Dec 19th Mom's Dance

Baby Fat

So the boys are two and I'm finally looking at myself and deciding I need to lose weight. In May I started Weight Watchers again. Today I am up to 42 lbs lost with another 40 or 50 to go. I'm half way. While I'm happy to be half way, I know the harder 40 lbs to lose is the second half. It makes the first half look easy... I'm proud of myself and all that but it's the second half for me that really counts. I'm going to get my annual physical soon so maybe that will boost my enthusiasm. My goal is to get to my target weight by my 40th birthday (which is next year). As I approach my 39th birthday this week, I do smile a little knowing the 40th will be my one of the best birthdays I've had in a while.

Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

I have been extremely busy but I'm finally getting back to doing the stuff I love to do - like post on my blog! Since most of my activities revolve around my kids (and those blogs are updated), this update should be short. Only a few real things going on with me personally. First major update: I joined Weight Watchers. I'm getting old and baby weight has ceased to be an excuse for over a year now. My goal is to get to my goal weight (which is a 90 to 100lb loss) by my 40th birthday in 2011. I think it's reasonable but I am not going to fall apart if I don't make it. I can be extremely focused when I want something and I'm finally getting that focus back after the haze of having twins has burned off. So far, I've lost 16 pounds in about 5 weeks so I'm happy. Steve is also trying to get in better shape and is making a huge effort to eat healthy. His support is helping me so much since it's so much easier if everyone in the house is making the effort to eat vegetables and fruits. Second major update: hmm... there has to be something... I guess not. Oh, we're having a summer party in August. Details coming soon!

In other news, we lost power on Father's Day weekend due to bad storms in the area. Power loss isn't that big of a deal except we're on a well so no power means no water. It was out for three days but it felt like forever. I never felt so spoiled as when the power finally went back on. We bought a generator to run the refrigerator and TV. We boiled water to wash dishes (we got water from the guy across the street since the folks across the street did have power... don't ask...). It felt like camping for us so after a week of having power again, we decided to book our camping vacation for the summer. (Though Gretchen and I have already camped in the backyard this summer).

As always, lots of pictures on Flickr... I'll try to post more though if you follow me on twitter, I update that more frequently.

Under Pressure

I have been really really busy and perhaps a touch lazy so I haven't posted much. I also confess I did not get very far on my 365 project. I don't have much to show for the last few months that I didn't already talk about on Gretchen or the twins' blog except for my newest kitchen gadget: an electric pressure cooker! I have always struggled to make pinto beans the way my parents made them. I tried soaking, I tried slow cooking, I tried not soaking, etc but they never turned out right. I have always been afraid of pressure cookers but that is how my mother made them. With three little ones running around, I was even more scared to have a pressure cooker steaming away on the stove. And then, I saw an electric model that seemed to be able to do everything I needed (browning, sauteing, etc). I won't reveal the brand because I'm still testing it out but it is a respected maker of kitchen appliances. I made the beans and even Steve was impressed. They turned out perfectly creamy and soft with lots of flavor. I laughed when Steve said "you could get these with rice as a meal" which is what I did for most of my childhood! Last night I made Pesto Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots. It was pretty good on its own but when you consider it only took eleven minutes to cook, it was awesome!