The Cardboard Diet Week 10

  If you are new to LFT's The Cardboard Box Diet, go HERE!   Wow, 10 weeks! Honestly, I felt like it took those 10 weeks to get over the hurdle to a better place. I'm starting to see the fruits of my hard work in more ways that one and that makes me happy. But let me be honest in saying that those first 10 weeks were tough, hard and sucked at times and I'm glad they are over.   I'm 9 weeks out from my half marathon. The thought of that can be overwhelming at times, but I'm so excited. Last week, I started eating clean again and it has proven to really help my training.  My runs are improving and I don't feel like I'm going to die after each run, which is huge.   Weigh-in:Lost 3 lbs this past week and down a total of 10 lbs. I attribute this to mostly the nutrition and eating clean. Seriously, the prep work I did at the beginning of last week really helped and I didn't have to think about what to make each day.  Exercise completed: I came down with a head cold on Sunday, the day before my oldest started Kindergarten. I don't know about you, but when I can't breathe out of my nose and have to blow every couple of minutes to prevent some ugly drainage, exercising isn't at the top of my list of things to do. So Monday I took the day off and started with a short run Tuesday and did medium runs yesterday and today. I desperately want to be a morning person that can get up at 5 am and run (crazy, I know) but I can't seem to get out of bed before 6:30am. So my runs occur during the girls naps and tonight, I ran after the kids went to bed. Splurge/Guilty Pleasure: After my post last week, I really wanted a burrito. I know I could have put one together in the kitchen, but I didn't want one of my burritos, I wanted a Freebird's Burrito. I know my husbands weakness for Freebird's and he tried to talk me out of it, but caved in. Then last night, I had Chili's Triple Dipper. Did I enjoy each dish, absolutely. Did I feel guilty, no! The reason I could live with myself is because I knew the next meal, I would go back to eating clean. If I don't allow myself to have a splurge every now and then, then life will be miserable. I know what I need to do and I might have a moment of weakness, but I don't blow it the entire day. Each meal is a fresh start. Success story: I'm a third of the way to my goal. My runs are improving. Recipes/photos: None today, but I thought I would share my food schedule.   7:30am - Oatmeal with blueberries, ground flax seed, honey and cinnamon. 3 Egg Whites with Salsa. 9:30am - Cup of low fat cottage cheese with raspberries mixed in. 11:30am - Grilled Chicken Breast 4oz cut up and served on a bed of fresh spinach with salsa, 1/2 cup of black beans, roasted bell peppers, and 1/2 cup of whole grain rice. 2:00pm - 15 or so grapes and a string cheese 4:00pm - 6 raw almonds and 1/2 cup of strawberries 6:00pm - Protein Shake 8:00pm - Air Popped Popcorn with a little sea salt  

Mason's 1st Day of Kindergarten

This morning marked a new season in Mason's life, the start of Kindergarten. Last night, we prepared his lunch, got his backpack together and prayed over him as a family. Bless his heart, he was so excited that he didn't want to go to sleep. He woke up at 5am this morning and thankfully we talked him back into going back to bed until 6:30am.

I remembered my tradition of homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, but I will have to make those this weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't remember this tradition I started last year until last night. So instead, I went with pancakes with chocolate chips. I even made a special pancake in the shape of a K.

 Getting ready to leave for school.

 

 Our little Kindergartner.

 

 Taylor was just as excited for him.

 

 Three of the sweetest kids I know.

 

 With his backpack.

 

 The sun was really starting to come out, but I think this is my favorite.

 

 Proud parents.

 Mason with his teacher, Mrs. Ryser.

 

 Mason & Daddy. So thankful Adam took the day off and that we were able to bring him up to school together.

 

 My handsome guy!

 

Already hard at work.

Mason's 1st Football Game

Mason had his first flag football game tonight. Unfortunately, the jersey's weren't ready, but that didn't phase him. He was so excited all day long (the game didn't start until 4pm).

 

 My MIL made these adorable shirts for Taylor and her cousin Faith. On the back, they have Mason's #7.

 So proud of this little guy.

 Twins?

 

 Taylor and her cousin Faith with my nephew Connor sneaking in the back of the picture.

 

 Mason giving me a thumbs up before he heads on field for his first play.

 

He blocked kids that were twice his size and Mason is pretty tall, and did a fantastic job.

 

 Taylor wanted so desperately to go out onto the field during half time with the other cheerleaders. Adam is laughing because she told me not to take her picture.

So much sympathy from Daddy.

 

It's been an exciting weekend for Mason. Only two more days and he will officially be in Kindergarten.

Peyton Playing

The Cardboard Box Diet Week 9

  If you are new to LFT's The Cardboard Box Diet, go HERE! Over the weekend, I made the decision to start eating clean this week. My body functions so much better when I'm feeding it the proper nutrition. Plus it speeds up my metabolism and I get to eat more. It's a win-win!   For me, the key to starting the week off right is preparation. That means prepping the food on Sunday evening, and cooking it and creating meals out of it throughout the week. So Sunday evening, I marinated the chicken, and cut up all the vegetables and we turned on the grill. I usually buy chicken tenderloins, because they are perfect portion sizes for me to grab on the go. I love red, yellow and orange bell peppers and our local grocery store was having a sale, which made it even better. I try to stay away from the starchy veggies, like corn or potatoes, although they taste so good. With everything I made, I can put together meals quickly and just reheat it. With Mason about to start school and having football practice twice a week, this has proven extremely helpful. Also, I made baggies of snacks that I can just grab on my way out the door, if I need a snack. You could do grapes, almonds, orange slices, apples slices, or carrot sticks. Weigh-in:Lost 2 lbs this past week and down a total of 7 lbs. Starting to see it in how my clothes fit. Exercise completed: I have been running every other day, but only for about 30 minutes due to time constraints. This week has been a transitional week with school starting next week. We have something everyday until then, so hopefully with one less child at home, I can back to my normal training mode next week. Not going to beat myself up over it, because at least I got out there and ran, right? Splurge/Guilty Pleasure: Our friends had a Back to School Backyard BBQ last weekend. We ate hamburgers, I made my favorite chicken pasta salad, and we had cupcakes for dessert.   Success story: I've successfully been eating clean for 4 days! Recipes/photos: My go to lunch is under 600 calories. Take a whole wheat medium tortilla, and fill with grilled chicken, rinsed black beans, alpha sprouts, grilled mushrooms and onions, and grilled bell peppers. Serve with either a cup of veggies or a cup of fruit. It is so filling and so tasty!  The bell peppers and hatch chili's    Roasted chili lime cauliflower and green beans.    Sauteed Mushrooms and Onion in extra virgin olive oil.   Grilled chicken tenderloins.

The Cardboard Diet Week 8

New to LFT's  The Cardboard Box Diet, click HERE!

It feels so good to get back into the swing of things. It is so HOT outside, that I will be doing my runs on the treadmill, until September. I really like Lauren's post this week, as I feel very similar to her about my dedication to being consistent. I just need to do a better job at it. I know this won't happen overnight, although wouldn't that be nice?

This weekend, Katy hosts their monthly city wide garage sale/market. I've never been, but I might just go to check out the local produce. Farmer's Market's are the best!

Weigh-in: I'm down a total of 5 lbs, which means I lost 1lb last week. I'm not going to lie, I wish it were more, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

Exercise completed: I've been running every other day for an hour and on my cross training days, I've been walking or doing Yoga.

Splurge/Guilty Pleasure: Last weekend our friends invited all the families in our Adult Bible Fellowship(Sunday School) class over to their house for a pool party. We were in the pool the entire time swimming and worked up quite an appetite. Courtney is a manager at Chick Fil A and brought home some goodies for all of us to snack on. Since not as many people showed up that RSVP'd, there was a lot of food. I made sure to have a couple of nuggets, and try their new chocolate chunk cookies. She even let me take home a gallon of the unsweetened iced tea, my favorite!

Success story: I used to run back in the day and listen to music, but I've been getting in the habit of watching netflix on my phone, when I run on the treadmill. This is a bad habit to form, especially since I won't be able to watch anything as I run the half marathon in October. So I've been listening to music this week and I've enjoyed it.

Recipes/photos: No recipes, but if you run, try drinking a glass of chocolate milk within 30 minutes after your run. It really does help as a recovery drink. I've read all about it in my Runner's World Magazine and on some running blogs. The picture below is what I look at when I'm running on my treadmill. I need some motivation as I run sometimes, especially when I need the extra push to keep going.

An old hutch finds a home

At the beginning of the summer, my mom mentioned the my Great Aunt was moving and had a couple of items in her home, that I might be interested in. We had just unpacked from moving, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was finding room for more items in already small house.

Fast forward to the the beginning of July and my Dad asked if Adam & I would be interested in helping him move a couple of the last items in her house. We walked in her garage and I knew instantly that I could make room for the hutch, which happened to be one of the items my mom thought I would be interested in.

This old white hutch would look perfect in our kitchen. We have a very spacious kitchen, or at least eating area. There is a whole area of the the kitchen that I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to buy anything for the space, especially since I knew we wouldn't be here long term. Since we have a lot less cabinet space and pantry space than we have had in the past, I knew the hutch would look great against one of the walls and provide extra showcase and storage space that I have been wanting.

 It had been painted white, which isn't really a problem, but it looked a little too polished for me. Nothing a little sanding couldn't do. This is the hutch before.

 And this is the hutch after. You can't really tell, but I roughed up the edges a bit. It must have had several coats of the white paint, because even with an electric sander, it was still a pain. Note that I took away the drawers to add more room and open it up a bit.

Here it is against the wall that I had no idea what to do with. I love the red mixed with the turquoise margarita glasses. Just a little pop of color.

Pinterest Project

I adore Pinterest! There are so many great recipes, decorating tips, clothes, and other cool things to look through. It's funny, because Adam asks almost every night what cool thing I found on Pinterest. After going to Pinot's Palette a few weeks back, I decided to get back into painting. When I was younger, anything dealing with art was one of my favorite hobby's. I sketched, colored, and most of my free time was spent doing art. My parents took note and signed me up for private paint lessons. I learned so much and loved every bit of it.

Most of the decor hung on our walls are pictures. I don't mind it, but I wanted to spice things up a bit. I started looking on Pinterest and came across some ideas for my wall decor for the house. I showed Adam each one and asked for his opinion. I wanted to start off with something fairly easy, since it has been awhile. I came across this and thought it would look great in our living room.

I spent a Saturday morning at Hobby Lobby picking up the needed supplies. I already had the paint brushes, but needed everything else. My plan was to start it that night, but the same night, I was hit by the stomach bug. A few days later when I was feeling much better, I started the project during the kids nap time.

 Step 1 took about 2 hours. Thankfully, acryllic paint dries pretty quickly.

 Step 2 was a bit harder. Trying to line up the branches perfectly was very detailed. The branches were supposed to get smaller as they spread out. Notice the green canvas? It has a thick branch. Thankfully, I knew I could cover it up with Step 3.

All done! It's not exactly like the painting, but close. I actually like it a little better. We have yet to hang it, but hope to this week.

Family time in pictures

In between the stomach bug and the Mooney's visit, we had some fun family time.