Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Forced blooms




This is a photo of some cherry branches I forced into bloom. This was the first time I have tried this. It is so simple to do and I am sure I will forever be making this a part of early spring ritual. Unfortunately, during a recent wind storm, a large branch from a neighboring tree fell into this cherry and broke it's tender branches. Rather than throw them into the compost heap, I gently trimmed it and a few more branches to even it out. I wrapped the ends of the branches in a wet paper towel and left them overnight. The next morning, I bashed the ends with a hammer and then put them in a vase filled with warm water. Within a few days, the branches were budding. These were left inside a darker cabinet shelf away from direct sunlight. They have been sitting out in the open for about 6 days and are still quite lovely.

Now, I must get something off my chest, sort of free-therapy if you will. Tonight during dinner, my son began choking on a piece of steak. My husband and I both acting so quickly practically had a tug of war with the poor boy to save him. It was not pretty! We were all over-reacting, yelling, pounding his back, pushing his stomach, trying to dislodge the meat from his mouth. My poor daughter was watching from the sidelines and luckily it turned out okay. The scariest moment I can recall in forever! Absolutely, a bad time to panic, but sometimes that is just what you do. I know that our method was NOT the best way to handle it, but that is just what happened and thankfully he is fine. My husband and I were both so shaken afterward! Please review the proper methods of helping a choking victim and remind yourself and your older children what to do in case they are alone when this happens!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Easter Chicks




These little metal chicks are the perfect spring decoration. They are "bobbly" so every time we walk past the buffet they are sitting on, they wobble like real baby chicks scratching for bugs to eat. I bought three of these at a Tuesday Morning store about 5 years ago and they are an Easter favorite.

Monday, March 29, 2010

40 is Fabulous!





I have had a wonderful day today. I arrived at school to find that Mrs. Lori, our office manager had gotten flowers, a plant, a super-sized balloon, and a cake for me! All the teachers had signed the card, too. Then I went to have coffee with my dear friend, Kim. Next, it was off to Walgreens to pick up the photos from the party. I took a quick shower and went back to school to work the book fair. Mrs. Lori bought me my favorite salad for lunch and then I had some cake. Next, I went to pick up Easter treats for my dance students. I met my friend Ellen for a quick cup of tea before my afternoon classes. My hubby fixed my favorite dish for dinner-pasta with alfredo sauce, grilled chicken and sauteed red pepper, mushrooms, and brocolli. Yummy! Then we had more cake and I opened a few more gifts. My hubby gave me a lovely photo album, a sketch journal, and a travel journal. I may have said this before, but 40 is fabulous when you have friends and family that love you! The card shown above is one my daughter made for my hubby to give to me.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Friendship




I have been basking in the love of friends all day. The group effort of pulling the party together. The fact that three of my oldest friends drove 6 hours to come to the party. This photo is of a bracelet I received from 3 of my closest friends. We began this tradition when Angela turned 40 four years ago, next came Kim in 2007, then Becky in 2008, and now me. I will wear it proudly! The front of the heart has my initials and the back says "Love, KBA".

Saturday POD



This photo was taken by my hubby. It is me arriving at the location of my sort of surprise 40th birthday party. Words really don't express the love and affection I received from this wonderful group of ladies! They worked tirelessly to plan and decorate for this party. It was a French theme, because they know I love Paris. My hubby even made an Eiffel tower with lights. They sang Happy Birthday to me in French (how the heck they knew the words, I don't know! although, there was a French teacher in the group, so maybe she worked with them before I arrived)! At any rate, I am blessed to have such a wonderful hubby and friends. I don't deserve them, but am sure glad I have them! 40 truly is fabulous when you have friends like mine!

Friday, March 26, 2010

So Happy




I am so happy today because my son was so happy today! We filled his Focalin prescription and began it today. He took his dose at 7:10 or so this morning. At first, I was very worried because he was excessively chatty on the way to school and saying some pretty off the wall and random things. I dropped the kids off at school and immediately phoned in to alert his homeroom teacher. I was seriously thinking he might get sent home today. At any rate, I was at school running the book fair from 9:00 until school let out and each of his teachers made a point to come in and tell me how wonderful his day had been! He popped in to say hello to me a few times and was in the best mood. He felt so good at pick up time, had a great afternoon, and then went out to dinner with my hubby and had excellent behavior there, too. This is such a blessing already and we can only pray that he has little to no side effects from this. It was a very difficult choice to have to medicate our child, but his happiness and success is largely up to us at this point in his young life. We want to see him reach his full potential, feel good about himself, and become a responsible member of society. The apathy he had been exhibiting towards school had begun to carry over into his home life simply because he was getting into trouble at school which of course, caused punishments and restrictions of things at home. It seems like this treatment, in conjunction with some of the behavioural and organizational strategies we've already implemented will help him go far!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

In a Pickle




Tripp was on tv restriction tonight for something that happened while I was teaching so to ease the pain of that we decided to play a game of "In a Pickle". Libby joined us on my bed and we laughed and had a great time doing so. Sometimes restriction isn't such a bad thing afterall!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Hump Day




Saw a pair of these pileated woodpeckers at the suet feeders this morning.

I took the time to go to Target to look for cute pj's since my somewhat of a surprise b-day party has a pj's dress code. I found some, actually bought two sets. This is the one I'll wear for the party...

Today was also report card day. My daughter who is always on A-B honor roll got a C and she beat herself up about it more than we did. My son, got one A in PE, mostly C's, a D, and an F in Latin! We just don't know what else to do to help him. The good news on that subject is that his echocardiogram came back great-there were no abnormalities and no enlargement of the right ventricle as was once thought-so this means we are "safe" to proceed with the Focalin prescription. Tripp actually seems excited about the possibility so I will have that filled tomorrow and start him out on it right away hoping for an improvement by the last report card. We are on the home stretch of school now.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Janitzio's Lunch




As I've mentioned once before in another post, the middle school classes compete every two weeks to see who can accumulate the most points. The class with the most gets to eat out at Janitzio's. Today, it was my daughter's turn with the 7th grade class.

We went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid this afternoon-really cute and we had the theatre almost entirely to ourselves...FUN! Afterwards, I took Tripp shoe shopping and then we met Jimmy and Libby at Ianucci's Italian restaurant. This evening, I enjoyed getting my Project Life pictures from last week into the album.

Week 11 Project Life update






Please be sure to check out more Project Life albums at the following site!

updated pod for 3/22/2010


First off, I'd like to officially switch yesterday's picture of the day (which I groggily uploaded this a.m.). The new picture for yesterday is the one above...

Spring Snow-POD 3/22

We have three camellias that we bought about 3 years ago. They did nothing where we originally planted them so last spring when we put in the new walkway and flower bed, we transplanted them to this spot-which seems to be ideal. They have teased us all winter with buds and now, they are actually starting to open! Of course, we got snow last night. Just a little bit, so we are on a normal schedule today, thank goodness! I hope that the weather doesn't rob us of the beautiful spring we are sure to have. (That happened a few years back at just the time the weeping cherries and Japanese maples were starting to bud and bloom-the plants were ruined). We've had such a cold and snowy winter that we are really looking forward to the re-birth of spring in our yard.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Rainy day

We spent the morning drinking coffee and bird-watching. This had to be done from inside the house as it was very rainy and cool today. So many birds out though and a few we actually had to grab the field guide to try to identify.

Jim picked Tripp up from his sleep-over party around 10:30 this morning. He immediately came in, asked for a grilled cheese, and fell asleep on the couch watching tv. Libby and I decided to run to the mall to take advantage of a couple of sales. She found stuff, I did not. It was a yucky day to be out so we made for home only to find that both of the men folk were asleep. Good day for a nap! We put in the movie, The Princess and the Frog to watch. This evening, the entire family snuggled and watched two episodes of the Simpsons before getting ready for bed. The kids area bit bummed about going back to school tomorrow but they will only go for two weeks and then they get another week off after Easter.

I took the above picture simply because birdwatching is such a favorite family pastime. The book on the lower shelf was a very thoughtful gift from my hubby last summer. I think it would be such a neat thing to do a Project Life journal made up entirely of daily sketches. I am not good enough to do that, but this book has certainly been inspiring to me, someone who never thought she could "draw".

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Happy Spring!


What a great first day of spring! Had to take a picture of these lovely narcissus plants in bloom! As far as spring cleaning goes I got some laundry done, filled all the bird feeders (again) and hung two new bird houses. Tripp went to a birthday sleepover party and Libby and I went shopping to Target, Michael's and GB Shoes. Look at these springy shoes I bought. Then we went to a birthday party for Bowen (who turned 18), and last but not least, to Ianucci's for a wonderful Italian dinner.

Friday, March 19, 2010

TGIF!


Ahhh, Friday and spring is in the air! It got up to 68 here today! I had almost the entire day off to enjoy being at home. It was wonderful-the doors were open and I had such fun piddling around the yard planning the garden and flower bed work I need to hop on.

I don't drink wine nightly, but this evening it just seemed like the perfect accompaniment. I felt kind of silly walking around the house taking pictures of a wine bottle and glass, but the lighting was just so pretty-that is actually what prompted me to open the bottle in the first place. I enjoyed a glass of one of my favorite Pinot Noir's from Five Rivers Winery.


I've enjoyed an evening of watching TLC with my daughter. I'm looking forward to a weekend of spring cleaning and organization! Maybe even a little shopping...I'm in the mood for some colorful flats and new lipstick.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Reading Glasses




For about a year or so I have noticed that I need to read with the book a little further away from me. It doesn't really bother me, but things like menus are getting pretty blurry. So, I finally broke down and purchased a snazzy pair of reading glasses for $2.99 at Michael's yesterday.
Since, I really didn't take advantage of any great photo ops for the day (Tripp playing Nerf war with his friends or Libby doing yard work), at the last possible minute before starting the movie, Precious, I looked onto the end table to catch a glimpse of yesterday's finished book with my reading glasses sitting on them...I think I am okay so long as I don't start wearing them on a chain around my neck!

Back to the movie-not for everyone! My book club read the book, Push, back in November so I had been eagerly awaiting the movie since I didn't see it in the theater. It is quite disturbing subject matter, but really excellently acted.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Luck o' the Irish to you!




Here is a cute, very simplistic banner my daughter and I made. We did one to hang as a valance above the cafe curtains in the kitchen and the one pictured above is tied through the drawer pulls on the buffet in the dining room. We used an assortment of cardstock and patterned papers, free-hand drew the clover, cut them out and then used a stapler to attach them to ribbon. Easy as pie and so much cuter than anything store-bought if you ask me! While we are on the subject of decorating-check out this adorable sign-I must make it for next year!

Today started off with a follow up appointment for my son after he had an EKG come back showing a mild abnormality on his right ventricle. My pediatrician reassured me that this was nothing to lose sleep over but before we can safely try an ADHD medication, further testing with the pediatric cardioligist was necessary. So he had an echocardiagram today. This procedure was painless but did require patience as it takes about 30 minutes to perform. It is much like an ultrasound when you are pregnant. A little stressful for me as I don't like seeing my kids in hospital gowns! We should have results in a few days. The longer I wait, the more I doubt the choice to try the meds.

I didn't cook a large meal to celebrate St. Paddy's since I did it on Sunday. I didn't even drink a Guiness! I had planned to make an Irish stew, but when it came down to it...I just didn't! I did finish reading my book club book for the month, Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. I also took my daughter to Michael's to get some jewelry making supplies, while Tripp was home playing with his friend who is sleeping over since they are on break. I also worked today, so it's not like I didn't do anything. I just didn't cook!

I'm rambling, I know. I'll leave you with an old Irish blessing:


May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St. Patrick's Day bouquet




Just a picture of a pretty little bouquet I picked up at the grocery store on Sunday for our St. Patrick's day party.

I struggled with being really tired and apathetic all day today. I think it is a new birth control pill I am taking. I had my prescription transferred to a new, more convenient pharmacy and they didn't have the same brand as I had been taking. I have been on it for about a week and 1/2 and am feeling like I am on a roller coaster ride and feeling really lethargic. Looking forward to this being over.

We watched the movie The Proposal tonight. Cute little sappy story-pretty darn predictable but good for a light-hearted laugh. Beautiful scenery (aside from Ryan Reynolds and the amazingly fit 45 year old body of Sandra Bullock). Filmed on location here.

Monday, March 15, 2010

First sign of Spring


My children are on a spring break this week since they are on a year-round school schedule. Earlier today my daughter was out doing some yard work to earn some money. She excitedly came in to tell me that what I have been looking for-signs of spring-has arrived. The crocus blossoms are up! They were not there Saturday, I did look. I also noticed some daffodil shoots popping up a little further down our road, although no flowers yet... I'm sure it won't be much longer. After a long, cold winter it is always such a joy to see these first signs of what is to come. It was also such a nice treat to arrive home from work and have it still be light outside. Spring forward!

Week 10 Project Life Update

Sunday, March 14, 2010

St. Patrick's Day celebration


Tonight we had a dinner party to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and our friend, Jock's birthday (which is tomorrow). I made corn beef and cabbage using a new recipe for the corn beef. I cooked 3 briskets- a total of about 15 pounds worth! It was yummy as always, but I am not sure I thought it was as good as my usual New England boiled dinner with the potatoes, cabbage, rutabagas, turnips, and carrots all thrown in the pot of salted water the corn beef was cooked in. This year I cooked the corn beef in the oven, wrapped in foil. The glaze was the same as what I do with the boiled dinner, just a mixture of brown sugar, cloves, and honey mustard that you brush on and then stick under the broiler to carmelize. I also made a couple of appetizers-bangers in pastry with chow-chow, and cheese tarts with mango chutney. These were modifications to the recipes listed in the link above. The bangers were breakfast sausages (similar to L'il Smokies) that were wrapped in cut up pieces of croissant dough. I put a small spoonful of chow-chow into each piece of dough before wrapping and cooking. I purchased pre-made phyllo dough tarts and then filled them with a mixture of ricotta, parmesan and goat cheese. After they cooked, I put a small dollop of mango chutney on top. I really liked these and they seemed so fancy, but were super easy to make! I served Guiness, Ginger ale, and Irish Breakfast tea, also. For dessert, I made black bean brownies and I must say they were pretty yummy for a flour-free dessert. I would like to try these using Stevia instead of sugar sometime. Our friends also brought side dishes to share, which always makes dinner parties so much more fun! They contributed potatoes, carrots, turnips au' gratin, and soda bread with Irish butter.
We had a lovely evening celebrating one of my favorite holidays with our friends and their families-a special night!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

A Gray Day


I woke up to sunshine, blue skies and feeling motivated to do some housework in preparation for a St. Paddy's day dinner party we are having tomorrow evening. My hubby woke up early, too so we decided to finish watching a tv series that we had rented before jumping into the chores. Alas, by the time the show was over and we had done a little yard work, the weather had turned and it was starting to rain. I managed to unload and re-load the dishwasher but that is about all I have accomplished today-serious case of the blah's. I have just allowed myself to go with it and laid around on the couch finishing a book my son asked me to read (Flawed Dogs) and watching last night's episode of What Not to Wear.
The photo of the day shows you the view from our living room window-you can see how gray and cloudy it is. No wonder I have the blahs! The temperature has dropped to about 41 and there is a fire going in the fireplace. I think that I will attempt to clean the kitchen, living room and dining room since this is basically all one common area and the place where everyone will be tomorrow night and then call it a day. I'll need to be up and off to the grocery store at the crack of dawn, so cleaning a little bit tonight will give me a head start on what I'll have left to do.

Game Night-Fri. POD

After a long week of make-up classes at work, meetings at school, and rainy days I was ready for girlz game night! There were not many of us who could make it, but we still had a fun time laughing and carrying on. The game of the night was Scattergories...

Friday, March 12, 2010

D. A. R.-POD 3/11/10






Yesterday, my daughter, was presented an award by the Daughters of the American Revolution Kuykendal Chapter in Flat Rock, NC. She won an essay contest about the Transcontinental Railroad for all of the 7th grade students in our district. Her essay was from the perspective of one of the Chinese laborers. She had to go to their meeting and read her essay to the members. This was a pretty exciting and nerve-wracking experience for her but she did a great job answering questions and "schmoozing" with the little ladies who were at the meeting.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Flat Rock Playhouse

Today, I went on a field trip with the Middle School to the Flat Rock Playhouse. We are so fortunate to have this wonderful theatre company in our backyard! The Youtheatre group performed School House Rock Live and it was so very entertaining. Several of my old students were in it so of course, it's more fun to see people you know perform.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

School Daze

Today was all about school stuff. I had a Spring Fling task force committee meeting from 10:00-11:00 that ended up in a site visit for two locations we are considering for this fundraiser. That was followed by a lunch where we brainstormed possible sponsors for this event. So until 1:00 I was tied up with school stuff and then had to rush to make my 1:30-2:15 dance class. I picked up the kids from school, had less than 2 hours with them at home before I had to head back to school for a 5:00 Spring Fling group meeting, followed by our school PTC meeting at 6:00! Yikes! After the meeting, a few of the members went to West 1st for dinner. I've just gotten home and I am dog-tired and have to drive for a school field trip at 8:30 in the morning! It may seem that I am "complaining" about the school daze, but really I feel blessed to be a part of a school that welcomes parent involvement and I am also thankful that my schedule allows me to be a part of my children's lives!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Sunshine Day


The wonderful thing about this "sunshine day" is that it was actually warm enough to open up the front door and allow some fresh air to come in! It got up to 60 degrees here today-WONDERFUL. The snow is melting out of the yard but I didn't find any crocus shoots just yet. The Farmer's Almanac is still calling for another big snow this month so I am going to enjoy this warmth and sunshine while it lasts...

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Super Sunday

What a fun day! Libby and I went to Asheville to visit a bead shop we had been wanting to go to and we had lunch at Doc Chey's. Next, we went to Pier One to get a gift card for a friend's housewarming party, and while in the shopping center decided to run in the shoe store because Libby needed some new athletic shoes. Her feet are finally growing! On our way back to town and to the party, we received a phone call from hubby to meet he and Tripp at the Biltmore Grande cinema for Alice in Wonderland. We got there a little after 4:00 and ended up having to purchase tickets for the 5:05 showing, so we did that and were then corralled into another line to wait for them to begin seating about 4:35. The movie was wonderful! Apparently, it is having a record weekend. I loved the costuming in this film, so fantastical.

Happy 60th, Dianne! POD-Saturday

One of my dear friends, Dianne (on far R), celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday. Her sweet hubby threw an awesome party at Camp Rockmont in Black Mountain. This camp is the site of the Lake Eden Arts Festival which she was a huge part of for years. LEAF is one of the events my family looks forward to each year and luckily, it happens twice a year!

Now back to Dianne...she is the 2nd grade teacher at my children's school and since both of my children had her back to back we got to know each other really well and our friendship has just grown over the years to the point that she feels like part of the family. We all love her! Dianne is also one of the people who made our trip to Europe last year possible since she offered to stay with our kids and play grandma knowing we didn't really have anyone else who was able to watch them. For that we will be eternally grateful!

I was so glad that the sickness earlier in the week didn't cause me to miss celebrating this special lady! Happy Birthday Dianne!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Spring Cleaning

After a good night's sleep, I awoke feeling somewhat normal again. I took Tripp to school, but kept Libby home one more day. I also decided early to cancel my make up classes because I am still contagious. According to the CDC page about stomach viruses, you are still contagious for 3 days after your symptoms subside and up to 2 weeks after! No wonder this spreads like wildfire. I have still felt a bit dizzy off and on and have had a dull headache, but I didn't let that prevent me from getting a jump start on some spring cleaning. I felt like my entire house needed to be sanitized after this week. So, I did some laundry and folded it while watching more television. I scrubbed all of the bathrooms and had my hubby pick up some Lysol to spray down the couches and some other areas. I also cleaned the kitchen. I got a lot accomplished even though I had been so sick just 24 hours before but decided it was best to lay low and rest some more and also not expose any of my students to it. I love them too much to have them spread it around their families-it was not fun!

Here are some of my favorite sites for household upkeep to aide you in your Spring Cleaning.
Spring Cleaning by Martha
Spring Cleaning tips from Caldrea and a cool starter set for sale!
General Household and de-cluttering plan by FlyLady
Wishing you all a sunny weekend!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Poor Pitiful Me

Wow, I have really had a lazy day! I laid on the couch for hours on end watching shows I never get to watch. Libby, who was still home from school due to her illness even watched the movie, Fame with me at one point. I finally did manage to get some food in around 2:oo or 3:00 and sometimes, good ole' Campbell's soup is just what the doctor ordered. Needless, to say this stomach flu caused me to jump-start my weight loss plan, but ohhh I would much rather have done it the right way! I have lost 6 pounds since Monday morning's weigh in...not healthy, I know, but I just couldn't eat and what I did came right back up. This situation reminds me of an hilarious scene in The Devil Wears Prada where one of the characters says she is just one stomach flu away from her ideal dress size. So funny!
Even in this pitiful state, I still managed to get a picture of the day. I'll be off to bed soon and I am hoping I feel 100% better by morning!

Feeling Queasy-POD Wed.

I woke up Wednesday morning to find that Libby had been hit with the stomach bug around 12:00a.m. My hubby was still up so he helped her out and she rested on the couch going into the bathroom each time she needed to without disturbing us! She even wrote down the times she got up and the details. Amazing! Her last bout was about 8:00a.m. and from that point forward I was feeling quite queasy all day myself. School was still out due to all the snow we got so that was one less thing to worry about. I took it easy, canceled my afternoon classes, and drank gingerale and ate oyster crackers when I felt nauseous. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent me from being hit (violently) with it about 8:00p.m. I have never felt so ill with a stomach flu. I was so dizzy I thought I was going to pass out on the bathroom floor. A cold rag is what saved me.
I want go into all the horrid details....

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Snow Day

Woke up knowing that school would be canceled due to impending snow. Jim and I watched a little tv (some back episodes of the final season of Battlestar Galactica which he somehow convinced me to watch with him). I weighed in for the morning to discover that I was down about 2 pounds already! Nothing like seeing some movement on the scales in the first day to keep you on track.
Libby and I got in the hot tub and soaked while the snow was falling all around us. So beautiful. Then we came in and showered off and gave ourselves pedicures. Tripp was busy playing with the neighbor's grandson during all this "girl time".
As the day wore on, I started looking through old photos and was feeling really drawn to scrapbook some traditional pages. These were photos from 2003 and earlier...all of our printed out pictures before we got our first digital camera. It was so fun to look back through them but made me a little sad at the same time because the kids were sooooo little in these pictures. What great memories we've made!
Now, for the food part of the day:

Breakfast-
coffee w/FF creamer and Stevia
2 fried eggs with melted Golden cheshire cheese on top of a bed of spinach

Snacks (morning and afternoon)-
Almonds
Cheese

Lunch-
Sauteed spinach, onion, mushrooms, with turkey and jack cheese melted on top

Dinner-
Salad w/leftover salmon and pecan crumbles and Thousand Island dressing (sounds gross, but it is yummy)

Will also have my nightly treat of a low-carb fudgesicle

I am proud of myself for not having any of the Dove Double Fudge chocolate brownies my daughter made today!
Just to finish out my post from yesterday, I'll give you my snacks and meals for the rest of Monday.

Mid-morning snack:
almonds and a piece of string cheese

Lunch:
Turkey swiss rolls w/avocado
glass of V-8 (I didn't have any salad greens or spinach left and I needed more veggies)

Dinner:
Salmon
Peas
Carrots (not supposed to eat on phase 1 of South Beach, but I did anyway)

After dinner snack:
almonds
cheese
Low-carb fudgesicle

Monday, March 1, 2010

A Healthy Start


They say, "March roars in like a lion and goes out like a lamb". That has definitely got to be my attitude for the month. I am turning 40 on the 29th and my focus for the month is on getting healthy. Spring is around the corner so adding in some outdoor exercise time is something I am looking forward to. I typically eat very healthy and limit my carbs, but for some reason I have consumed more bread and baked goods in the month of February than I think I did for the entire year of 2009! There is a new bakery in town that everyone is in love with and we've had so many celebrations and get-togethers in February that I think we've all lost control a little bit. That being said, I am back to eating a very low-carb diet. For the next two weeks, I will follow the South Beach diet as best as I can. I have a big birthday bash to attend for a friend this weekend so I will give myself a day off on Saturday but will do my best to stick with it except for a little wine that evening. I stepped on the scale and to my dismay I now need to make it 15 lbs. to lose instead of 10! Yikes! I'll keep you posted with daily totals and my menu. This blog will be how I hold myself accountable.

To start the day:
1/2 caff coffee w/FF creamer and Stevia
a two egg omelet w/spinach, garlic, and jack cheese
a glass of low sodium V-8