Attitude Adjustment - Check.

I got some really great advice from some wonderful bloggers on my last post about dealing with my lack of confidence in my abilities. 1) Believe in myself. 2) Parent myself with the confidence I instilled in my son. 3) Take it one day at a time. I read those comments over and over and let the wisdom sink in. It's going to take some time, but I feel better already, so I thank you with all my heart.

I'm focusing on doing my best at work. I have faith that God is in control of my days and so I will tell myself that each morning - and let Him be in charge. That's a hard one.

Food this week has been excellent. I've cut back on my portions, cut out sugar (except for the 1/2 c. of low-fat frozen yogurt with sunflower sprinkles that I get at school at lunch), and enjoying lots of fruit and veggies. Yes, I'm enjoying them. It's amazing how good fruit tastes whent you cut out refined sugar ;)

I've been riding this week in this gorgeous Spring weather and taking Sydney for walks. She loves to go for walks, although, she'd like it if we ran! Here's some pictures of our walk today. I love tall grass and clover and Syd does, too.

Field of Clover

Sydney in the sun.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend. Don't forget to drink your water.

Talk is Cheap

I talk a good game in this diet war. I know all the right foods to eat. All the right moves to make. When I'm focused on the "prize" I can get there - well, almost there anyway. I can talk it UP about dieting. So, why do I let myself fall short of the goal? I'm sure the answer is some deep-seated, lack-o-confidence due to real life adventures of the adult kind.

All I know is, I'm looking for confidence. I only hope I can find it.

Today I ate well, took Sydney for a walk, and rode my bike for a couple of miles. My back is still hurting and limiting my movements but I'm determined to work it out.

At work I feel a change might be coming. It's that time of year for contract renewal and some people are leaving the school for greener pastures. That's all fine and good for them, but it may mean more duties for me. They seem to have a lot of confidence in my abilities. But for some reason I feel like I'm faking it everyday and one day they'll see that I'm really not as good at my job as they thought.

By the way, are you drinking your water?

Spring Break - Update

Thanks to all for wishing me well with my back problem. I am better after two and half days of laying around and taking pain meds. Not how I wanted to spend my time off, but these things happen. Now the front of my house will just look naked until I can get back to it. In my mind, I don't feel out of shape ;) But my body is good at reminding me.

To add insult to injury, I have not made the best choices for eating. My pity party included cookies and ice cream. I don't even have anything positive to say right now. Why can't I stick to eating right?

Not now...

The city's big truck came yesterday and picked up all the tree limbs in the neighborhood. While I'm thankful they do that, they always leave behind some broken pieces and dig up some of the grass. So, this morning I got up and went out to pick up all the debris. My back was hurting a little, but I'm stubborn and just kept working. When you're out of shape you really should listen to what your body is telling you. I felt a shift way down low in my back and it's like the wind got knocked out of me. Now is not the time for my back to go out!! All day today I've been trying to get relief. First I laid around (which is hard for me to do even when I don't have things I want to get done), then I walked around outside with Sydney in the backyard. Lots of moaning and groaning whenever I tried to sit down and then get up again. I have a pretty high pain threshhold, but this Hurts!

Needless to say, I'm really irritated. I have too many projects left that I want to get done this week. I'm hoping that if I rest today, tomorrow it will be better. Today was so pretty and sunny, too. Sigh.

Diet? Well, I'm still eating okay, sorta. Not dieting really, but mindful of what I'm putting on my plate.

Hope the sun is shining your way today!

Spring Break Project #1 - Yard Work

I've made a list of all the things I want to get done while on break this week. I may not get all of them done, but at least I'll get a jump on things. When my mom was living in Montgomery a couple of years ago, I spent most of my time going to her house on the weekends and my house went untouched. It's time to devote some TLC to my little corner of the world. I love this old house. We rented it for almost 10 years then the owner decided to sell it to me a few years ago. The previous owner never did a thing to the property but I love it, warts and all. I'm a DIY kinda girl so I love doing stuff, just don't always have the time or the cash.

Spring Break To Do List (not in any particular order of importance):

• Have shrubs removed from front of house, flower beds cleaned, oak tree trimmed, fallen tree in the back chopped up and all debri placed at curb for city pickup.
• Remove caulking from bathtub, bathroom sink, and kitchen sink and replace
• Plant something (?) and make a pathway in front of house
• Work in garage (the never ending battle)

Anyway, here are the before and after pics of the yardwork I had done yesterday. It looks rather naked right now, but I'll fill it in as my budget allows ;)

Front - Before and After

Side of House - Before and After

Front Window Hedge - Before and After

Today, I'm off to get some plants and run a few errands. Then since it's raining today, I'll work on the caulking. It's nice to off work, even if I'm working like a dog!

Have a great day, and don't forget to drink your water!

Ease into it...

That's how I approached this week. Since I'd been eating everything but the kitchen sink, I told myself this week to take it slow, and it worked. Monday was all about cutting back sweets. I chose fruit instead - even had some dreaded peaches in light syrup. I never eat them but I needed to feel like I was having something really sweet. They were just what I needed. Tuesday, I did just fine. I made sure to eat a mid-morning snack and an afternoon one, too. That kept my blood sugar from sending me in search of candy.

I thought I'd share this recipe with ya'll. It's from the Biggest Loser Cookbook, page 137 (if you have the book), Mo's Spinach-Ricotta Bake. I changed the recipe up a little (something I seem to always do) by using low-fat ricotta instead of fat-free - cause that's what I had on hand. Anyway, it was super easy and really good. I think next time I'll add onion or roasted red peppers to zest it up a little.

Mo's Spinach-Ricotta Bake

1 package (1 lb) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 container (15 oz) fat-free ricotta cheese
3 T grated reduced fat parmesan cheese
2 large egg whites
1/4 t. garlic powder
pinch of nutmeg (I didn't add this to mine)
1 1/2 cups of low sodium, low-fat marinara sauce (there is a recipe in the book p. 191)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly mist an 8"x8" dish with olive oil spray.

Drain spinach, squeeze out as much moisture as possible (very important so dish won't be watery). Place in a large mixing bowl. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, egg whites, garlic powder, and nutmeg (or not). Stir to mix. Transfer to prepared dish. With the back of a spoon, spread it out to fill the dish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until it is hot through and the top is starting to brown. Let stand for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Heat marinara sauce in sauce pan or microwave (on low power) until warm. Cut the spinach-ricotta bake into 6 equal pieces. Transfer each piece to a serving plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of sauce over each serving. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in resealable plastic container in fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 134 cals, 11 g protein, 17 g carbs, 2 g fat, 15 mg chol, 3 g fiber, 304 mg sodium.

You can eat two servings with a salad and have a great meal! It is really good.

I'm off next week for Spring Break. I need it as much as anyone. I'll be staying home, doing some DIY, watching movies, and reeeeelaxxxxxxing. Oh, and riding my bike. I rode Tuesday and again today and I think Nellie's wheels were singing!

Have a great weekend. Take it easy and don't forget to drink your water.

Hello, it's me.

It's been a while since my last confession blog post. I've been around blog-land, just reading and leaving a comment every now and then. I feel like I've fallen and I can't get up.

**Warning:  This section might be TMI for some (mostly guys, if you happen to read my blog)**
I've had menstral problems all my life and a few months ago, it appeared that all that was over. No periods for several months!! I was elated. Until about a month ago, when I started to feel the old familiar signs of PMS and then, yep, the respite was over. I felt depressed and tired and sad and angry and hungry and cranky and crappy and crampy and - okay, that's enough. I'm sure you get the picture. I've had terrible bouts of binge eating. Stopping by the store on the way home and cramming food into my mouth, throwing the evidence in the trash when I got home. Eating in hiding. Eating just to be eating, I think.

As a result, I've gained 20 lbs back from what my lowest weigh-in was back before Thanksgiving. I'm very disappointed in the way I let my hormones take control of my life. And I do blame the hormones. And just today, when it looks like the end of a 3 week long period might be ending soon, I feel like I am getting things under control.

But right this second, dieting still sounds like a four letter word. To me, a lifelong dieter, it means planning and measuring, and chopping, and cooking. In the past I've tried to just limit how much I eat, but eventually, I eat too much and then I don't lose. If I keep my menus simple and boring I seem to do better, but that is hard to stick to. I'm just going to have to get back to work and do what I know works. I know that summer will be here before I know it and I want this weight off.

So, planning it is. Simple, it is. Cook, yep. Chop, yep. I can do it. I just have to. I still want to respond to some of the awards some of you have given me. I couldn't seem to write anything positive before. It's hard to write about happy things when you can't feel happy.

Thanks for listening. I love you guys. I'll be posting more often and sharing a recipe or two. I made something last night that was really good and quick!