Slow but better than nothin....

So at the beginning of the year I decided this year I was going to actually be motivated and lose some weight. The last time I attempted this was before Maui almost 2 years ago and I did manage to lose about 32 pounds. I put 20 back on though so it became a very frustrating experience. I'm happy to say that although it's taken two months and there were a couple weeks in between where I wasn't as motivated, I managed to lose 10 lbs!!!! It's so nice to be only 8 pounds away from what I was when we went to Maui. I lost a few pounds before the holidays which was nice and now I'm just going to keep going. I still have 38 lbs to go and ultimately would like to lose about 48, but if I only get to my 38 mark I'll be happy. The downside to losing weight is having to go clothes shopping and I honestly have not done that since Maui. At least now I know I can shop at Suzy Shier again and actually fit the clothes.

So that's my short little blog for the day as now I have to go meet Kai at his bus stop. I was just so excited to step on the scale the last couple days and see what I've lost I had to share it!

Couple recipes to try

I got this recipe from a fellow Cmom who posted it on the forum and had to try it and it worked out great. It's really yummy and quick. This is a pic of my finished product.

Quickest Oat Squares

1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
1tsp of vanilla
2 c. oats
Any extras....I added chocolate chips and rasins to mine

Instructions:

1. melt margarine in microwave
2. stir in brown sugar
3. add vanilla and stir
4. add oats and stir
5. add any extras you want
6. spread in microwaveable pie plate or square pan
7. microwave for 4 minutes

I let it cool down a bit after and they were yummy both boys really liked them

My next recipe is from a friend and we had it for dinner last night and it was yummmmy! Was just like a lasagna made with flour tortillas and not layered.

Taco Bake

1/2 lb beef (I used a lb because that's how we have our beef divided and it worked fine)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can of tomato soup
1 c. salsa
1/2 c. milk
6 flour tortillas cut into 1" strips (we only had 12" tortillas and I recommend cutting the strips in half, I didn't and it was hard to stir into the mix)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I used a montery jack mix)

Instructions:

1. brown beef on medium heat until cooked, drain (I added taco seasoning to mine)
2. Add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and 1/2 of the cheese
3. spoon into 2 quart (or whatever size needed) baking dish and cover
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 mins
5. sprinkle remaining cheese on top

I did cook the beef and mixed everything into one of our big pots because it all wouldn't have fit into our frying pan.

So that's my post for today! Enjoy they were both delicious and now added to new faves in the house.

So proud of my boy!

Kai started Karate back at the end of January as I thought it would be good for him to get involved in some type of sport and to hopefully learn to listen better. We did have a class a couple weeks ago where he did act up and than we didn't go for a couple weeks because of the cold so last night I was really worried about how he was going to behave. He did amazing! I couldn't see because of where I was sitting, but his Sensei kept praising him for such a great job. She than mentioned wanting the kids to be able to get their yellow belts which peaked Kai's interest. I talked with her about it to see how we could keep him going so he could earn his different color belts and she said because they only have class once a week, if they do two sessions she will test them at the end of the second session for their yellow belt. Kai was so excited to hear that. So now I'm just waiting to find out if there is still room in the next session so I can get him in.

To see the kid really wanting to work towards a goal like that is incredible. I'm so proud of him for sticking to it and wanting to stick to it. I'm just hoping he keeps up his practice like he says he will. I'll be one proud mom if he gets his yellow belt in a couple months.

Can't wait to buy passes for the year

I can not wait for the snow to disappear so we can get out and about on weekends and days off from school. The one thing I hate about winter is being cooped up in the house all the time. It's just too cold to go out and do much when there really isn't a lot in this area to do and we have to take transit everywhere so sometimes that is a little too cold for my liking. This year though I'm going to have passes for us to entertain ourselves and get us out with friends.

I've decided on two different passes for us. We will be getting Zoo passes again, but this time just the annual pass not the Discovery pass. As great as it is having the discounts you get with the Discovery one, I just can't justify spending that much on them again. I can't wait, because we love going to the zoo and with friends that I have now living back in the city we'll be going lots. I also decided we are getting Heritage Park passes this year which will be new for us. We've only ever been one time (the picture is Kai looking at the map on our first visit there ever). It was a lot of fun to check out the trains and the old houses and I loooooved the candy shop lol. The train ride was great too. It's expensive to get in so it's worth buying the passes. Last time Kai didn't get to go on the rides so I'll be buying the passes that allow us to do that as it'll be cheaper.

Last year we didn't do as much during the summer as I'd like, so this year we will. Kai likes going out on our adventures and who could blame him, I'm so fun to go out and do things with lol. In May Dana and her fam are going to join us for an outing at the zoo which I'm very excited for, because it'll be the kids first time!!!! It'll be so much fun!

So far my plans for this year are really helping me get through the hard days. If it wasn't for some of my friends that I've built stronger friendships with lately I don't know what I'd do. It's just nice to know that it doesn't have to be just me and Kai hanging out, that there are other people we can hang out too. I love having things to do in this city (when the weather is nice). Now to get motivated and get things done around this house....blech I hate cleaning day :(

Texting at my age is too old

This is my pretty pink blackberry. I love my phone. I've had many different cells. I usually buy a new cell once a year. Everyone who knows me I've always been addicted to my cells. I can't help it. My cell phones become the lifeline to my social life. It's really the biggest tool I use to communicate with most of my local friends. I text and I use Blackberry messenger. It's convenient, easy, and while my friends work they can still talk to me (don't worry not like they're talking to customers so they can get away with it).

Today though my cell phone made me "old". A girl at Kai's bus stop was joking around about me drop kicking my phone to see if it would break and I told her I couldn't because then I wouldn't be able to text my friends. She looked at me and told me I was too old to be texting. Lol what? Me old? It's the first time I've actually had someone tell me I was old. I don't think this girl realizes that I was texting probably before she was walking....well okay probably not but you get the picture.

I've had a cell since high school. People made fun of me for having a cell in high school, and now everybody has one! I don't understand how I'm too old to text when texting came into play a few years ago when I started buying cell phones once a year. In the beginning I wasn't huge into it, but now I'm a pro.

I think part of it is I don't feel like my age......I know a lot of people say that, but I really don't feel like I'm 26. I still feel like I'm 21/22 and I think it's because my life just hasn't really progressed all that much or isn't really that much different than it was at that age. I'm still technically a single mom and although I finally did schooling don't have my paper to prove it because I have to pay off my tuition first. The only thing that has progressed with my relationship is we moved in together. Our relationship hasn't taken and step ups though. We're still just boyfriend and girlfriend like we've always been and to be honest I don't think that'll ever change, we're not even common law and never will be (don't get me started on that). We'll never be engaged, married, or parents to a new baby. So see stuck in a rut of life where I haven't done things to feel like I'm more grown up. Sure once I had Kai I grew up in the sense I took on the responsibility of being a parent and providing for him, but that's it.

Some days I just sit and analyze everything and think well if I had done this differently or made that choice instead of that one, than maybe my life would be different today. I'm always second guessing and questioning what I did.

Lol at least she didn't tell me I was too old for Twilight......doesn't make sense at all that I'm too old to have a cell and text, but not to read a book aimed at younger readers lol. Wow amazing how I can turn a rant about cells and being old into other things. It just makes you think when you hear that type of stuff I guess. No I don't think I'm too old.....lol I'll never be too old for anything.....well okay one thing I'm too old for....bars....no thank you anymore.

12 on the 12th

I thought I would post my pages I have done so far for the Scrapbooking project I'm currently working on. A friend introduced me to the concept and I decided to start it in January to do a full year. What you do is on the 12th of every month you take 12 random pictures. Than you journal either about that day or about the month. I decide to journal about the month as the days I took pictures weren't very interesting days. I didn't have much to journal about because we really haven't done much the first 2 months of the year, but as the weather gets nice we'll be out more and doing more things around the city.

This is my first major project and I'm hooked so far on the whole Scrapbooking thing. I enjoy it as it is something fun to do and to pass the spare time I have. I've been premaking my pages a couple months in advance so than they're ready to go when I get the pictures devloped.

Me and Kai have started a scrapbooking project with a Thomas kit I bought and bascially it's just random shots of when he was a baby/toddler. It's not as interesting and I don't really consider it to be a baby book at all because of how random the shots are and how I do lack in baby photos of when Kai was a newborn.

I'm hoping I can do a scrapbook for my cousins in Finland from my family. I told everyone I wanted them to do scrapbook pages about their family and interests and things about them with some photos showing favorite places or things to do. Everyone liked the idea, but now it's just a matter of getting it together. At least I've started the whole thing and I can't believe I waited this long to start the addiction. Lol I know it's just going to keep growing.

Missing Maui

Our cold weather came back....again....no surprise really. The last two days were at least -30 with wind chill. Kai stayed home from school because let's face it I wasn't going out in that cold without the proper attire, which I don't have. Every time the cold weather hits I start wishing again how I was in Maui. The warm, hot, humid air. The palm trees swaying in the breeze. The sound of the ocean and the bright blue skies. Going to the beach and laying in the sun not thinking about what is going wrong in the world that day. Listening to the waves rolling in and the shrieks of people jumping in them. Looking out on the ocean and seeing the turtles pop up above the surface.

I think that was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had and I want to go back so bad. I want to sit on the Lanai and just look out at the green and the blue mixed together. I miss the nightly swims in the pool to cool off after a day of adventure. I loved going to the shops and looking around and just taking it all in and enjoying it like any tourist would. The people there were great. They were so friendly and just so much fun to be around. I would be friendly too if I lived in a place that was full of things to do and places to go and just warm. Yes warmth.....*sigh*

Back to reality though and the cold that is upon us in Calgary. It's suppose to warm up to a balmy -4 this afternoon which is a lot better than the last couple of days. We've missed out on so much the last week between being sick and the weather. All I can do is try to stay as warm as possible in this house. I'd really like to just turn the fireplace on and curl up with a blanket and a book and just read and enjoy a quiet evening, but in this house quiet evenings are rare. The tv is usually on with one of us trying to catch up on our shows on the PVR. I remember a simpler time where you didn't flick a switch to turn on the fireplace, or the only way you could record your shows was a VCR and you could only record one at a time, not 2. Sometimes you think you'd like things to be that easy, until you realize just how lucky you are to have the current things, because let's face it they're a sanity saver.