I did it!!

Extremely totally boast post here! But I deserve it!! You all remember that I was participating in Ash's challenge of losing 20 pounds and 20 weeks, and I completed it successfully!!!

I lost the 20 pounds, stay tuned for pictures!




38 pounds from -100!!

www.my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Diet Tracker

Shape's 100 calories or Less Snack

In the June 2009 edition of Shape magazine, they had a feature of their top 10 snacks under 100 calories. I'm always looking for new and exciting low calorie snacks to try, so I thought I'd share them with you.

1. Lindsay Garlic Seasoned Olives, 63 calories for 1 ounce can
2. Smashies Applesauce, 50 calories for a 3 ounce pouch
3. Popchips Salt & Pepper Chips, 100 calories for a 1 ounce bag
4. Garden Lites Zucchini Portabella, 70 calories for a 7 ounce box
5. Nesquik Chocolate Milk, 100 calories for 8 ounce bottle
6. Kettle Cuisine Organic Carrot and Coriander Soup, 100 calories for a 10 ounce bowl
7. Cabot Reduced Fat Cheddar with Omega 3 DHA, 70 calories for 1 ounce
8. Jell-O with Antioxidants Raspberry Goji, 10 calories for a 3 ounce cup
9. Das Caramelini Cafe Cafe Cortado, 62 calories for 2 pieces
10. Emerald Nuts 100 calorie packs cocoa roast Almonds, 100 calories per 1 ounce bag

If you have ever tried any of these, let me know how they are!

*Adapted from Shape, June 2009.*

Bad, Bad Green Bean!

I love green beans. They are my favorite veggie! But today my green bean plant is a bad, bad plant! I was tending to our garden, picking off the many wonderful veggies that have harvested, and the prickly part of the green been plant, bit my arm! Did it really bite me, no, but I accidentally rubbed my arm against it. If you aren't sure what I mean, see this picture(not my plant, but you can see what I mean).
So, I come inside and wash my hands and all of a sudden I start to get this huge welt on my arm where the plant rubbed against it. The only thing I can see, is that because I'm allergic to raw green beans(if you re-call I have a raw veggie/fruit allergy to some). Here is a pic of my arm, don't mind the mole on my arm, it's tiny, but in this picture it looks HUGE:



Weird, huh, any ideas?

8 Reasons to Love your Body

Start today! Life is short so why spend it bashing your body? If you need some help to jump start your self appearance, read these 8 reasons of why to embrace your self and your body!

1. Because it's unique, no one else has the same one.
2. Because it's capable of extraordinary feats, enabling you to run, climb, jump, lift, squat, snuggle and spoon.
3. Because no matter how badly you treat it, it's willing to give you another chance.
   
4. Because it's expressive telling you how it feels(pay attention!!) and broadcasting to others how you feel about it.
5. Because let's face it, confidence is pretty sexy.
6. Because your daughter or future daughter must learn to love hers.
7. Because somebody out there admirers, covets, and adores it.
8. Because you'll regret not loving it more later.

From Shape Magazine, June 2009.

Week 17 20/20 Results

I can't believe it's week 17 already, that means only 3 more weeks of this challenge. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing after the 20 weeks. I mean, I will still be working out/eating healthy/running/trying to reach my goal of -100 pounds, but I'm gonna come up with something to stick it at all. So stayed tuned if you are interested in joining me!

Week 17 results, -1 pound.

20/20 Ticker:

www.my-calorie-counter.com     The webs free Food Tracker

Overall weight loss ticker:

A Few Updates

Just a few updates to keep everyone up to date on what's going on in our life!

First, since everywhere we go we get asked when we are having babies. We've decided, well more me then Chris, he's ready now. That will are not going to TTC until after the new year. I really want to enjoy our first year of marriage with Chris and the pug! Also, with going to St.Lucia in December, I'd rather not be pregnant there!

Oh yeah, St. Lucia you say, what? when? We are going to St. Lucia for our one year anniversary trip December 26 to January 2. We were originally going to go to Nevis, but when we went to book the trip the flights went up over $1,000 per ticket, I'll post another blog on St. Lucia later on.

Lastly and probably the most important/more serious one is Puggie. Most of you know we've been having trouble or I should say Puggie has been having trouble with her left leg/knee. Originally we thought it was Lyme's disease, so we took her to the vet to get tested and that came back negative. Thankfully. From there on, we were at my parent's house and we figured she'd just played with the cat too much and hurt her leg, so we took her to the vet again(we've been going there at least once every two weeks). They put her on a pain pill to manage the pain.
Well that wasn't working either. After she lays down or sits down for awhile, she is unable to get up on her own. When she is able to get up, she sits right back down because of the pain. Then we have to help her get her knee into place so she is able to walk. She hasn't been her self either. You know she always follows me where I ever I go and she hasn't been doing that, especially if I go the stairs because of the pain she gets, so we've been carrying her around a lot, and trust me she loves it! She's on complete bed rest, which I know you are probably saying how the heck do you do that in a dog. Basically she isn't allowed for any walks, besides to go to the bathroom and she isn't allowed to play with her doggie friends. The good part though is that she isn't gaining weight she's actually losing! She is now 25.5 pounds which helps with the pressure she puts on the knee! 3.5 pounds to go and she will be at her goal weight! She's really lethargic and not the little happy go lucky pug we know, so we took her back to the vet. It was easy to rule a broken bone or a fracture because there was no crying or yelping when getting up.

The vet diagnosed her with a luxating patella. What the heck is that you are probably saying, well basically it is, that her knee falls out of place because the groove of her knee cap isn't deep enough(dislocation). It's pretty gross, I got to feel it. Chris didn't want too, but I wanted to see exactly what the vet was talking about. She didn't even do x-rays because she is so sure of what it is. So the vet gave us some Rimadyl, which is an anti-inflammatory for doggies. She also told us to put her on daily dose of glucosamine and watch her for 2 weeks, with complete bed rest. Well it's been two weeks and it's not getting better, it's getting worse.

So our primary vet, who we love, and if you are in South Jersey, I so recommend going to Greenfields Veterinary. They just opened up their brand new building which is a dream compared to their old location. Everything is new and state of the art. Puggie loves the scale you walk on for some reason. As soon as we walk in she hobbles over to it every time and stands on it.

Anyways, she is sending is to Delaware to a Surgeon for Doggies. We go to Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware next Friday for our consultation with the doggie surgeon. We don't have the total coast of the whole surgery yet, but it's roughly around $4,000. Yep, that much. But if it's going to help Puggie walk better, feel better and be her self, it's definitely wroth it for us.

So that's where we stand now with Puggie. I'll update everyone after our appointment next Friday.

MJ and the Media

I typically don't agree with Bill O'Reilly(Fox News Analyst) and his ideas, but this video he is on spot. I can't stand Mr. Hill though, he had a column in the paper on the train called The Metro and every column he did was about race and how blacks still aren't treated equally. What are your thoughts?

Week 15 20/20 Results

A little late to post this, but Friday I was down only -.5 pounds. I knew the past weekend with going to the concert and leaving for the cottage on Wednesday, that it wouldn't be a big week for me.

5 weeks left!

Product Review: Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters

Recently I was sent four packages of Nature Valley's new Granola Nut Cluster to taste and review. So far I've only tasted the Honey Roasted Peanut Clusters.

They are so yummy. It's totally like a granola bar but in a bite sized piece. They are also low in calories. They have 140 calories for 7 clusters. I highly recommend picking these up.
Right now if you go on the Nature Valley website you can print out a coupon for 1.00 off your next purchase of Nature Valley Nut Clusters.

Next I am going to try to the Roasted Cashew Clusters, I'll let you know how they are, but I bet they will be just as tasty as the Honey Nut Clusters.