getting anxious

17 more days until I get to start loading up for round 4. It seems like an eternity. I'm soooo ready to start hcg again. It's funny how when you're on the diet it seems like all you can think about is being off of it and when I'm off of it I just want to be on it again. figures

My husband went to Costco the other day and bought me a TomTom. I am such a pathetic person. I get terrified to drive in Spokane......literally terrified. I like to know where I'm going. Exact street names, which lane I need to be in etc etc. When I'm in Spokane it overwhelms me and I panic. There are so many times I want to go to Spokane and go to various places but will never venture there alone. I always make my husband drive. Anyway, he broke down and bought me a TomTom so I can start to drive in Spokane by myself. Next Saturday I'm taking Amanda to The Melting Pot and I was in a full blown panic attact because I didn't know how to get there or get home. Yesterday hubby installed the device and let me drive there myself .......we basically did a dry run. It was pretty smoothly. There were a couple moments where the TomTom didn't tell me to get over into the correct lane as fast as I would've liked....but now that I've been there and back.....I feel confident I won't die next Saturday when I'm on my own. lol

So next Saturday I take Amanda out for her birthday, then a few days later it'll be my daughters 4th birthday....but we'll wait to celebrate until the following Saturday, so everyone who works can attend. Then a few days later my sister in law will be staying with us a few days....and I'll be using the Thursday and Friday she's here to load for round 4. It's going to be a crazy 3 weeks.
I'm a little bummed that I'll be on hcg during my 9th wedding anniversary....but in a way it's the best gift I can give myself. Last year I was 275 lbs and miserable. I felt huge, ugly, and so unworthy of my husband. This year I'm already 50 lbs lighter and hopefully by my anniversary I'll be around 60 lbs lighter than last year. I'll be doing a full 6 week round and will also be taking the appropriate 6 week break before I start round 5.

Taxes!

I woke up this morning to see both our federal and state taxes were deposited into our checking account , woohoo!! When we bought our house in May we put our refrigerator, snowblower and air conditioner on a home depot credit card. We put it on the "no interest if paid off within a year) cards. We planned on using our 2010 taxes to pay it off so we wouldn't have to pay the interest. We'll have a nice chunk of change leftover, but I think we're going to save it to put towards getting our back fence replaced. It's about 17 yrs old and is rotting and the boards are twisting and nails are popping out. It's a mess and it absolutely has to be replaced. I wish I could save that money towards a vacation or something, oh well. A new fence will be worth it too I spose. ;)

Amanda's birthday is a week from today. I'll be taking her to The Melting Pot next Saturday........we're both super excited!

My weight is still as stable as ever. I looked at the calendar and I will be loading March 17th and 18th for a 6 week round of hcg. I'm hoping with a ten week break that my body is fully rested and will start to easily shed weight once again. My ultimate goal is to be under 200 lbs by the end of this round. I'm pretty confident it'll happen.

This is the dress I mentioned in my previous post. Isn't it adorable??

scarlet fever

I took my son, Hebron, to the Dr. yesterday thinking he might have scarlet fever.  Turns out I was correct.  He'll be taking this whole week off of school since he's contageous.  I am hoping and praying that this is the last of the sickness!  I am soooo tired of dealing w/ sick kids, a sick hubby, and being sick myself.  I'M DONE! 

Bad news on the sugar free lemon curd.  The erythritol ended up sugaring or crystalizing.  So it ended up being grainy w/ little bits of crunchy "sugar" throughout the curd.  Boooo!  I did some research and saw that it can have the tendency to do that sometimes in certain recipes.  Oh well.  The cheesecake never did that.  It's still super smooth and creamy.  I ended up taking a couple tablespoons of Smuckers brand of All Fruit (jam made w/ only fruit and fruit juice) and melted that in the microwave w/ a tiny bit of water and made a strawberry sauce.  I drizzled that over a slice of cheesecake last night and it was devine!  It was so light and refreshing and reminded me of summer.  mmmmm

I pulled a pair of jeans out of the dryer and put them on yesterday and they fit perfectly......I can't get over how awesome that is.  For soo many years whenever I put freshly washed and dryed jeans on they were always tight and uncomfortable.  It made me smile yesterday to not have to deal with that.  =)  I feel like the weight I've lost is a true weight loss since it's been stable for 3 months.  4 1/2 more weeks and then I'll be starting hcg again....I can't wait! 

My sister has a picture of herself in a cute black and white dress w/ a bright pink sash on facebook.  It's an adorable dress.  I called my sister and she said I could borrow it anytime.  It's a size 12.  I'm currently a size 16.  I'm confident that by summer that dress will be finding itself on my body.  YAY!!!! 

Mmmmm lemon cheesecake!!

So the cheesecake turned out AMAZING!  I did make it with a regular graham crust just because most of my family likes it that way and they don't need to watch out for carbs.  I just scraped it off my slice.  Anyway I used a regular cheesecake recipe and substituted the sugar for splenda and erythritol.  I put a pan of water on the lowest oven rack to help keep the oven nice and moist while the cheesecake baked.  Once it was out of the oven I ran a toothpick around the edge of the cheesecake so as it cooled and started to shrink it wouldn't tear and create big cracks on the top.  After the cheesecake cooled on the counter for 30 minutes I put it in the fridge.  We pulled it out after almost 5 hrs of cooling and cut a small sliver.  The center was still ever so slightly "soft", so it probably should've chilled for a good 6 hrs before being served.  The texture was wonderful.  Silky smooth.  The flavor was nice.  It was a VERY light lemony flavor.  I personally like a bit more tartness but with the lemon curd spooned over the top, it was out of this world.  My husband couldn't tell it was sugar free, and to be honest, neither could I.  I really think using half splenda and half erythritol made all the difference.  Here is the original recipe I used.  I omitted the sugar and instead used 1/2 cup splenda and 2/3 cup granulated erythritol.  Everything else I followed exactly.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/mamae28099s-lemon-wedge-cheesecake/

Here is the recipe I used for the sugar free lemon curd.  Again I used 1/2 cup splenda and 2/3 cup granulated erythritol instead of the sweetener listed. 

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/locarblemoncurd.htm

This cheesecake would also be great drizzled w/ a raspberry puree or fresh sliced strawberries. 

For those that are curious about erythritol, read this http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/erythritol.htm



Enjoy!!!

drowning in laundry detergent

Ha, so I'm REALLY drowning in liquid laundry detergent!  I saw on slickdeals.net last week that RiteAid was having a sale on Xtra liquid detergent.  It's on sale for $1.97 a bottle.  There are also coupons out there for $1 off any bottle of Xtra.  So I went on ebay and bought 20 coupons for $2 and went to RiteAid today and got 20 bottles of laundry detergent.  Although the bottles say they do 44 loads, I get more like 35 loads out of them.  So for $28 (cost of coupons and 20 bottles of detergent plus tax) I'll have enough detergent to do 700 loads of laundry at roughly .04 per load.  On average we do about 4 loads per week.  I won't have to buy laundry detergent for at least 3 1/2 years.  lol   LOVE IT!

I finally got around to making that sugar free lemon cheesecake today.  I also made a sugar free lemon curd to put over the cheesecake.  I tasted the lemon curd after it was done and I honestly could not tell it wasn't made with real sugar.  I used a mixture of splenda and erythritol.  The cheesecake is still cooling, so I haven't had a chance to taste it yet.   I hate eating cheesecake when it hasn't had sufficient time to cool properly.  The texture is all wrong if you eat it too soon.  I think I'll try a slice tomorrow after lunch. 

Well it's time to put my kiddos to bed.  Hope you all had a lovely weekend. ♥

YAWN!

Sigh.....I'm sick again.  My daughter is going through a relapse of her cold and apparently shared it w/ me.   Waaaaaahhh!!!!  My nose is so stuffy and I feel like just curling up in a ball and going to bed.  I had to go run some errands today and ended up making a stop at Target.  I haven't been in Target since we moved into our house 7 months ago.  I love Target.  I came to the realization today that I hate Target when I have 3 kids in tow.  It wasn't so  bad when they were little enough to push in the cart, but now they're too big.  I did score some nice finds in the Valentine's day clearance area.  I grabbed a few bags of Vday M&M's.  They're the perfect colors for my daughters birthday cake.  She wants a Hello Kitty themed cake.  I'm excited to make it.  I think I'm going to do a two tiered cake w/ a gum paste Hello Kitty on the top. 

I got on the scale today and I'm exactly the same wieght I was last week.  LOL  At least I'm consistant!!  At this point in the game I think I'll be happy to be able to stabilize until I start my next HCG round. 

I really wanted to make that lemon cheesecake today......but I feel so tired I'm not sure I'll get to it.  Maybe tomorrow.  ;)

blah

The diet is going pretty good, can't complain.  I've been enjoying my low carb foods and have found a few recipes that I like enough to keep using over and over.  I found a low carb lemon cheesecake recipe I want to try and make this weekend.  I have a bunch of lemons that need to be used up, this seems like a perfect excuse to make a cheesecake. =)

My daughter has had an ear infection that started about a week ago.  I've been doing everything I could "naturally" to get it to heal and go away on it's own.  She kept holding her ear and crying off and on today I broke down and took her to the Dr.  Her poor eardrum was on the cusp of bursting, so it's good I got her in when I did.  She's on some antibiotics and she should be feeling better within the next day or two.  I'm so glad we set aside "medical $" every paycheck like we do.  Her Dr. apt was almost $200 despite paying in full w/ cash.  Oh well, we had the money for reasons just like this.  It felt good not to put it on a credit card. 

I reread my last blog and I feel like I came across as ungrateful and whiney.  Thanks for the comments, Mia and Bre. ♥ 

Amanda is doing well so far on phase 3 of HCG.  She's stabilizing fine, yay!  Her husband started a 3 week round last Sunday.  I just love how people learn about hcg through word of mouth or by seeing people they know shrink before their eyes.  I can't wait to start my 4th round!!!  About 5 1/2 weeks to go. 

I want to be rich

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy what you need and want at the grocery store w/o having to stress about the cost of it?  Sure I can get truckloads of unhealthy processed goods for next to nothing.....it's the healthy stuff that's much harder to come by at a decent price.  I coupon where I can and have been pretty much only buying good nutritious food.  It stresses me out when a head of lettuce is over $2 but I can buy a cake mix w/ frosting for less than $1.50.   I buy fruits and vegetables that are in season and on sale.  period.  I can't buy them out of season because I absolutely cannot afford them.  We live on a single income.  My husband makes what is considered low income for a family of 3, and we have a family of 5.  We are out of debt, we don't have a tv/cable bill, we have 1 cell phone and I go through my parent's "family plan" to get it cheap, we drive vehicles that are getting close to 20 yrs old, we buy many clothes from thrift stores, and I coupon where I can to save money on groceries and yet it always seems like it's a struggle to make it between paychecks.  I read all these articles where they show you how to "save $50 month" and then proceed to give examples like, "quit buying Starbucks lattes" and "rent a movie instead of going to a movie".  Ok, ummmm THAT'S NOT HELPING ME!  We have cut just about as much "fat" out of our budget as possible.  For the 1st time this year we could no longer afford basic health insurance for our family.   They wanted us to pay over $7000 a year just for basic health coverage.  Not to mention we'd still have a $45 Dr. copay and we'd still have to pay out of our pockets for prescriptions etc etc etc.  So we took a leap of faith and dropped all health care except for dental care.  Instead we put aside $200 per paycheck into our "medical" account".  My husband gets paid every other week or roughly 26 times a year.  If we end up having to go to the Dr. we can use the money in our medical account to cover the Dr.'s visit.  It's kind of scary, but what choice do we have?  Anyway, my whole point is........I'm bummed that it's so hard to make it paycheck to paycheck when I feel like we already sacrifice so much.  I probably am coming off completely selfish.......I'm sorry if I do.  On the other hand.......I get to stay home w/ my kids.  I don't have to work, I don't have to put my kids in daycare.  What a huge blessing that is!  I have been babysitting for a friend of mine here and there and my husband lets me use the money I earn on things for myself.  I usually end up using it towards groceries, or taking the family out for a special dinner out.  Right now I'm saving up for Amanda's bday.  I really want to take her to The Melting Pot, but that place is way more than I normally spend on birthdays, so I feel good that I'm able to take her to a special place w/o putting my family in a bad spot financially. 

Valentine's Day

Today is the notorious day of love.  My husband is out of town today and will be gone for most of this week.  Although even if he was home, we don't really celebrate Vday.  He likes to show his love for me randomly, when I will least expect it, not when a date on the calendar tells him too.  When we 1st got married I was so hurt and offended, but now it doesn't really bother me at all.  I hope that doesn't sound bad, but I totally get his thinking on the matter.  I actually caught him looking at flower bouquets online and I told him to please not get me any flowers.  I don't like flowers.  Well, I do like flowers....free flowers.....but I cannot understand the need to spend tons of money on a plant that will only look nice for a few days.  No thank you!  I also can't stand gifts of jewelry.  Ugh!  I see these women who boast about the diamonds they get for Christmas, birthdays, Vday and I can't help think WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY!  I refuse to let my husband buy me a diamond wedding ring.  I just wanted a nice band with a CZ.  No one can tell the difference and if for some reason it gets lost or stolen or whatever, I won't have to FREAK OUT.  For anyone who has read the 5 love languages, my love gift is Time.  I'd much rather spend the day with my husband going for a walk, sipping on a latte and just talking than ever get flowers or jewelry.  Am I weird?  I guess for me it's like for someone to give up their time for me seems much more valuable than buying a gift and throwing it in my direction.  (stepping off the soapbox now)

Since he's gone today I think the kiddos and I will decorate sugar cookies when they get home from school.  Holidays are so fun, esp when you're a kid. 

Anyhoo, today Amanda starts Phase 3 and she's excited to be able to drink a sugar free starbucks latte. 
I'm going to enjoy a little bit of non atkins friendly food today and hit induction hard tomorrow until I take amanda to the melting pot in March. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!♥

Almost back to normal.

Do I dare say it?  I think we're all almost completely well.  Hurray!  I slept for almost 11 hrs last night, but I still feel rather sluggish today.  It's dreary today and pretty windy.  Hubby has a lot of work he's trying to catch up on before he leaves for Seattle on Monday.  So while he's working the kids and I have been doing laundry, dishes and then we made up some homemade play dough.  They're having so much fun.  =) 

Yesterday was Amanda's last day of hcg drops.  She lost 17 lbs and 29 1/2 inches!  She's super excited about all the inches she's dropped.  I'm excited that as of Monday, she'll be eating phase 3 foods, which is pretty much like Atkins Induction food, so we'll be on the same page and can share and swap recipes.  =)

I hopped on the scale and am the same weight as last week.  I spose that's ok, esp since we've all be so sick. 

21 effing days

So I was looking back through my blog and saw the post when we all first started getting sick.  21 days ago!!!!!!!!!!!!  I know a lot of other people who have been getting sick too and it lasting 2-4 weeks.  Holy freaking cow!  I think I know what's been causing my nausea the last few days.  I believe it's from my ear infection.  vertigo is a b**ch!  I went up the stairs too fast this evening and ended up hugging the toilet for the following two hours.  Taking tums don't help because I'm not sick from something I ate, just sick from my head spinning.  Just trying to make it through the day has been a challenge, let alone trying to diet.   I want the last 21 days back......I WANT A FREAKING DO-OVER!

FREAKING UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

My daughter and I are feeling waaay worse today than we did yesterday.  My poor daughter has an ear infection and a horrible hacking cough.  I also have an ear infection.  Although my throat is no longer bothering me, my tummy certainly is.  I get these random waves of nausea that make me feel so ill I can't do anything but crawl into bed.  I'm so beyond exhausted from this BS. 

My friend Amanda who is doing HCG is almost done w/ her 6 week round.  Tomorrow is her last day of drops.  As of today she's lost about 16 lbs.  Far less than she wanted to lose, but heck, 16lbs is still great.  She never cheated and she ate strict protocol foods.  I'm really really proud of her commitment despite the results being less than she hoped.  She'll be taking 6 weeks off (3 weeks of phase 3 and 3 weeks of phase 4) and then the both of us will be starting up again. 

Bre, I'm glad you made it home safe and sound.  =)

MERCY!

We're all starting to feel better, but we are by no means well.
Yesterday I was a very very bad girl.  I had several slices of bread throughout the day toasted w/ butter.  I also had a bowl of spaghetti for dinner and a big slice of german choc cake after everyone was in bed.  I felt so freaking sick after I had the cake.  Ugh, why did I do that?  The food I had yesterday gave me a raging headache that I couldn't seem to get rid of.  I don't know what it was about yesterday that triggered some old bad habits.  Today I got up and got on the scale, it sooo wasn't pretty.  Today I'm doing a steak day to see if I can get rid of some of the damage.  I threw away the cake today and got rid of all tempting foods.  I also made a food list that I plan on sticking to the rest of this week.  Yummy, healthy, low carb foods.  I really want to stick to induction foods until Amanda's birthday weekend.  I plan on taking her to The Melting Pot.  Then a couple days later is my daughter's 4th birthday.  I'm planning on making her a homemade Hello Kitty cake, and by golly I plan on having a slice.  Then I will go back on Induction until I start HCG again.  I'm thinking I'll load on my Anniversary which is April 6th. 

Sick Sunday

I cannot believe we're all still really sick.  WTHeck is up with that?  We all were in bed last night at 7:15pm.  I'm the least sick of the 3 kids and hubby.  They all have horrible coughs and super sore throats.  I'm just really achy and have a constant migrane.  My dad invited us over to watch the super bowl.  We're going to pass and just stay home and eat chicken soup.  Booooooo!  The scale was the same as last Sunday......which is fine w/ me.  I've been eating more carby vegetables and some organic whole grain toast so I know I've been over on my carbs.  We're all drinking tons of water and taking our vitamins.  I sure hope this cold/flu is over soon!!!!!

Goals

Hubby is working from home today since he feels so icky.  My two youngest are coughing non stop.  I'm exhausted and achy.  My goals for today are once again cleaning all surfaces w/ bleach, washing everyone's sheets, boiling the toothbrushes to kill any bacteria, and making a bit pot of homemade chicken soup.  I'll be counting carbs again today.  I don't really have much of an appetite.  If I had a choice, I'd just go back to bed.  Unfortunately nothing gets done w/ mommy goes back to bed.  ;)

sickies

Despite washing all the sheets and cleaning bathrooms and the kitchen w/ bleach, we're all still passing around this awful cold/flu.  My daughter is feeling the worst.  She just layed around all day whimpering because everything hurts.  My husband came home from work and ate a bowl a soup and went straight to bed, he's finally gotten the sickness as well.  I felt ok for most of the day and now my skin is starting to become really sensitive and my stomach is a bit queasy.  ugh!  It's so very very frustrating.  I haven't been counting carbs the last couple of days because I've been so overwhelmed w/ sick kids and feeling icky myself.  Hoping and praying we all get well shortly.  I'm so very tired of being so sick and tired.  =(