Weigh in

So I had another weigh in today and WOW!! Down another 6 pounds. I'm down 13 pounds from starting one month ago. It's so exciting!! I would LOVE it if I could lose 13 pounds every month. I don't know if that's possible but wouldn't that be nice. It would sure be over quick. Anyway, I'm focusing on making better food choices for now, so that when I'm not taking medication, I'm at least eating what I should be.

Product Review - Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner

I am a BzzAgent, (bzzagent.com) which is the best thing EVER! I got my new, free Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner in the mail and immediately set it up in my shower stall. We have a walk in shower with frosted doors, and it's very hard to clean, lots of hard to reach places, and the floor of the shower is a textured plastic that seems to hold on to any type of dirt, grime or mold. I have tried everything to get the floor of the shower clean, the only thing that usually works is to get some rags, spray bleach on the floor and "ice skate" around the shower stall. I look (and feel) like an idiot!! Not to mention the hard water we have here, we have a water softener, but over time, sometimes the fixtures start to turn a nice shade of orange.

So, I was excited to get something to clean my shower with less hassle than what I normally have to go through! It was super easy to set up, I hung it up there, pressed the button, it beeps for a few seconds to give you plenty of time to get out of the way, although I have to admit, I kept the shower door open a crack so I could watch!! The doors are frosted, I couldn't see what it was doing!! But it shoots out quick, so I had to jump out of the way and shut the door really quick. I was surprised at the coverage, it shot up pretty high, and went all the way around. After just a few days, I can already tell a noticeable difference. I am just so happy that my ice skating shower days are over! The only down side I see is that I had to take my shower caddy down, you can't have two things hanging over the shower head. I'm not too torn up about it.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Movies You Intended to Watch But Haven't:

1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather 2
3. The Godfather 3
4. Citizen Kane
5. A Streetcar Named Desire
6. Taxi Driver
7. Raging Bull
8. Wuthering Heights
9. Easy Rider
10. The Deer Hunter

Manic Monday

How did you celebrate your last birthday?
Big Daddy took me to III Forks to eat dinner, the in laws watched the kids for the night, we got up the next morning and had breakfast at Magnolia and went to Whole Foods, and just looked around.

What's the last thing you bought yourself, just for fun?
Probably a Wii game, although they would be more for the kids, I do play them and have fun with them. American Idol was more for me.

What would the child you once were think of the adult you have become?
She would think I rock!! Probably think I'm not nearly as active as I used to be, but I always wanted to be a mom and be a fun mom, just like my mom was, and I think I am, so mission accomplished!

Product Review-Dawn Direct Foam

I got a free bottle of Dawn Direct Foam with the agreement that I would blog about it, so I'm doing my part, cause I love me some FREEBIES!! And, this one is great. I love the pump, that's my favorite part. I love that it's foamy also. And surprisingly, it does soap up A LOT! You would be surprised how much you get from one pump. I don't wash a whole lot of dishes by hand, thank God, but when I do, most of the time I don't even use a whole pump, just a little squirt and it's plenty to do what I need it to do. I wash my hands at the sink all the time, and don't like having two things of soap up there all the time, so I usually just use a tiny bit of this soap, and it really does take just a tiny bit to lather up quite a bit.

The only thing I didn't like about it, it seemed to go rather quickly. Because I don't wash dishes by hand that often, when I buy a liquid soap, it will last me months and months. This one has lasted me a while, but I can tell not nearly as long as a regular liquid soap.

Bottom line, I would buy this again, most definitely. And I would recommend it, for ease of use and quality.

Israeli Chicken Rub

Israeli Spice Rub:
1 1/2 T sweet paprika
1 1/2 T ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t ground coriander
1/2 to 1 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t coarse kosher salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Warm pita or flat bread

Rub on chicken breasts and grill. This is one of our all time favorite recipes. I make it with a side of hummus, basmati rice and pita bread.

This stuff WORKS!!

So I go back in for my 2 week check, and guess what? I have lost 6.6 pounds. I can't even believe it. All I really did differently was take that little magic pill every morning. Okay, that's not all I did. I did try to walk, but honestly, that didn't happen everyday. I tried to be more active, going inside to get the kids from school instead of drive thru, parking farther away, that type of thing. I tried to eat more veggies, more fruits, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, not whole wheat. I pretty much gave up all sweets. I gave up fast food and sodas. I watched my portion sizes. A lot of that was on my own, and a lot of that I had help, in the form of the pill. I noticed I would eat breakfast, which, I'm NOT a breakfast person, never have been, probably never will be. There just isn't many breakfast foods that appeal to me other than bacon. So usually I will eat some sort of leftovers. Then I noticed I wouldn't be hungry for HOURS. Or I would get just a tiny bit hungry so I would have a healthy snack, some fruit, Sun Chips (love the Garden Salsa) or granola bar, or handful of almonds. Then eat a smaller portion of dinner. I also started using the smaller salad plates for dinner instead of the larger dinner plates. A few times I would fix a plate like I normally would, take a few bites and look down and realize I still had enough food on my plate to feed a couple more people, and I was FULL.

So, I guess the magic pill is working, I'm not getting the placebo!! I know it's not making the food choices for me, but it's a lot easier to eat healthier when you aren't hungry ALL THE TIME. It's a nice feeling to be satisfied. And it's nice to not be worrying about food all the time. And I really, really hope that I keep losing 6.6 pounds every 2 weeks, I know that's a lot, and probably unrealistic, but a girl can dream, right?

Friday Fun - Gaming Edition

1. What was your favorite outside childhood game?
Hide and Seek of course!
2. How about board games? Do you have a favorite?
I hated it, but we always played Monopoly, and when I ran out of money, my brother would pay me to straighten all his houses and hotels!
3. Do you play any PC games? Online or offline? If so, what is your favorite?
I used to play Sims and LOVED it, too busy now.
4. Gaming stations,…Do you have one or more and which ones? XBox, XBox 360, Playstation, etc.?
Wii!! It rocks!!

Proud of Myself!

We were supposed to have company over for Valentine's Day, so I made a nice dinner and dessert, which I don't usually make unless it's a special occasion, and so I went all out and made one of my favorites, it's called Sunshine Cake, it's so light and fluffy, it's made with mandarin oranges and pineapples and cool whip, and it's yummy. Well, the company backed out at the last minute and I was left with a huge pan of cake. I was proud of myself though, I covered it up, and delivered it to the kids school for the teachers on Friday morning, and heard plenty of rave reviews. I was glad they got to enjoy it, and I didn't have it sitting here tempting me all weekend!!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin

This is a great recipe, the whole family enjoys it, and it doesn't take a long time and I usually have ALL the ingredients on hand. I'm bad about measuring things, but this is a general idea:

Preheat oven to 400

2 t dried oregano
2 t dried thyme
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 lbs pork tenderloin

Mix all the spices together, rub pork with olive oil, then rub with spice mixture, put in well oiled pan, cook for about 30-35 minutes, let sit a few minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Hot Vanilla

Probably not the best health-wise, but I'm thinking it has to be healthier than hot chocolate, right? My kids have been drinking it a lot when it cools off (which thankfully hasn't been too often lately!)

1 cup milk
2 t sugar
1/2 t vanilla

Mix ingredients and heat for 90 seconds in microwave. Top with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon.

Weight Loss Study

I got accepted into the Weight Loss Study and started taking the medication on Friday. They gave me a book to learn how to make better food choices and want me to just walk 30 minutes a day, which sounds doable. I haven't really felt any different since taking the meds, except maybe going to the bathroom more often (TMI) but I just hope I wasn't given the placebo!! That would suck!! So, I go back in two weeks for an update, we'll see how it goes.