Updated house remodel photos

Our house is finally back in order after having multiple house projects in the works.
I am thrilled to have my kitchen and bathroom up and working.
It sucks to eat out a lot and not have a bathroom downstairs, especially with two little ones.
We still have some things we want to fix up, but those are gonna have to wait a while.
We are still in the process of repainting our living room and entry way.
I'm still trying to figure out when/how to do it because we have an 18 foot ceiling and I'm afraid of heights.
This is what we've finished so far...
First, our game room...
I forgot to take a before picture of this room, but it was a dark green.
My hubby painted it green and lets just say he doesn't do the best job when he has to do something he doesn't like doing.
I spent two whole days on this room making sure I have straight lines.
Now it makes me happy .
                                           Before                                                                After

                                   

      Next, is our kitchen...

The cabinets were an ugly off-white, pinkish toned mess.

You could really tell we have little kids who were not easy with them. 

Before                                                         

I am in LOVE with the after!

 Last, is our downstairs bathroom.  

We recently got rid of the wallpaper, painted the walls and painted the cabinets so next up was the white tile. I forgot to get a before, but after I cleaned it, you could still see every little piece of hair or dirt...I hated it.  

                     During                                                                               After                             

I am loving my house.

Maybe I won't feel the need to build a new house once we finish.  

Crawfish Boil

We had our annual crawfish boil on Saturday.  

Really it is just an excuse to have people over, eat food, and drink.  

We had a blast! 

My mom made this delicious queso with spinach and jalapeños.  

It just isn't a party without queso at our house.

She also made my favorite dip that tastes just like the Creamy Jalapeño dip from Chuy's.  

OMG...I ate so much of it.  

She said it is on her Pinterest board, but I don't see it.  

When I searched for it, there were lots of copy cat recipes, so try them out.

You will not be disappointed.    

There was lots of...

 Swinging

 Jumping

 Crawfish

The kiddos were not amused, except on little girl that took one home as a pet. 

Her mom was thrilled.

 Playing

Hanging out with BFF's

Thank you everyone for coming!

Gotta stay strong

I finally went for a run today.
It has been a long 3 1/2 weeks since my last work out.
Have I told you I was in a funk?
It consisted of sugar and my lazy ass on the couch watching TV.
BUT today was a new day, for the 37,000th time, and I was determined to do something good.
As soon as I got home I changed into my running shoes and headed out the door.
I knew I wouldn't be able to do much because I hadn't worked out at all in some time.
I contemplated 3 miles, but decided that for me to feel like I actually pushed myself I had to do 4.
It was at about 1/2 mile in when I first thought, "Oh crap this is gonna be hard."
So, I told myself to just keep going.
I knew I would get tired quickly and would slow down quite a bit as the run went on.
I decided to make a time goal to keep me going.
I figured 9 min/miles would be a good push, but not overzealous.
I just kept focusing on pace and trying not to worry about the fact that I was so tired and it was so hard (twss) at mile 1!
The whole thing pretty much sucked.
I shouldn't have expected anything else, but I had this crazy idea in my head that it was going to be relaxing and easy.
My mind plays these tricks on me all the time.
Like telling me, "damn girl you look good in that outfit."  Just to see a pic later and think "what the hell was I thinking!"
I really need a personal shopper because I have the hardest time picking out outfits that fit my body and enhance my good qualities.
That is another post itself.  Maybe later
Back to the run.
I really had to push myself and stay focused from mile 3 to 4 because I really wanted to quit and walk just a little.
I didn't.
I stayed strong.
I finished in 35:19.
Hell ya, I beat my 9 min/mile pace.
That's how you feel accomplished.
Never give up.
You will feel better after.

What to Write about?

I guess I'm hitting a little writer's block.
Although, I'm not quite sure I would call myself a writer.
I have always been a math person and have hated to write anything, hence the reason it took me until 29 years old to go back and get my Master's degree.
Anywho, I am having trouble thinking of things to write about other than my typical weekend recaps or my everyday, boring, life.
At least it seems pretty boring and repetitive.
So, what should I write about?
What would you want to know about me?
Maybe I should join on the cool kid bandwagon and do a little question and answer blog?

Happy Tuesday!

OCD and redoing a house?

I have hated certain parts of my house since day 1, but to redo them all takes some money and that shit doesn't grow on trees.
So, I've just been waiting and trying not to look too closely at different things. 
I am OCD with paint lines, cleanliness, painting, and well, let's be honest, probably everything in my life.
I get it from my mama.
I am a perfectionist and competitive.
As a child, nobody needed to witness me lose any sport or "Around the world" in math class.
It wasn't pretty.
Just ask my parents and my 2nd grade teacher.
I feel so sorry for her having to put up with me.
All of these traits bundled in one person causes a lot of unnecessary stress.
And believe me, it makes it hard to live with anyone that isn't the same way.
BTW my husband is not the same.
Clothing on the floor, dishes in the sink, random things not in their "designated" spot doesn't even phase him.
While I am going crazy inside and want to scream.
And do at some points bc I just can't hold it in any longer.
He doesn't get it and after 7 years of marriage, he probably never will.
So, where was I going with this post?
Oh yeah, so my house was built in 1996 so it has some usual wear and tear.
The people before us had small kids and big dogs so there are places on my hardwood floors that are  scratched, the trim around the house has chips in it, the stairs were a mess, and they tried repainting little parts of things to make them look better, but they didn't use the same original paint and sheen.
It stands out like a sore thumb.
Since my house is older, it has the typical "let's make everything white" and hard to clean!
From bathroom sinks, cabinets, tile floors...everything. Ugh
Then lets top it off with every metal piece in gold.  Wow!
You get the picture, right?
All of these things that I need want redone becomes a BIG project...like I might as well sell my house and build a new one exactly like I want.
I would prefer a year of living in an apartment and building one over fixing this one up.
Yet again, money doesn't grow on trees.
Unless you have found one and in that case hook a sista up.
So we are fixing this one and we have made some great improvements so far.
This weekend we are taking on a lot of them.
What does this result in?
My kitchen being off limits(can you say eating out EVERY meal) and my ass going up and down the ladder all day.
At least that is a workout.
I will post some before and after pics next week, maybe.
One project leads to another and I don't know when it will all be done.
But we are having people over next weekend so it has to be done soon.
EEK! 

Honesty with my feelings

I've been in a workout/eating healthy slump lately.
I will have a good day, then a bad and it will cycle over and over and over again.
I have lost my mojo.
I tell myself every morning that this will be the day I am back on track.
I will not overeat, I will track my calories, I will drink water, and I will workout.
But then 3:00 happens and I am drained which then leads to my inner fat girl whispering in my ear about all of the sugary and fattening food at home.
This then leads to not working out.
Which is redic because I know if I would just go to the gym then I probably won't eat crap.
I have way more self control when I put in hard work at the gym.
So, what is going on?
Why would I sabotage myself and not workout?
What the hell is wrong with me?
I have some upcoming events that I want to look good at and, hello, summer is just around the corner and I hate feeling gross in a bathing suit.
So, there is motivation to get back at it, right?
Apparently it isn't enough.
I know that I eat in stress, which I am under due to work changes, school semester ending, and teaching high school at this time of year is, well, cray cray.
It takes everything in me to keep teaching them although they could care less to learn anything and don't ever see the big picture of life.
I could go on forever about the problems of our youth, but I'll save you from that  and get off my soap box.
I tell myself, if only I had friends to work out with at the gym, I would do better.
I would love to work out with my friends every day.
They kick ass and are huge motivators!
But it isn't possible, so I have to get over it.
I'm not just being lazy.
There is some underlying reason on why I do this, but I just can't quite figure it out.
Is it self-doubt that I can't ever achieve the body I truly want?
Is it not feeling that I deserve "that" body?
Or maybe it is just stress and time...
So, I've sat here thinking about it and how today is a new day, again.
I need to do this for me.
I need to make myself feel better because I've been satisfying the fatty in me, but emotionally I've been feeling pretty crappy.
My clothes have gotten tighter and there are some clothes that I still fit in, but they are too snug for me to feel good in.
I got rid of all of my bigger clothes a few months ago because I told myself that if I start gaining again then I will have to suffer.
I refuse to buy bigger clothes.
We all have slip ups and if you are like me then it all goes in cycles.
I have a few months that are awesome, then a month that isn't great.
But I always jump back into the groove.
I get over my self doubt and stress and move on.
And guess what, I feel GREAT again.
I build muscle, self esteem, confidence, and healthy relationships.
How you feel really affects all aspects of your life.
My relationship with the hubs always improves when I'm feeling good.
My kiddos are happier because I do more with them.
So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm jumping out of this funk.
I am taking control of my life.
I will not let the end of the year bring me down.
I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer, but I felt the need to get it all out.
You know I'm working on my masters in counseling.
Part of counseling is talking it all out and being honest with yourself.
So, it is out and I already feel better.
Funny how that works.
It's my Friday!  Yay!!

Busy weekend and 8 weeks left

I had a great weekend that kept me very busy. Saturday the hubs went with his friends to NASCAR so he left at about 11am and got back around 1am. My friend laughed when i told her where he went because as she said "really, he isnt white trash enough." It was me and the kiddos so guess what I decided to do...clean house and paint my game room. Why? Because if I didn't start it then my house will stay 3 different colors and I will never do it. I was so done painting at 5pm although it still isn't complete.

Poor kiddos had been inside all day so I took them up to McDonald's to eat and play. It doesn't happen often and they don't eat very much so it isn't too unhealthy. Whatev. It makes them happy.

Sunday morning I continued to paint and then headed out with a long time BFF for pedis and lunch.  It was so good to see her but stupid me didn't get a pic. Story of my life. So it was fun and not too exhausting but I AM exhausted this morning. Lucky for me there are only 8 weeks of work left until summer break!. Woohoo! 

What effect does bad food really have?

So, I've been back on track with my eating the past week and I'm starting to feel so much better all around.  It made me start to think about how food really affects your body.  Of course we all know that we should eat healthy foods that provide our body with necessary nutrients, but does it physically change our bodies that quickly or is it just mental?  The first week I went off the wagon and ate crappy foods I felt okay, but definitely not good.  I felt fat and gross, but that was to be expected along with the fun bloating due to overabundance of food I was eating.  I have always been hard on myself so I chalked it up to poor choices and my mind taking over and making me feel bad for being so dumb and eliminating all of my hard work I put in getting into good shape.  That didn't stop me though and I continued with the nachos, mexican food, burgers, and everything else I could get my fat little hands on.  But what happened sort of surprised me...I would sporadically get waves of nausea during the second week.  It wasn't too bad, but I've never been one to throw up, even through 2 pregnancies with absolutely no morning sickness.  Hmmm am I on to something here?  Nothing else had changed: work, kids, school, and life in general were all the same.  I told myself it was nothing  and apparently a little bit of nausea can't keep my inner fat girl away.  So I continued with my horrendous eating and then I started having headaches and I didn't want to do anything in the evenings except eat, duh!  This was a wake up call.  All of this in only 3 weeks?  Really?  At this point, I knew it wasn't me just mentally beating myself up.  Just think about it...all of these physical symptoms from 3 weeks of bad choices.  What happens in a month, a year, or a lifetime?  If these little things can happen so quickly think about when I was younger and all I did was poor horrible food and a crazy amount of alcohol into my body.  Wow, the memories...This was a little bit of a wake up call for me.  I don't want to feel bad, fat, or not feel like playing with my kiddos.  I want to have energy.  So yeah a cheat meal here or there will keep the fatty in me satisfied, but lots of them will harm my body, make me feel like shit, and take away hours, days, or even years of my life.  I will not let food dictate my entire life or determine my or my kids happiness.  We all need healthy and happy families so choose food to fuel your body.           

Egg Cups

I am not a fan of egg whites. I can eat up some scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, or fried, but to only have the whites seriously grosses me out. 

That is like eating frozen yogurt with fruit but only getting the fruit. Sort of...that is actually good. 

I mean really... come on. Aren't eggs healthy? 

So when I started my clean eating again, I decided to give them a try again because I need something that is already prepared in the morning and a good source of protein. So I diced up a bell pepper and mushrooms and added in some egg whites and salt and pepper. 

I didn't even have to add cheese. Score! 

Throw it in a muffin tray and voila. Easy and tasty. 

It seriously took 5 minutes to prep, 20-25 minutes to cook and now I have breakfast every morning. You can add whatever veggies you want. 

You're welcome! 

This is before they are cooked. 

I don't know how to take good pics.  Sue me!

Weigh in

Alright, it is week 1 weigh in time!  

I told you yesterday that I have not been working out due to my crazy schedule so I was a little nervous getting on the scale today.  

I got over it and my clothes and jumped on first thing this morning for a 1.6 lbs loss.  

Yay!  

I'm just happy it didn't go up.  I feel like I am eating constantly and I really only started eating right on Monday. 

 Last weekend was full of bad food and beer at those crazy birthday parties.

There it is...150.6.

Should be in the 140's because I told myself I wasn't ever going back up to the 150's again.  But nonetheless I did.  Womp Womp Womp!

Happy Hump Day!

I need to be honest

I have been feeling so guilty lately so I need to come clean and get this off of my chest.  

I have not started the work out part of the Jamie Eason program yet.  

I know I'm a total slacker!  I feel so bad! 

Actually, work and school have been crazy busy with STAAR testing and my professors decided to pile on the work for the last month.  I am never caught up and am just trying to stay afloat.  

I've also had to find another position for next year so that has taken time to interview and look up other schools.  

It has been cray cray around here.  

I know what you are saying...excuses, excuses.  As my mom would say, "Suck it up buttercup." 

I haven't been a complete failure though.  

I have started her eating plan and it is going pretty well. 

 I'm living by the it is 70% what you eat and 30% working out to lose weight.  

Something is better than nothing, right?   

I did change the meal plans up a little because it is pretty much impossible to eat certain foods every few hours while teaching.  

My students love me eating in front of them all the time.  

I will have my week 1 weigh in tomorrow morning so we shall see if there has been any progress on the scale.  

Here is my typical eating so far:

6am 2 egg white, bell pepper, and mushroom cups

7:30am half a banana or strawberries

9:00am protein shake(I had to change this because that is the beginning of school)

12:00 chicken, brown rice, and peas

3:00pm lean meat and veggies or think thin bar or mixed nuts(again I can't just leave my room and heat up food so it is hard to do the meat and veggies)

6:00pm lean meat, veggies, and 1 starch(dinner is where I switch it up quite a bit so I don't get bored)

I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes and I've tried them multiple times, but last night I made this loaded sweet potato and it was delicious.  Definitely a new favorite!

 I really wanted this cheesy chicken pasta I made for the hubs and kiddos. 

 Too bad my kiddos hated it and I spent an hour forcing my daughter to eat it so that she could have dessert!  

Yes, I just might have a long video of her throwing a fit at the dinner table as my husband eats "her dessert" because she won't eat dinner.  Hilarious!

She is a Chocoholic and suffers through dinner each night so she can have it!

Am I teaching her bad eating?  

IDK but at least she eats dinner.

I guess the tons of leftovers I made will be thrown away.  Who doesn't like velveeta and pasta?  Ugh...

Camping, Easter, and Birthday Celebrations

Whew!  It has been a busy couple of weeks around here.  

Our weekends have been full of friends, birthdays, and camping.  

I didn't do an Easter post so I'm throwing it in this post. 

Last weekend we went camping.  

We love camping and s'mores. 

There is nothing like being able to hang out  outside all day and I don't have to worry about the kiddos.

They are free to run around all they want.

I got in a couple good runs on the trails of 7 miles and 4 miles, but my knees were killing me after so I had to take a few days off after that.

I brought Kaylee back into town to go to her friends birthday.  

With her BFF Madison.   

We dyed Easter eggs.

Poor thing got thrown off the seadoo her first time out.  She now refuses to go with Papa.  That water was freezing! I can't blame her...it was supposed to be a nice leisurely ride. 

This Saturday was full of birthday parties.  We went to one for a kid at school and then headed out for her BFF's party. 

Do you see how adorbs the little apron and hat are? Madison's Mimi is so talented and always comes up with the cutest little ideas.  Thank you Susan!  

Thank you Megan and Madison for another awesome birthday celebration! 

We hope you had a great birthday! 

I will leave you with this cutie that "cut" the grass all afternoon.  

If only it was real... 

     

Jamie Eason's 12 week program- Beginning Measurements

Alright, let the fun begin!  Here are my beginning measurements:

Weight: 152.2 lbs (Ouch! I have gained 5lbs in the past 3 weeks)

Waist:  29in.

Hips: 35.5 in.

Chest: 34.5 in.

Arms: 10.5 in.

Thighs: 22.75 in.

So the goal of this plan is to build muscle, not lose weight.  I want to see muscle definition and lose inches.  I want to feel healthy by providing my body with nutritious food that will boost my metabolism and burn fat.  

The first 2 weeks are going to be REALLY hard for me because it is NO cardio.  Wow, just typing that has my legs bouncing up and down wanting to run.  I'm not sure I will be able to stick with that part.  I know she has a good explanation for it, but really...come on.  

So, here goes nothing or everything because it is going to take some major dedication to stick it out for 12 weeks.  

BTW I'm sure I will have some adult beverages along the way.  It is spring and kids go nuts so I need some drinks after taming/teaching them all day.
  

Time for Muscle

So I said it last week, but I am NOW officially back on the wagon.  

Another new month and another fresh start.  Bring on summer time!  

I am completely over the fat girl that has taken over my body for the past few weeks.  

You would think I would have stopped binge eating after a couple days, but no I went hardcore on this downward spiral.  

That is alright though because it is out of my system and thank you Jesus the damn Easter candy is out of my house. 

 I stocked up on lots of lean meat, fruit, and veggies yesterday at the store so I am set and I have no excuses to eat poorly. 

 I have been looking into different muscle building programs because as much as I know about working out, I want a set program that will work all of my muscles.  

So, today I am starting Jamie Eason's 12 week program. 

 It seems pretty easy to follow and the workouts are not going to take me all day to complete.  They seem very reasonable and they will work all muscles.

  I'm also going to follow the meal plans to get optimum results.  The meal plans definitely go back to the basics: 5-6 small meals a day, limit carbs, no sugar, and pretty much just eat clean.  

In college I got up to about 185lbs, it was the freshman 50 for me, and during my junior year I decided to get back in shape.  One night, I woke up at about 3am and turned on the TV.  I saw an infomercial about the 6 week body makeover and ordered it. 

 Yes, as a poor college student I spent $50 or so on a diet, but it really wasn't a diet. 

 It wasn't a quick fix and it wasn't pills.  It found my body type and then laid out the foods I should be eating and when to eat them.  

Pretty much it was the same as the program I am starting today.  I had awesome results with it in college and I did not work out so I'm hoping for some rock hard results at the end of this 12 weeks.  

I'm going to update every Wednesday with a  weigh in, body pictures, and if I feel any progress with the work outs and food.  Since it is a 12 week program, I 'm going to take measurements monthly because those are the ones that are most important to me and they take time to change.  

I'll be back Wednesday with my beginning stats and pics.  

I've seen lots of posts about 30DS, April challenges, and other awesome work outs...what are you doing for yourself in April?