mean I still wont revel in Bakerella and Sweet Paul.  I <3 U.  But my resolve is strong.  I know I can do this. 
So to sum up I will be blogging about what I know, and what I have time to do...which is change.
I started January 5th.  So far I have gone from 174.5 to 167.8 in the last 3 weeks.  That almost 7 pounds.  I can be proud of that.  Now I just need to keep it up

Nothing tastes as good as success.

I've been neglecting you....

opps.  so I havent been on in a while.  Things happening...holidays, traveling, babies walkin'.... you get it.  Speaking of babies (my favorite subject.  I wanted to share a quick blurb or my Sophie's one year photos with you.  Taken by Bishop in Pittsburg, KS

Adorable, no?  =]

Ok and I swear I'm going to update this more tomorrow.  Lots to add actually.  I'm a bad blogger. 

 

Wow, I never knew December could be so busy

So in lieu of a decent blog post where i share some witty banter and post previews of Sophie's party (which I said I would do before now...oops), I am just going to share some cuteness in the form of cupcakes with you.  Call me whimsy

Alien cupcakes

Owls

Pumpkins

and may favorite...Wearwolves

Im using this one for my New Moon party I hope to have...

All ideas courtesy of Hello Cupcake!!  ( I just bought that book)  It's changed the way i look at candy in the grocery store.

She is ONE TODAY!!

Wow...I cant believe she is one years old today.  It went by too fast.  I feel like it was just yesterday:

Ah....my little one only a week old...

she was so tiny!!

And now:

 

my ALWAYS happy baby girl

*sigh*  Now she's almost walking.  Standing up.  Getting an attitude.  Next thing I know it she will be 13 and telling me I ruin her life.  I feel like I'm too young for that.  Part of me really did actually believe that I would be 25 forever.  Then I got used to the idea of 27 and a baby forever.  Why do they keep changing it on me?!  It's so unfair.

Anywho...I will be throwing a birthday party for my little angel next weekend when some of her family can be here.  Then I will be throwing her ANOTHER party for sometime later in the month.  Her grandparents in Missouri (David's folks) cant make it for her first party.  I will be posting pictures of both fetes on here later.  Previews of her party will probably end up on here sometime next week (excuse my amateur photography skills) 

And yes I believe I will post a non personal post sometime today.  The blogging is strong with this one...

Pumpkin Cheesecake

So this year for Thanksgiving my dad decided to try something new for the Holiday.  He always does.  So instead of the traditional pumpkin pie (which I should point out we haven't had a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving in years...) he opted to try this:

I know right?  Delicious!  Absolutely delicious!
Here's the recipe courtesy of Food Network of all places:

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• Salt
• 2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• 1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of the whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

More pictures?

No.

Why?

Well because a) I didn't take any pictures of it over the holidays.  I was too eager to stick my fork into it and devour. and b) Because its gone.  All gone. It was so good it was gone before the end of the weekend.  No, I dont have a very large family.  I think the majority of it was eaten by me.  Generally at 1 am.... Maybe I should look a little closer at this weight loss goal of mine... hmm...

Let me wrap up the end of this post by making a very clear disclaimer:

I KNOW FOOD

That is all.  Carry on...