So it has been a WHILE since I last posted. Christmas was oh so busy with teen parties, grown up parties church dinners, cantata. I am finally starting to catch my breath! I'm ready for vacation already!
Anyway, I though I would post a few pictures of what we have been eating as we try to keep it clean and healthy.

Curry Chicken and rice

Scrambled eggs with strawberry kiwi salad

 Grilled Cheese with Tomato's and Basil

So, blogging has been a no go the past several days because we have been busy, busy busy! It started on Thursday when we signed up for the rec center in Provo. We have now been 3 times and we are loving it! They have an awesome kids pool that the girls love, and Justin and I have worked out a system where I play with the girls in the pool while he works out and vice versa. Its a win win for us because they are wiped out after we go and we have both worked out! Hooray! My favorite part?  The fitness center overlooks the kiddie pool so I can watch them play while I get my cardio in. Who knew, I am really enjoying working out! My second favorite part is the wonderful feeling when I am done. I have accomplished something, I have had alone time... yes, there is no one requiring my attention which for me qualifies as alone time even though I am surrounded by people.

Other benefits?
reduced stress ( even on a rough day my mood lifts with a good work out)
family fun time
burnt calories
aching muscles ( the good kind)
a sense of achievement for meeting goals
and hopefully a new wardrobe with smaller sizes :)

So thankful for this wonderful, unexpected blessing.

Post Workout Smile

Life happens....

Well, today may just be a particular challenge and I am posting on here just because I know I need the accountability...

I will begin by by telling the story of yesterday. So, my sweet girls were quietly playing in their room while I was cleaning the kitchen after lunch and then it occurred to me. They really are playing quietly. This is NEVER a good thing at our house at this age. So, I walked down the hall to find Caeli with a tube of toothpaste in her mouth sucking down the contents. What??? how on earth did she get that??? Cherith proceeded to tell me she had gotten it down from the high shelf to brush her teeth. So with a flury of frustration, fury, worry, nervouseness and so many other emotions, I start reading a bazillion websites. and ended in calling poison control. I knew she hadn't gotten very much because the tube was almost empty to begin with and there was a little left in the tube. ( the girls at this time, knowing Mommy was worried were quietly sitting beside me as commanded. I think I scared the living daylights out of them)

Anyhow, poison control said not to worry she would be fine and give her some milk. Which I did. they went to bed and she started complaining about a belly ache. So, I brought her into our room since we were still awake and wanted to keep an eye on her.. about 20 min later the puking began and continued the entire night. about every 20 min. poor baby.( I called the ER at this time and they said it would just have to run it's course no need to take her in.) Well Cherith then woke up and she saw Caeli puking and well you know how that goes. So I ended up cleaning up double puke a few times. finally around 7 Justin got up for work and watched the girls for me for a few min. rest and then my mom came up and watched them for about an hour so I could get a little sleep. Thank you, Mom!

So here I am one cup of coffee down ( again, thank you Mom for making me coffee) and another brewing but determined I am still going to try my hardest to stay on track. That is hard for me because when I am tired I want to eat sweet
s- sugar- chocolate.... it makes me feel better for the moment. So my very simple goal today? self control. I can do this. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. :)

because she's so sweet :)

small goals over time equal big sucess

Or so I have been told.... so I am starting out by keeping it simple.

My current goals may seem really easy, but for me they are what I need to get started.

First of all, I am trying to drink at least 8 8oz cups of water or 64 oz of water. Second I am cooking with mainly vegetables and working with whole foods. our fridge is full of vegetables. My goals is to use them in the open and disguised but load up with the good stuff. I am tired of filling my body with useless junk. All it does is bog down our system and make us exhausted and lethargic. No More Junk! good food only. Whole food. Natural food. Last of all exercise is a must and the hardest thing for me. My goal today is 10 min. of cardio vascular exercise which I know doesn't seem like much but its a starting point for me a reasonable goal that I am pretty sure I can reach today.  Hopefully things will go well!  We'll see at the end of the day.


My favorite meal yesterday?
Veggie Pizza loaded with peppers, olives, tomatoes, greens, onion, garlic no sauce ( because I could think of any healthy sauce to put on it) and mozzarella cheese. Corn Guacamole on the side which had a mixture of corn, black beans, orange pepper, lemon juice, onion, cilantro and avocado. I loved making things loaded with fresh ingredients. I felt like I was putting good things in my body instead of junk and I loved that and best of all? Justin loved it too! hooray for me!

Healthy corn guacamole

It's Time to shed the baby weight

So, I know no one really follows this blog which is just fine by me, but I though I would start using it again but with a different purpose.
Being the mom of 3 kids within 19 months left me.... well... a little puffy around the edges. Till now I have hardly had the sanity (time) to begin loosing weight/ toning up but now, my kids are of a "helping age" and able to somewhat do things on there own such as eat, get dressed and sleep through the night ( most of the time anyway). So, for me, it is time to think about finding ways to be more healthy and feel more comfortable aka drop several lbs.

I have looked up several different options of how to stay accountable. Unfortunately, weight watchers does not fit into our budget so I have had think of some other form of accountability. First, I finally told someone ( my mom) how much I weighed. This was really hard for me because I am neither happy nor comfortable sharing that number. The need for accountability, however, outweighed my shame of "the number", so finally someone knows. Second, I am posting on this blog. I am going to try to be faithful about my struggles, success and failures here. I know I need that accountability, encouragement in order to succeed. Finally I have a plan and hopefully I am sticking to it.  I am going to try to follow a weight watchers type plan. I know I have 26 pts to use every day. I am going to try to post my recipes and ideas for staying in this goal while feeing my family. I am also going to have to work on a form of exercise which brings me to another point......

I really dislike exercise for exercise sake... its boring, I hate getting sweaty and time is not on my side. That being said, I know it is going to be a necessary part of my day if this is going to work, so I am going to find creative, fun ways to burn calories and get in good physical shape. Who knows? maybe I will learn to love working out!

Last but definitely not least I am sharing this blog with a few people. People who I know will encourage me and who I know love me. I need their encouragement, advice and support!

And so begins the journey......

Pensado en ti, Venezuela! Feliz Ano!!!!!


Llevo tu luz y tu aroma en mi piel
y el cuatro en el corazón
llevo en mi sangre la espuma del mar
y tu Horizonte en mis ojos.

No envidio el vuelo ni el nido al turpial
soy como el viento en la mies
siento el caribe CON UNA QUIERER
soy así que voy a hacer.