The good news is that I am getting back to the weight I was at prior to quitting smoking…

The bad news is that I’m smoking again.  I really need to get that taken care of pronto!  It’s not good for me and I really hate being dependent on cigarettes.  I hate having to take breaks to smoke, I hate worrying whether I’ll be able to get a break to have a cigarette.

Although I don’t mind being close to a weight that is good for me.  I’m hovering at 120 at this time, and need to lose another 20.  I’m quite small, so 100 is definitely on target for someone my height and age.  I couldn’t go to 95, but I like food, and since I never get around to excerising, trying to maintain 95 is pretty unattainable if I want to eat a healthy diet.

What seems to work best for me is very little, if any, bad carbs.  I stick with a rational amount of whole grain/wheat carbs, eat lean meats, lots of veggies and some fruits.

I have cut back on coffee here and there, but lately I’m back to being a coffee drinker.  Some of that is stress and circumstances at this time… some is just that I love coffee darnit!

I don’t drink a whole lot these days and when I do I stick to very low carb light beers, and not too many.  I also don’t eat sweets.  Fortunately, I’ve never had a taste for them, and so I don’t have to drool over the desserts that I can’t have.  99% of the time I don’t want them.  However, my downfall is salty snacks.  I do stick to nuts, such as almonds, or peanuts, but sometimes they just don’t do the same thing as a handful of fried potato chips.  I work with chips in front of me three days a week, but I’ve done very well at resisting the urge to shovel a handful into my mouth.

That’s all the updates for now.  I have a lot going on and a lot to accomplish in the next few months, so hopefully I will be as productive as I need to be.  Focus is my word for the month.

I hope you had a wonderful summer.  Stay tuned for news on all the fall projects that I get myself into around here!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July.  It’s rainy and overcast and has been most of the day, so there won’t be any fireworks for this town or the surrounding areas, but we’ll just postpone that until tomorrow.

It was sort of a blessing as I have a lot of articles to write and other design work to accomplish, and if it hadn’t rained, I’d have lost a whole day.  I did go to a cookout for a couple of hours, but I was able to accomplish some design work, send out some emails I needed to get to and do some research before I went.  Now that I won’t be going to any firework displays, I can work on some more things tonight and I won’t feel overwhelmed or like I’m slacking if I participate in these events on a Saturday instead of a Friday.

I don’t normally put so much pressure on myself when something enjoyable is going on.  It’s not good for the soul, and it really serves no purpose other than to stress you out.  Instead, I really do try to take each day as it comes and plan work and play around what is happening.

Always strive to stay in control of your life, but don’t forget to enjoy it as well.  Even when there is a mountain of paperwork, laundry and housecleaning to accomplish on top of carpooling, cooking, a little time or yourself, and if your trying to do all that and make a little extra spending money, life can feel overwhelming very quickly.  Stay focused on what is really important, finish what you can when you can and don’t beat yourself up over what you could not get to.  We moms do a little (well, a lot) of that. 

Take care of yourself, and your loved ones, and remember to enjoy your life this weekend.  Don’t forget to make time for meditation and prayer.  I guarantee it is time very well spent.  I will post more on that later, and how it helped save my sanity.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted here. Life sometimes gets in the way and you get slapped in the face with reality.

A lot of things here will be changing and going in new directions.  I hope you will stay tuned for all that I have planned.  I am still working on my wreath designs, and will have that website back in business soon.  As well, I will be growing this site with more information about being a mom, working from home, and balancing the whole act with style and grace.

well, i’m down a total of 5 lbs, which sounds great when I say it, but darnit if it doesn’t feel like I’ve been trying to lose those 5 lbs for months now. uuggghhhh. having been on diet roller coasters and having tried unhealthy ways to lose weight in the past, it’s really hard not seeing better results. I keep reminding myself that I’m getting older and if I want to stay healthy and in good shape, I have to do this right. Too many people love me for me to continue doing things to my body that I should not be doing.  5 down, only 25 to go. I can do it.

it’s not an enormous amount, but i did really well all last week and have started to lose the extra lbs (about 3 so far) i put on when i quit smoking. it should have helped that i was sick one day last week, but that only means someone else is responsible for feeding me instead of myself… that’s not a good thing because i’m the cook around here. if it’s not me at the stove, it’s fast food, something fried, or some pre-packaged meal from the freezer and always too much meat, sometimes a choice even. i’m surrounded by men, and they are all meat addicts. i didn’t overreat that day, but i certainly didn’t lose anything either. i made the best of the situation and did choose a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato instead of the wonderful goodness that is a fried chicken sandwich from same-fast-food establishment… after seeing the scale a few lbs less than last week, i’m very happy that i made that choice. yay!

We have an 18 1/2 yr old who graduated high school last year and has since been wandering aimlessly from job to job, unable to figure out what he wants. Some of the wondering aimlessness has caused me a river of tears, sleepless nights, and some very loud conversations. The last few months have been good for the most part, if you don’t count how before-mentioned-graduated teen needs steady-full-time-gainful employment. Biting my tongue, and desperate praying have become normal pastimes for me. Last week, I heard of a job that just so happens to be in the field my graduate has been speaking of (it entails going back to school. YAY!). To make a long story short, it was a long shot, but he impressed his new employer, and has been gainfully employed, making more than minimum wage even, and enjoying the new adventure for a whole week. Come Fall, I may just be signing this one up for school… again…. if the last time counted. Does it count if your teen realizes college is not for them after only one week? I mean, it’s barely a blip on the radar screen of life forpetesake. A costly blip, since the decision came only one day after full refunds were given, but a blip nonetheless.

Seriously though, I am so very excited to see him finding something he likes to do and is good at. It was as though his life was in limbo and none of us could figure out how to kick start his life after high school. He didn’t transition well, but I’m hopeful at this point, and that feels good. Hopeful that this makes him happy and ready to be a part of the world around him.

Over the past 8 months I’ve done a lot of research concerning heart health. Not only learning to eat properly, which I did do for for the most part, but also staying active. As much as I thought our lifestyle was active, I realized that I also need strength training and brisk walking. Aside from a having good diet and not smoking, brisk walking is the best thing you can do for your heart. I may move around a lot, but I don’t think there was enough ‘fast’ walking going on. As far as strength training goes, that was nil. I’m small, have a very petite frame and have never wanted muscle mass. It just didn’t fit into the girly image I had in mind for my body. Now that 40 and topics relative to aging have slapped me in the face, I see how having some muscle could be beneficial to my health and to my weight control. I logged two miles of very fast walking yesterday and have been doing some resistance exercises all week. I plan to keep that up as I’m seeing results already. Very little weight loss, mind you its only been about 4 days of eating within my calorie range for weight loss (1200), but I do feel better… probably more in my mind, or spiritually, because it does feel good to want to take care of your body. It’s amazing how quickly our bodies respond to a little TLC.

The 1200 calories a day I’m staying at consists mostly of very healthy foods. Very lean (and small portions) cuts of meat. I think the only meats I’ve had this week are skinless chicken breast and ground turkey breast. Large doses of veggies at lunch and dinner. For breakfast I’ve been sticking to a multi-grain muffin, fat free yogurt, and berries (straw or blue). I’ve snuck in the occasional salty snack but kept it to a handful of pretzels, or fat free pringles. Okay, so the pringles aren’t the best choice I could be making, but it curbed my craving without adding an atrocious amount of bad fat and calories to my diet.

and so the weight loss journey continues. i did a lot better eating today. i didn’t stay low enough for any weight loss to happen, but i did do really good, so there won’t be a gain for today. that’s better than the last few days of gorging that had been going on. i didn’t choose wisely for breakfast. the rest of the day has been all veggies. now, if i can just get through the evening without any evil snacks calling out to me, i’ll consider it a victory.

tomorrow i’ll be working on a new section for all the weight-loss / heart-healthy-eating ideas, advice, and information that i want to add here. i don’t need a whole new site for it, but since it is a huge part of my life, i do want at least another section her to keep everything together. i also want to document my war with the 30 evil pounds that crept into my body when i wasn’t paying attention.

today was a really great day all around. i am staying focused and feeling more hopeful than i have in a long time, which means i can get back to concentrating on the work that i love to do and just enjoying each day. it did help a ton because the weather wasn’t so freaking cold that the car was heated before i got to my final destination.

it’s the 5th day of a whole new year, and my weight loss journey isn’t going as planned. i’m not discouraged, but i do need to get on the ball. my goal is to lose the 30 lbs i put on when i quit smoking. i will walk 3x a day for a mile each time. i will continue strength training 3x per week and in about a month or so, i will have at least 3x per week cardio routine in place.

for about the past 5 years, i’ve followed a weight watchers/mediterranean style diet. portion control, lower fat foods, fruits & veggies (which i had to teach myself to love since i hated ALL veggies at one time), less meat, whole grains, and accommodating meals so i can still splurge on something sinful now and again. real butter? i totally forget what it is. for the past few months i’ve had such strong cravings for salty snacks and other foods i don’t normally allow myself to have very often, hence the recent and fast weight gain. since i am all of 4′ 11", 30 extra pounds is not pretty. i immediately turn into a beach ball, and have skinny limbs protruding from a very round and large rear. sooo… it’s gotta go. summer is just 4-5 months away and i need to get this party started quickly. right?!

despite keeping a good diet and having an active lifestyle, my husband landed himself in the hospital a few times this past year and then had quintuple bypass surgery in July. after being on his last leg a couple of times & having an enlarged heart to the point of it not being able to pump any blood on its own last May, a great team of doctors took over his care and he is now recovering exceptionally fast and doing sooo much better than anyone expected. he has been back to work at a physically demanding job since late August, early September. there are some things he no longer does on his own, although his limitations are few and far between.

now, if someone would just come up with an all-pasta diet, i’d be the skinniest bitch you ever did see! man, do i love pasta… and not the whole wheat crap that i just cannot learn to love. or even like for that matter.