Domesticated Bliss

week 2 - diet recap

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:10:22 -0400

Total lost this week: .95

Current Weight: 245.8

Starting Weight: 253

Weight Loss: down 7.2 lbs

Made it to the end of another week. Went over my points again, mostly because I made my favorite food (seafood salad) on Tuesday and ended up eating way to much of it, then I neglected to count my points over the weekend. I also didn't do much exercising. Still lost almost a pound, but I need to do better this week.

I rescheduled my next OBGYN appointment to September. This gives me 11 weeks before I go on Clomid. I need to loose at least another 25 lbs before then. I'm back on track today. Hopefully this week will go better.

I have Friday off for the 4th of July, so I plan to get another chunk of my front yard dug up.

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picking and canning

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:20:15 -0400

Rudy and I went out with our friend Josh yesterday morning to pick strawberries. Between the three of us, we took home 64 lbs. Josh took 29, and I got 35. Tthats a lot of strawberries! I had no idea until I started cleaning them. I tried cleaning and canning at the same time, but it took forever, so or the last 15 lbs or so, I just got the berries ready and put them in the refrigerator. I still need to do a bunch of jars or jam today, but I did get 4 batches done yesterday afternoon.

Each batch is done a little bit different. I'm keeping track of how I alter the recipe and which jars are which, so next year I will know exactly how I want to make it. So far I'm enjoying canning. As long as you process everything for the appropriate amounts of time so everything is sterile, you can be really creative with fruit combinations and the amount of sugar/types of sweeteners. I even varied how much I mashed the strawberries to see if I like the texture of larger chunks better. I'm hoping to find a recipe that is uniquely mine.

Today I'm going to a gardening show with my mom and sister, but when I return, I'm trying combinations like strawberry/kiwi, strawberry/mango, strawberry/nectarine, and strawberry/rhubarb. I've got a huge amount of strawberry pulp in the fridge, so the cooking and canning process should go much faster this evening.

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domestic expariment

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:58:12 -0400

So... I am going to attempt canning this weekend. Rudy and I are going strawberry picking with friends on Saturday, and then I am going to make my own low sugar jam, put it in little jars and seal them up nice and tight. My mom used to can all sorts of things when I was a kid, so I got a recipe and all the supplies from here. She still had all her jars so I didn't have to buy any. We will see how it goes. If it goes well, I will be canning my own pasta sauce at the end of the summer when my tomatoes become ripe. I may even do peaches. The way I figure it, its got to be cheeper and better for me than buying it in the store.

Wish me luck :-)

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week 1 - diet recap

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:55:38 -0400

Starting Weight: 253 lbs

Current Weight: 246.75 lbs

Weight Loss: down 6.25 lbs

Well, I made it through my first week back on the WW points system. I was really good at keeping within my points range at the beginning of the week, but had some overwhelming temptations over the weekend. I did go over my alloted points, but only by a few. I still had a successful weight loss in spite of my weakness. I attribute it to being the first week and to throwing myself into massive gardening almost every night this past week. I got all my tomatoes in the ground, I planted a container herb garden on my back porch, I went to war on the weeds in my yard (which are no ordinary weeds - I call them prehistoric super weeds because they are really big, grow really fast, and won't die), and I even started digging up the lilly of the valley that has taken over 3/4 of my front yard. It was good exercise and a great distraction. I also went rafting down the Muskegon River with my co-workers, their spouses, and Rudy on Saturday. All in all it was a good week.

My goals for week two:

1. Don't go over my daily points range unless I have earned the exercise for it.

2. Finish digging up the front yard and plant grass seed

3. Start landscaping the portion of the front yard that won't get grass seed.

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vacation is over.... time to get serious!

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:24:28 -0400

All my excuses have passed. Its time to get serious and loose some weight.

Today I started following the Weight Watchers Points System. I've done this before, so no real surprises today. The main differences this time around are that I'm doing it with the hope of gaining some it back (baby weight) and that I'm mixing in principles from the South Beach Diet where I can.

I weighed in this morning at 253 lbs. (is after all my excuses... vacation, weddings, fathers day, etc.) I get 28 points per day and 35 flex points per week.

I ate:

Breakfast 8:30 a.m.

Individually Wrapped Cheddar Cheese (1 oz)...............2 pts
Low Sugar Oatmeal...................................................2 pts

Snack 10:00 a.m.

String Cheese...........................................................2 pts

Lunch noon

Turkey and Mashed Potatoes SmartOnes TV Dinner....4 pts
Banana.....................................................................2 pts

Snack 3:00 p.m.

Fat Free Yoplait Yogurt..............................................2 pts

Snack 6:00 p.m.

Individually Wrapped Cheddar Cheese (1 oz)...............2 pts

Snack 10:30 p.m. (forgot to eat dinner due to exercise)

English Muffin..........................................................2 pts
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter...........................5 pts
2 tablespoons low sugar strawberry jam..................... 2 pts

Total: 25 pts

I didn't mean to skip dinner. I was planning to make grilled Mahi Mahi, but then I started working on my garden and forgot about everything else. I got the garden done too. I now have a 20 ft by 3 foot length of garden that is home to 8 varieties of tomatoes and one bean plant. I plan to make my own spaghetti sauce this year and learn how to can it. I think I probably got about 5 exercise points tonight. Its hard work digging up a garden.

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first week back after vacation

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:36:15 -0400

Well, Rudy and I have been home for over a week now. I'll write late about our trip. Just dropped a bunch of photos on here, so feel free to take a look. The first week back was long an tiring, but we made it through and next week should be better. Now we are off to visit Rudy's parents in Owosso for Fathers Day. Have a great weekend.

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just for fun

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:44:22 -0400

I've been feeling really lousy lately. Kinda fluttery in my stomach, tired, a bit weak. Just for fun (read: far fetched hope) I took a pee test. It was a long shot... and it came up negative, but I just couldn't help myself. It was far fetched because I still haven't gotten my period. I put so much hope into the Metformin. In my mind it was supposed to be a miracle drug. I'm trying to stay positive. I keep reminding myself that I've only been on it since February and it could still work, but there is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying "ya right, its never going to happen for you". On top of that, my weight loss has come to a stand-still. Life is so frustrating sometimes.

On a happy note, my little sister got married this past Friday, May 16th. I finally got some help at work. He started yesterday, and I leave for vacation after work on Friday. Maybe by the time I get back I'll be in a better mood. Thanks for listening. Sometimes I just need to rant.

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father material

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:57:40 -0400

I saw a side of Rudy tonight that made me smile. I keep trying to tell him he will be a great dad, but he doesn't believe me. He feels uncomfortable around babies, probably because he hasn't spent much time around them. Tonight was fun because I saw a tinny part of what he will be like when we have kids. We were baby-sitting our friends little girl again and since it was really nice out, we decided to take her to the park. It was so much fun to watch her have fun and to watch Rudy's fear if this little person dissipate. I was told she loved the slide, so when we got there, I lifted her to the top of the small slide and told Rudy to stand at the bottom to catch her, just in case. After a few times of her going down the slide and laughing, Rudy was the one lifting her to the top. Before this, I don't think he has ever willingly (without prompting from the women ini the room) picked up a child. She loved it and I think he had fun too.

I know it is too soon to be thinking about adoption, since we only started seeing the doctor in February, but I read an article recently that said one of the ways to cope with the stress of infertility is to set a time limit on how long you are willing to try and what lengths you are willing to go. Rudy and I talked about this on our way home from his parents house this weekend and decided that if I'm not pregnant by my 29th birthday (I'm 27 now), we will put our names into the adoption pool.

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adventures in cats

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:00:47 -0400

I was late to work this morning... because of the cats... again.

This time I was almost out the door, but went back upstairs to grab one last thing. It was a good thing I did. When I got up the stairs, I didn't see the cats. This is unusual. They tend to hang-out just outside the bathroom door in the hallway while we get ready in the morning. Rudy was still in the bathroom, so they should have been there. I peeked my head in the bedroom, no cats there either. I started to get suspicious and looked in the spare room. The door to the attic was slightly open. We always keep it shut. It must not have locked right after we had been up there last night. I knew immediately where the cats had gone. I yelled for Rudy to come help, then opened the door to go up. Kylie must have just started going up because she was still on the stairs and turned around immediately as soon as she saw me. Montey, however, had gotten all the way up and made it to the insulation. When I found him, he was covered from head to toe in the stuff. Rudy and I spent the next 20 minutes brushing him to get as much of the insulation off as possible. If I wasn't so frustrated at the time, I would have taken a photo before we started brushing. Now I see the humor in the situation. Poor Montey. He must have know he did something stupid, because he didn't even put up a fight when we were brushing him.

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general update

nobody@vox.com(Artlyn) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:28:57 -0400

Its been a few weeks since I posted last. Everything is fine. No, I'm not dead... just really really busy. My sisters wedding is less than a month away and my workload is still overflowing. This past weekend had both the shower I was helping to throw, plus one for a friend of the family. This Saturday is little sis's bachelorete party, which is starting and ending here at my house. We also have a wedding to go to on Friday night. The following weekend we hope to visit Rudy's parents, the weekend after that is helping friends move. My sisters wedding is the Friday after that (May 16th) and once the wedding festivities finish up, Rudy and I have to get our stuff packed because we leave Memorial Day weekend for our two week road trip. In between all that, I have to take another floral class, finish the wedding programs and table numbers, help put together the flowers, and work my long hours while the weather is beautiful outside. I do like doing all this stuff, I just wish I had the time to enjoy it before moving on to the next thing. I was hoping to get my bathroom done before we left on vacation, but I'm not sure if that will happen now. At least once I get back from vacation, my summer should be relatively relaxing. :-) Mmmm... gotta go... Rudy's throwing steaks on the grill. I love spring!

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