Salsa Fresca!

I shared this on my other blog and I thought I would share it here as well!
Super Delicious!

Salsa Fresca

12 roma tomatos
1 green pepper
4 banana peppers
1 jalapeno pepper (more if you like it spicy)
3 sprigs of green onion chopped
½ onion chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp. kosher salt


Chop and seed peppers, place on a baking sheet. Broil in the oven until edges are slightly charred. Keep an eye on them, they may toast quickly. Remove and allow to cool. Coarsely chop tomatoes, green onion, onion, cilantro and add to a large bowl. Add roasted peppers, and add the juice of the whole lime and salt. And Enjoy!

Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge: Week 2

Initial: 189

Week 1: 187.3 (-1.7)

Week 2: 186.9 (-.4)

This is going to be brief, but I am ecstatic for my minuscule loss.  I finally broke 187, barely.  But I am going to take it and run with it! I am slowly breaking free from my slump.  I am feeling better and feeling emotionally stronger (which is one of the areas I have been suffering the most over the past couple of weeks).

I expect the numbers to keep declining this week.  I am getting back into the gym and pushing myself again and I will conquer my difficulties.  Today I am very sore from yesterday’s awesome work out.

This week I am going to push harder on my workouts but I am going to take a different approach on my eating.  I am going to step away from counting calories and really pay attention to my body's cravings.  Since I have started counting calories (in June) I have found that I am not eating as much red meat and in turn my iron is low and I think that is one of the reasons I have had difficulty keeping myself in balance.  Low iron and low blood sugar creates a cranky tired person.  I really won’t do much different in my eating, but I need to take away the tracking for a week to see what things are like.  I know some of you will consider this a dieting sin, but it is what I need to do.

Have a great week.  I am looking forward to finally getting my head into to the Christmas Dress Challenge!!

Bogged Down? Tell it to the Punching Bag!

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings name them one by one.

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care,

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by.

Click Here to listen or for the music...

This hymn has been buzzing through my head all morning.  I have felt some of life’s burdens bogging me down.  Some of the things are things I have control over, and some of the things I only have control over how I act and react.  I am so very blessed, sometimes I don’t see my blessings clearly and they lie in a fog.

In attempt to remedy my frustrations and lift the fog in my mind, I took it out on the punching bag. (Another blessing, I actually have a pretty awesome gym set up in my home.) I kicked, punched and back handed the bag with all my might.  I allowed myself to grunt and groan as loud as I felt and gave it all I have got. 

I am not feeling really well (stomach bug again!), so my beating of the bag was a brief 12 minute session, topped off with riding my bike that is propped up on a trainer.  Now that I am cleaned up and getting on with my day I feel a little better.  My issues are the same and nothing is solved, but channeling my frustrations on the bag was helpful.  I can now choose to have a better attitude and hope my body doesn’t freeze in soreness tomorrow.

In the mean time I need to keep my sisters motto in mind, “Good things are coming my way!”  I actually should be saying to myself, “My life is full of wonderful!”  It really is.  I have the cutest kids and a supportive husband.  What more could a girl ask for?? 

Life is good, and I shouldn’t let the things of life bog me down and cloud my vision. 

Good things are comm’en my way!

Vison Boards...

I have always been a big fan of creating a vision of what you want in life then, getting out and accomplishing those things.

For several years now I have created vision boards to create a pathway of what I would like to accomplish in that year.  Having the visual helps me stay on track and remind me of what I want to accomplish and things I want to over come. 

I have had a saying for many years, “I get what I want in life!”  Some times what I want changes, or I get to choose to change, because the outcomes are not what I had originally planned.  But over all I feel it is  important to paint the picture of what you want in life and reach for it.

Here are some examples of my vision boards from the past years.  Each picture symbolizes something of importance in my life or a goal I would like to accomplish.

For my weight loss journey I made a few  “vision boards”.  These are a bit more simple but they symbolize my goals and rewards that I plan to give myself ever ten pound of loss.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Do you have a vision board? Please do share!

Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge: Week 1

Initial weigh in: 189

Week 1: 187.3 (-1.7)

Here we are one week down, I experienced a loss, but really isn’t much a of loss since for the past several weeks I have been teetering between 187-189. 

I am still having a difficult time getting full swing into the challenge.  I am hoping that I can get my head back into things this next week!

I did get in my work outs this week, and tracked most days, but a crazy week got in my way of tracking every day.  Again, thank goodness for a new week!

Hope you guys are all doing fantastic!

The Low Blood Sugar Handbook: Chapter One....tidbits

I thought I would post a little blurb from each chapter of my challenge book….

The Low Blood Sugar handbook:

Edward and Patrica Kimmel,

Chapter One—Could this be you?

The first chapter of this book goes over common symptoms of low blood sugar.  The list is lengthy. I will list my symptoms I deal with when I don’t take care of myself (through diet).  Unfortunately my list is lengthy too.  I think I had all but maybe 5 symptoms before my diagnosis of Hypoglycemia.  In doing my first research I found that the only way to treat blood sugar is through diet.  What!!! No magic pill!!  Bummer.

Take a look at this list, does it seem all too familiar?  Maybe you are a low blood sugar sufferer too.  I will continue to post information from my challenge book maybe you will find it helpful too.

Tiredness

Headaches

Drowsiness

Concentration problems

Irritability

Sleeping difficulties

Dizziness

Anxiety

Forgetfulness

Visual disturbances

Depression

Fainting/blackouts

Nightmares

Digestive problems

Aching eye sockets

Lack of sex drive

Indecisiveness

Heart palpitations

Internal trembling

Mental confusion

Antisocial behavior

Obesity

Restlessness

Back ache and muscle pain

Cold hands/feet

Nervousness

Exhaustion

Temper outbursts

Sensitivity to light

Sensitivity to sound

Allergies

Crying spells

Negative thoughts and attitudes

Feeling of going mad, insane

Staggering

Craving for sweets

Unnecessary or excessive worrying

Mood swings

Waking up tired and exhausted

Sighing and yawning

“motor mouth” constant talking

Phew….  That is it, I think.  Hang tight I will cover chapter two soon to give you a little more information about what hypoglycemia is and how it can be treated.

Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge: Initial Post

Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge (CDCC)

It is a great time to start a challenge.  Let me tell you, I need it.  The past month has been challenging and I have not lost any weight.  My energy has been shot, have had an injured foot and I have felt nauseous a lot.  Not only have I been having troubles, my kids have been sick too.  When the kids get sick I am not able to go to the gym.  Needless to say my work outs have been minimal.  I really would like to get back into the routine I had over summer of going to the gym 5-6 times a week.  My mood reflects the need as well.

I have been teetering +/-2 lbs.  I ended the Slimmer this Summer at 187.9.  Today I am at 189.  I have been suck in this little slump for a month.  I am ready to break away from the 180’s, almost 190’s.  I want to start feeling better.  I am not sure what is going to take.

I have a doctor’s appointment next week to get my thyroid checked.  I have had it checked before and supposedly it is in the normal range.  I just want to see if there is something I can do to help me feel a little better.

So on to the dress….

Right now since I am a stay at home mom and we are a “one income family” money is tight.  It wouldn’t be so bad, but my husband works for the state and with budget cuts and our house falling apart all around us, money is hard to come by (especially because we do not believe in debt).

In reality I don’t need a new dress, and probably don’t have any fancy shmancy Christmas parties to go to.  So I perused the local thrift store to find my dress of choice.  I wanted to find something a little bit retro, a little bit 50’s inspired, a belted dress of some sort.

I got lucky and found something up my ally.  It is a size 12. Right now I am pushing a 14 (with things being tight in the belly area).  I was happy that when I went into the dressing room that I was able to squeeze into it.  Granted, I wouldn’t wear the dress today in public, but for the purpose of this challenge I will post pictures.  Bear with me here honeys! I am looking a bit pregnant, argh!

I spent $23.00 on the dress and shoes.  Not a bad bargain, but for me it was like pulling teeth.  I don’t spend money on myself very often, and right now we don’t really have a whole lot to spare.  I had to have a long drawn out conversation with myself after leaving the store that I better get back on the wagon and get moving.  In the mean time I got sick, which has been really annoying.  I am feeling manageable, just now if I could get my son’s nose to stop running.  We will be gym bound soon!

Part of the challenge is choosing a book to assist us through the next few months. The book I choose is The Low Blood Sugar Handbook by Edward and Patricia Krimmel.  I have read it in the past and I would like to revisit it.  It will be a great reminder of what I need to change with my eating habits to get me on track.  I hope to share my insights from this book. I have found in the past this is a helpful tool in keeping my blood sugar in balance.  I am sure there are others out there too that can benefit from this book too.

Challenge Details:

-September 11 through December 18... That's 14 Weeks to a Smaller Dress Size

-Get the dress: One size smaller with pictures

-Caloric intake goal

-Exercise minimum 3x week

-Be consistent: Don’t be a yo-yo!

-Hydrate sufficiently

-Choose one or more books and work on your main obstacle to losing issue

-Initial post September 11 post your weight and goals

-One update a post a week by Sunday evening link up.  Also one additional blog post a week.

-Be supportive visit and comment on at least 3 blogs Challengers blogs

My Stats:

-Start Weight: 189

-Dress Size: Aiming to fit into a size 12 (currently 14+ish)

-My Book: The Low Blood Sugar Handbook: Edward and Patricia Kimmel

-Calories: 1300/day 165 carbs a day with fiber adjustment (see here for explanation)

-Water: 10 glasses of water a day (80 oz)

-Photo: Here are my lovely before photos!

Sick...

On Friday night my mom had my sister, and sister-in-laws over for a Girls Night In.  It was fun to escape the little ones and just get out.  I was suffering from a terrible head ache and have been on the edge of not feeling well for several weeks. We stayed up super late and I didn’t get home until 4am.  All-nighters used to not be such a big deal, these days they are killer.

All it takes is an all-nighter to tip me over the edge from not feeling well to sick.  Yesterday and today I have been laying around all day with achiness and nausea.  Terribly unpleasant.  I feel like I am pregnant, but I am not.  I am hoping tonight I sleep deep and wake up refreshed and ready for the week.

Before I went to my mom’s house Friday night I stopped by a local thrift store and picked up a new dress for the Christmas Dress Challenge I will be participating in.  I will get a picture posted by the end of the week.  The challenge starts Sunday so I am hoping the yuckiness I am feeling goes away quick so I can get back to working out.