So… here’s what’s been going on around here the last few months…

• In 2010 I did the HCG diet to lose weight and I did lose. I lost 21 pounds in 6 weeks. It wasn’t a horrible six weeks even though I could only eat 500 calories a day and couldn’t drink Diet DP. I felt good after I lost the weight and I looked good too… for about 3 months. Then I gained all 21 pounds back. I knew I wanted to lose the weight again, so I had a pre-diet party for about 6 months. You know, the time when you eat and eat because you’re going to start a diet “soon.” Yeah, 6 months later and 15 more pounds on my arse I knew I needed to do something. But I didn’t know how or where to start.

That’s when Sei forwarded me an email from the city he works for. The city was offering to pay for employees and their spouses to participate in Slimming World for 12 weeks.  Sei prefaced the email with “Don’t read too into this Babe…” But I knew that he knew I was unhappy. I just didn’t realize how the email would change my life!! I decided I’d give this “Slimming World” a try. I didn’t have anything to lose but about 35 pounds... haha So, Jan. 2 I went to my 1st meeting and weighed in. I learned more about the program and was stoked to see I could still eat pasta, potatoes, and other faves. Unlike other programs I don’t have to weigh or measure anything, or in very rare instances I may need to count how many pieces of something I am eating.

Welp, as of today I have lost 30 pounds in 14 weeks. I’m 5 pounds from my goal– and my goal was to lose 35 before Sei and I go to Hawaii in June. I am amazed. This was waaaay past my expectations! And because I wasn’t expecting much I didn’t take any “before” pics, so this one from Halloween will have to do….

And what I am most excited about is that I really have changed my eating habits. This isn’t a quick fix. I eat so much better now and I don’t crave the old crap I used to crave. I also haven’t been deprived. Sei and I go out to dinner every week– and I have chips and salsa. I’ve eaten cookies, not on a daily basis, but I’ve eaten them. I’ve had candy, birthday cake, fajitas… I’ve just learned to eat in moderation! Who knew, right? I’ve also been exercising a lot more. I actually do “Just Dance 3″ on the Wii for about an hour a day. It’s so fun and doesn’t seem like exercise. But believe me, I work hard and get a good workout.

• Tristan turned 17. SEVENTEEN!!! How the heck do I have a 17 year old?!?!?!!? This weekend he is taking a lifeguard certification course because he’s hoping to work as a lifeguard this summer. He’s a good kid and believe it or not, he hasn’t given me any trouble. And he LIKES me!!!
  

  SEVENTEEN!!!!

• Isabel turned 13. I now have THREE teenagers in my home. Crazy. She just finished track season where she ran the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and the 800m relay. She’s freakin’ fast. She chose to have a slumber party tomorrow night with like 4 million of her closest friends. Help.
  

  Izzy and Seiuli after the last game of her bball season

• I have 4 weeks left of this semester and I am SO.READY. This has been a loooooong semester with a lot of papers to write and group projects to do. I loathe group projects. I decided to skip taking a summer class, so in the Fall I will take 12 hours again and in the Spring I will only be doing my practicum (internship.) Then I GRADUATE!!!! And then a month later my oldest child will graduate from high school… lol
• Sei quit his 2nd job. After working 7 days a week for a year and a half, he was pretty burnt out. But that job was such a blessing and helped put us in a much better place financially. I am thankful he was willing to work that much for so long. He’s awesome.
  
• To be continued…

I am sure we have all seen the commercials for Nutrisystem. I know everytime I see one I wonder “Hmm… would that work for me?” When it comes to losing weight for me it is all about the food. I eat WAAAY too much of it! But the idea of having prepared meals delivered to my door so I don’t even have to think about it seems sooooo nice. I’ve visited the website a lot to learn more and I made this video to show you what I think about losing weight.

* Last nite we had an activity at the church. A few of us made easy crockpot meals and shared them and the recipes. I added these yum recipes to the Eazy Mealz blog today, so go check it out!

* I started P90X on Monday. It’s suppose to kick my butt and hopefully be one of the best weight loss products out there. I hope so. I am sore from the “pulls ups” I did even though not one of them was done without the help of a chair. And my push ups… yeah. Taking my before pics was PAINFUL but when I’m a hottie I will post them. Not.

* The school district decided to have the kids come back to school tomorrow. I think that’s great except that they told us the kids would be out all week so now people left town, etc… I know 3 different families that are gone out of town now.

* My thought on “The Biggest Loser”: Tara should win. She has stayed above the yellow line the entire show. She’s gonna have a tough time beating Mike (who I am assuming will be the 3rd finalist) because he has more weight to lose. She’s getting down to where there’s not much left on her to get rid of. But I am for her. I’ve liked her the entire show although I was for Sione, then Filipe…

* My thoughts on my Mavs: GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR!!!! They are down 2-0 to the Nuggets. Stressing.me.out. I honestly don’t think they’ll win the finals, so I’m just gonna say if they don’t win then I want the Cavs or Celtics to win. Just say NO to Kobe!!

* I saw the most interesting tattoo last nite. It was on the INSIDE of the lower lip. I thought it was pretty rad. She said it hurt like they were carving it with a pocket knife. Nice.

* Free food from KFC!! Click here!! Hurry- you can only download it today!!