She Did It!!!!

When our children are young, especially in the first few years of life, there are so many milestones we get to rejoice in: holding up that cute little head, crawling, sleeping through the night, walking, etc., etc., etc. But, as they age these milestones become less and less common. So, when my daughter attained one of those milestones recently, I was unprepared for the sheer joy I felt for her. Daughter is now a licensed driver!!! When I tell people how happy I was to hear the news, hubby took her to the DMV and I learned of her passing the driving test via cell phone, everyone tells me I must be so happy because I won't have to run her around a million places all the time. While that is a wonderful perk, that is not the type of joy I felt. I was beaming and elated. I honestly was overtaken by happiness for her, much like when she took her first step. Just like walking opened up a new world to my sweet baby, driving can do the same thing. I love to drive and go places and I have a feeling she will too. Just yesterday she drove alone for the first time and posted to Facebook how relaxing it was and she really likes it. I have a feeling the next time I feel this same joy for her will be her high school graduation. What is a recent milestone one of your children attained?

Monday Menu Mania

Hi All! I am trying to jump back into the blogosphere today. So, how better to do it than to revive my weekly menu post. It's short and sweet, well not literally sweet, unfortunately, but you know what I mean.

Saturday: Pork chop and cabbage bake with watermelon and baked potatoes with all the fixings.

Sunday: Free-for-all - that's when leftovers are offered and everyone gets to pick and choose what they will have.

Monday: Hamburgers (Boca burger for the vegetarian) and a big green salad

Tuesday: El Pollo Loco (Mexican grilled chicken) and sides (rice, beans, mac & cheese, tortillas)

Wednesday: Tilapia and corn stew

Thursday: Daytripping that day, so will more than likely eat out.

Friday: Cannellini beans with escarole and rice

What does your menu look like?

The One Where I Went Backpacking...

Yes, I said backpacking. Now stop your giggling! It could happen to you too.

So, my two boys are in a Boy Scout troop and they have been on many backpacking outings with this troop. My husband often goes along and I wave from the driveway and blow kisses as they pull away. Well, husband always wants me to come on the Boy Scout adventures, but we have a daughter that gave up roughing it a couple of years ago and we could not leave her alone, so I never got to go camping or backpacking or whatever with the scouts. I do like to camp and hike, but the thought of hiking over hill and dale with a big backpack really wasn't appealing, so that was okay.


Flash back to a couple of months ago when I was at or very near my new weight and I realized that daughter was almost 17 and hey it might be fun to try something new - warning, when you lose a bunch of weight, you may engage in risky behavior, just because you can. So, I told hubby that I would be willing to go backpacking. You would have thought the man had won the lottery, he was so excited! So the troop was having a beginning backpacking outing and I signed up along with hubby and our youngest son, who happened to be the Youth Activity Coordinator for this outing and did a fine job of it too! Our other son decided he didn't want to get in youngest's way as the leader and stayed home with our daughter.

My pack with my lunch and two water bottles and all the stuff I needed to survive one night in the local mountains weighed 27 pounds. My hubby's weighed 35, but he was carrying the tent and a couple of other extras for himself. The hike to the camp area was about 2.5 miles uphill most of the way. The first mile was the hardest, but that is probably good because we were full of energy. We stopped for lunch on the trail not too far from the campsite.

The campsite sat on a small hill over looking a stream - really pretty, lots of trees, and of course the stream provided water which the scouts pumped for drinking and cooking. We set-up camp and then went on a day hike. I know you're thinking you just hiked with 27 extra pounds uphill in the snow, wait no snow yet, and you want to do more hiking. YES! It was a short hike without the backpacks of course to a beautiful waterfall. Now, keep in mind that it was pretty chilly for us Southern Californians, mid to high 50's during the day, and the water was cold, but the boys couldn't help themselves and got right into that water! My son was the one that got closest to the waterfall and boy was he proud.



That night it got really cold, like 45 at 6:00pm. The boys made jambalaya and it was the best thing I ever ate - I would never eat it at home as it was processed meat heaven (spam, vacuum packed chicken packets, and pepperoni), but I tell you it was hot and had some spice to it. Dessert was rice krispy treats. By 7, I was FREEZING, and headed to the tent to get into my sleeping bag. Hubby came along and we stayed up and talked for a couple of hours while we listened to the boys whooping and hollering and having a wonderful time.

The next morning, we heard a little pitter-patter on the tent and thought it must be rain. We were wrong, it was kinda a cross between hail and snow and eventually it was little snow flurries. Hubby thinks it was just snow blowing off the higher parts of the mountains, but either way it was really cool to see it and it was cold that morning too. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal, hot cocoa, and pop-tarts, finished cleaning up the campsite, and headed down the trail. I was dressed in three layers, carrying the backpack, and hiking down the trail, and was still a little cold. It was beautiful to look out on blue skies and see these little snow crystals floating down. We made it back to the cars and all the way home.

It was a very enjoyable time and yes, I would do it again, maybe in a few weeks even. Here I am with hubby and son at the end.

Wordless Wednesday-Backpacking Anyone?

Before and After

Some have asked for before and after pictures of me. I have to be honest, it is hard to come up with a before picture because I always made sure I was the one taking the photos. That way, no one could capture me on film. So here is what I looked like in June of last year about three months before I started Weight Watchers and exercising:

And here I am on Sunday with my daughter after her performance:

Can you see the difference?

2:15:44

That was my time for the half-marathon on Sunday. I was really hoping for 2:20, so was excited about 2:15. Yes, that is two hours, 15 minutes, and 44 seconds of RUNNING! That means I can now cross off another 2010 Goal, which rocks! Now to learn to digital scrapbook. I may need to come spend a weekend at your house and have you walk me through it, I am just lame when it comes to learning new technology on my own.

Okay, a little about the race. First, I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning, not because of the race, but because I had to put my daughter's hair in rollers for her performance that day. It was either get up early or stay up Saturday night until like 1:00am, so I chose to go to bed at a decent time on Saturday and get up early on Sunday. So, I rolled her hair, drank some water, ate a little breakfast (banana and whole wheat toast), then got into my racing attire.

I have to admit I had some nerves and I was also very concerned about some digestive issues I have been having. I really thought I might not be able to complete the race or be very hindered if the problem reared its ugly head while running. So that made for one anxious runner at the start of the race. This is not like me at all as I am usually pretty calm, cool, and collected in most situations. I had a timing chip on my right shoe and my racing bib on my shirt, so I was ready to go. I did a little warming up waiting in the starting area. The MC for the day was chipper and talkative and made it fun. The name of the race was the Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon (I know it was really Dos de Mayo that day, but I'm guessing the first time they did this race it was on 5/5). So, to keep with the Cinco de Mayo theme a mariachi gentleman sang the National Anthem and was quite good too. Along the course there were a few mariachi bands playing and many of the volunteers along the course and at the main event area wore sombrero hats.

They counted us down to the start and we were off. It was totally weird running with that many people, I never run with anyone, so it just felt odd. In fact, I think the first few miles were the hardest because of my nerves, worry about digestion, all these people, and not knowing where I was running. After the first few miles I settled down and just focused though.

The course was really nice. We ran through residential areas with man-made lakes, through a park that was more like a nature preserve, near the riverbed, and by a strawberry field. The weather was perfect: mostly overcast, a slight breeze, and temps in the mid 60s-low 70s as the morning progressed.

When I neared the finish line, I heard my hubby cheering me on and he had a sign he had made me while I was racing. He was so sweet! When I finished, there were volunteers waiting to give me my medal and clip off my timing chip. Then I got to go to the runners only area for free water, energy drinks, fruit, granola bars, etc. to help me recover from the run. I had an apple and a water bottle and grabbed a granola bar for later. Here are a few pictures from the race:

Before the race:


Running toward the finish line:


After the race with the sign hubby made me and my medal around my neck:

I am already thinking hard about doing another half marathon in September at Disneyland - I think that would be super fun!

Monday Menu Mania

First, pick your jaw up off the floor, this is a new post. Second, I was attacked by an over scheduled calendar, three teens, and a hubby that was out of town for a week, so give me a break. Third, I missed blogging, reading what you post, and the wonderful camaraderie of the blogosphere. Fifth, instead of trying to catch you up on everything from the past few weeks in one massive post, I decided to start back with my regularly scheduled programming today and will slowly let you in on the highlights of my life in the next several daily posts - tomorrow I'll tell you all about my half-marathon I ran yesterday. So, without further ado, here is my typical Monday post:

I am maintaining my weight loss and have actually lost a few more since the last time I posted. I am now at a total weight loss of 79.2 pounds. I am trying not to loss anymore and in fact a small gain would be okay with me, but with the race training and trying to add points back into my Weight Watchers allowance (this is a bit frustrating), I haven't found the right balance yet.

The menu (Please note I now have a vegetarian in the house and I am doing my best to support that decision):

Saturday: Baked salmon, collard greens (never had them or cooked them and ICK), brown rice with black beans (added the black beans for a protein source for the veg)

Sunday: Went out to Red Robin to celebrate the race and daughter's weekend performances in her first professional opera production (more later in the week)

Monday: Eggplant Chana Masala (no idea what a chana masala is, but this recipe is vegetarian, actually vegan), watermelon, and crusty bread

Tuesday: Greek white beans, brown rice, broccoli

Wednesday: Hamburgers, turkey burgers, and Boca burgers with green beans

Thursday: Pasta bake and salad

Friday: Eggs, toast, and turkey sausage

I know I overdid it on the vegetarian meals, but I got a new cookbook and I love trying new recipes. More than likely we will settle into most meals being more along the lines of Saturday's with a meat option available, but that the other components still make a good meal on their own. Are you vegetarian or ever given it a try or have child(ren) that are? Any tips appreciated.