Summer break has been so relaxing and not at all busy, so I can’t offer up any excuses for not blogging. HA HA. Although, it is probably not a coincidence that I started blogging when I finally start an exercise routine, and am actually eating in my designated WW Points Plus.
Anyway, what I wanted to write about today is chicken sausage. I love it. Like, REALLY love it. My husband is rather “meh” about the whole thing, but too bad for him – I am usually the one grocery shopping and cooking. Actually, I try not to make it too often because that would just be not nice.

So, I was thrilled to find that they have morning/breakfast chicken sausage links that are maple apple. !!! This worked perfectly with me trying to cut down on the carbs I eat each day. I’ve been having eggs for breakfast, which is a HUGE change for me, and they taste delicious with this maple apple chicken sausage sliced and scrambled with my eggs and cheese. I also use a trick my Gramma Helman taught me to make the best scrambled eggs – use real butter in the pan, and a sprinkle of sugar. Yummmmm.

Here is a picture of the chicken sausage package…

Delicious Sausage

It’s weird that I eat this for breakfast as I spent most of my life hating eggs and sausage.
Well, I am off to have another relaxing day of summer break….got my workout in this morning!! That’s always a good thing.

xoox,
Beth WA

Weight Watchers: I completely jumped off the WW wagon the week I started my first cycle with the specialist. I have gained 4-5 lbs and started back on the wagon yesterday. I feel much better already. I was starting to feel like crap every single day, and the more I felt like crap, the more I fed myself crap. And the more crap I ate and felt like, I didn’t exercise at all. It’s a downward spiral for me, but what I’ve noticed now, is I am able to get back to it after only a few weeks and a few pounds, and not let it turn into a year and 20 lbs. I am hoping to undo that damage by the end of the week or the middle of next week.
I did a meal plan for the week, and went grocery shopping. I always spend way too much money at the grocery store. I need to work on that.
For real.

I am trying to cut down on my carbohydrates, as directed by my doctor and as I know I need to do. I was not cutting down on carbs the last few weeks, in fact, it was as if I was trying to set a world record for most carbs eaten. : )

Infertility: We are in the middle of our first monitored cycle with the specialist. Keep your fingers crossed. Interestingly enough, my blood tests revealed that while my thyroid is normal for regular life – for fertility it was a little lower than the doctor wanted. I am on a low dose of thyroid medicine. Also, he upped my Metformin because of my testing. These were all messages to me that I need to continue my WW journey, and eating lower carb, and healthfully. I know that most of my issues are related to my weight, and rather than just self loathe, I am working on making the necessary changes. Self Loathing does not get you any where, but eating healthy, and exercising gets you in a good place mentally and physically. Plus, clothes look much cuter and feel better. : )
So, keep your fingers crossed that this is the summer that baby Allman is created.

Life: Well, I still miss my brother and his family like crazy. They were here last week for a week, and this visit did not help matters. It just made me miss them more. I feel lucky that I got to spend a lot of time with them. It was really nice to see them. I was supposed to go to Houston for a week at the end of June, but with this whole infertility thing, I am land locked. It is really upsetting to me, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Well, the hopeful part of me knows that.
The good news is that Ava, my niece, is coming to Ohio on June 12th for SIX WEEKS!!! It’s going to be so great to be with her this summer and swim, hang out, go to the zoo, and do other fun things.
My mom is having hip replacement surgery on June 24th. It can not come soon enough. She is absolutely miserable. She can not walk without a walker, and is in constant pain that is only dulled by medication, but not eliminated. She was going to try to put the surgery off until August, but decided ASAP was better. I am so glad, because it is hard to see her so miserable.

And lastly, TODAY IS MY PARENTS’ 40th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!
FORTY.
YEARS.

We are celebrating tonight with a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Thai 9.

I have about 15 loads of laundry to do, so I am off to do that.
Have a good Sunday!!
xoxox,
Beth WA

Hope all is well with all y’all.

Xoxox
Beth WA

That is what I have been telling myself lately when it comes to walking on the treadmill. Eventually, I would like to add in other exercises, but I am going to continue walking until I get my first 30 pounds off, then add in other workouts, like videos.
Anyway, after school yesterday, I knew I needed to walk for at least 45 minutes. I needed the activity points to end the week in the positives. Last week I was negative 4 and I stayed the same on the scale. Well, I walked for 66 minutes, and got all my activity points, and ended the week with points to spare!! WOO HOO!! So, even after a day heavy in the points on Friday, my Saturday weigh in bared good news -

**I LOST TWO POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!****

And, I’ve been taking my blood pressure lately, because I notice a correlation between when I am exercising and eating right and my blood pressure going down. Anyway, my bp was 110 over 62!! That is good people!! Very good. My goal has always been to go off my blood pressure medicine and this has given me the hope I needed that this might be possible some day.

This weight loss this week is with a barbecue at my friends house last Saturday, where I indulged in desserts, and a first communion party on Sunday, where I exercised more constraint (because I was eating leftover desserts from said party on Saturday…ha ha ha) But, I tracked everything, and kept working out. I’ve been using all my points, even my activity points, and have still been losing. I always have the intention of not using my activity points, but then, I do. I guess it is ok until I quit using.

Here is a picture from the barbecue at my bff’s house. This is her daughter, Megan, and me. Her daughter was having the best time with the neighborhood kids, so we were cracking up at how dirty she is – because my friend, Liz, is the cleanest person I know.

Some random pictures from my phone over the last few weeks.

Here is the lilac tree in our back yard – it smells SOOO good and is so beautiful.

Here is a picture of a supplement that I have to take to help me get pregnant. My husband and I repeatedly joke about the name of it. Now, you can, too.

And lastly, I will leave you with a picture of my dad in his stylin’ new shades.
We loved them because they were so out of character. (They are actually just try-outs from the optometrist.)

Well, I am going to walk with a dear friend. I was so happy she texted me last night to walk this morning so I can get it out of the way, and actually “just do it” instead of torturing myself all day. HA HA..
Updated to say: I walked 5.1 miles with my friend!!! 100% of activity by 10:30 am. I will take it!
Peace out…xxoxoxoxo
Beth WA

Usually when I am not writing, it is because things are not going well, but this time, it is quite the opposite.

Weight Watchers Update:
I have lost 9 lbs total, and am still losing. I have been tracking all of my food, and better yet, I have been walking. I have been walking a lot. And, it has been so good for me. I’ve walked on the treadmill, I’ve walked with friends I don’t normally walk with, and I’ve walked outside by myself. I have loved my Active Link, and have done so well with it, they’ve raised my goal for my challenge.

(In) Fertility Update:
While I won’t ever go into details with this, I will share that we went to a specialist, and he gave us something that I was beginning to lose – he gave us hope. He said he was “extremely hopeful” that we would be successful. He said that while my miscarriage was devastating, it was the greatest sign of hope that we *could* get pregnant. So, keep your fingers crossed.
One of the things the doctor recommended was to make sure I stayed within 200-300 carbs a day, and so being mindful of my carbs sure makes my points stretch further, and that along with a dosage increase in one of my medicines has really helped avoid the afternoon slump I had been experiencing.

School Update:
School is almost over – 15.5 days left. I am so ready this year. I feel like this year was a great year, but I also feel like I learned a lot with the transition to Common Core Standards, and am anxious to try the new things I’ve learned next year.

House Update: My husband got a tractor lawnmower, so he has mowed the lawn more in the last two weeks than all of last summer.
HA HA. I jest. I jest.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.
I hope all is well with all y’all
xoxox
Beth WA

Saturday morning.
Although, I was a little nervous because it is my weigh in day, and I had a pretty good week, but last night I went out to dinner with my mom and husband, and I had cocktails. 4 of them. And pizza. Oops. I stayed in my points, but I used all of my activity points this week – which was a lot.

Anyway, I lost 2.3 lbs, for a total of 9.1 since I got back from Houston. And I calculated that I’ve walked 37.3 miles since I got back from Houston.
WOO HOO!!!

So, last weekend I did something really fun – I went to a fundraiser for the Stephanie Spielman Foundation/Breast Cancer Research put on by my bff’s aunt, who has cancer. It is a giant party/dance for women only, and it is SOOO freakin’ fun. My friends and I go every year and dance our faces off.
Here are some pictures:

I’ve been having trouble getting my niece to face time me, and when I see her I am going to beat her butt. ha ha… Just kidding. But, here is a picture I got from a call this week.

She is so freakin’ funny.

Well, today I am going to have lunch with my cousin, Bridget, and then we are going to go for a walk. YAY for activity points.

Have a great weekend, y’all!!!!

Saturday is my next weigh in. I am hoping for a loss. Even just a little bit.

Happy Friday to all y’all tomorrow!!

Beth WA

(I was pretty unmotivated on 4/10…ha ha ha)

It feels good to be walking and doing WW points plus!

Well, off to finish the book Room! It is so good.

Xoxox,
Beth WA

I had a really good Weight Watchers week before I went to Texas, but then I went to Texas and gained 6 lbs. But, I just weighed in this morning, and I lost the 6 lbs I gained in Texas, plus a little bit more. YAY!!
I have tried lots of new recipes this week, which I will share this week. Some have been successes, some have not been. But, it’s fun to find low point, healthy recipes that are delicious.

Well, here is my Texas recap in pictures….

This picture was taken about 5 minutes after we reunited!!

This was a picture of her in her pink Stetson that my uncle sent her…

She is so sassy.

I took her to the park a few times to try to get some exercise (I did walk three times for 2.5 miles while I was there, but I also ate and drank a LOT.)

Ava and Craig colored eggs. They are so cute together, I just love their relationship.

One of her Easter gifts was a pleather jacket that she really wanted. My mom sent it to her, and she was THRILLED. This is Ava modeling it for me.

One of the days, I picked her up from school and we got our nails done, then went to get frozen yogurt.

And here are some of the delicious foods my husband and I ate while we were there…

My first po’ boy.

I LOVE hush puppies.

This delicious lobster bisque…

And this drink – I call it my “vacation drink.”

It mostly tasted like a beer slushy. But, it was refreshing.

We really enjoyed our visit with my brother and his wife, and their friends, and of course, Ava. It was nice to see what their lives in Houston are like, and to see how much they like it. Of course, after seeing them, I miss them even more now! But, it’s back to face timing….

Well, I am off to catch up on my google reader, then to walk on the treadmill.
THEN I AM GETTING MY HAIR DID!! YAYYYYYY.

xoxo,
Beth WA

Today I have a low key morning planned, and then I have a load of laundry to do, and packing, obviously. I also want to clean out the pantry and refrigerator so that we don’t have a stinky house.

Today is the last day of my Active Link assessment. This measures my activity level and helps me increase it little by little each week by setting goals for 12 weeks. I really need this because I have become quite sedentary.
In the last few years I’ve lost 20 lbs that I’ve kept off for a while. I have been stuck at the same weight for a while, and I have a lot more to lose, and I am hoping my commitment + activelink+ weight watchers is a winning combination. I have to take it day by day. And I’ve learned that doing drastic elimination diets does not work for me, as it lends itself to binge eating for me. I mean, there are foods I definitely don’t have in the house as they are trigger foods, but eliminating a certain food or food group messes with my mind. Maybe if I did it extremely gradually, in a weaning process.

For now, I am going to stick with
*tracking my points on WW online
*eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible
*being more active than I am now

My first official weigh in is tomorrow (Though, I am a daily scale hopper). I tracked all of my points this week, but went way over. I also didn’t exercise. HA HA. But, it was my assessment week, so I am trying to ease into it, as I mentioned earlier, that helps me mentally. The positive is that I didn’t snack after dinner at all this week, and every day I’ve weighed myself has been less than the day before, so that is good.
Baby steps.

I know it will be hard on vacation, but I am hoping to be able to walk outside in Houston in the mornings since the weather is so much nicer than here in Ohio right now!

Well, off to do chores.
I will leave you with a picture of our dog, Sammy. She is going to be so sad when I take out the suitcases today. Although, she is getting the best care in the world – her gramma – who spoils her rotten!

xoxox,
Beth WA