We started the landscaping on our yard today. We are putting in a little “retaining wall” in front of the house. It’s probably around 6 inches high, and we’re just using it to hold the mulch in and make things look cleaner. It will also be easier to weed-eat around the flower garden. We are also going to put up a little retaining wall around our imaginary dogwood tree (which we hope to plant this weekend). The walls should be finished today, and this weekend we’ll hopefully get some dirt and maybe mulch to fill in the bed. It won’t be long before we have some beautiful flowers growing! Keep checking back to the gallery for updated pictures.

3 weeks after I started my new diet, I am T – 13lbs and counting! I am so excited! To be honest, after about the first week, I quit writing down all of my calories every day. I have a pretty good grasp on how much a serving size is, and how many calories are in most foods. After the first week, I realized that, for the most part, if I only eat one serving of things, I keep under my calorie limit (and often have room for a bowl of ice cream in the evening!). You have no idea how good it felt to get on the scale this morning and see that I am back down to where I was a year ago — after only 3 weeks! I’m telling you, this is an easy diet plan! I am not starving myself. I often have popcorn or apples for snacks, and I can still have a bit of chocolate. The main thing I am learning from this is the difference between “not hungry” and “full” after a meal. I used to eat until I was “full.” Now, I have one serving, and if I still feel hungry, I drink some water. Half an hour or an hour later, if I’m still hungry, I’ll get an apple or some popcorn. More often than not, I’m not really hungry. I’m just not “full.” I’ve also learned to quit eating out of boredom (that stems from having to write down everything I eat). I know that if I eat while I’m bored, I’ll have to skip out on some dinner or dessert later in the day. One of the great things about this plan is the reward. When I’ve done well, I can allow myself to have a soda or some dessert. It feels great!

We got a new puppy! We got her Saturday, February 11, 2006. She was born on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 (that makes her about 10 1/2 weeks old today). She is a rat terrier, and is as cute as can be! I took her to the vet on Monday, and she has a clean bill of health and weighed 3lb, 6oz. I can tell she’s already grown since then, though. She loves to play with her toys (loves chewing on everything she can get her mouth on) and chase Kat. She and Kat are really cute together. Storm will pounce on Kat and grab a clump of fur, and then Kat will turn around and chase her. Then, Kat will turn back around and get Storm to chase him again! It is really cute to watch those two interact.

As for our dalmation, Jake…he hates puppies. We are having to teach Jake some tolerance. He is okay as long as Storm leaves him alone, but he growls a lot when she comes near. We try to keep Storm away from Jake for the most part, and we scold Jake a little when he starts giving more than a little “warning growl.”

It is difficult to manage dividing our time between a rambunctious puppy and 2 relatively calm adult animals. I think we’re figuring it out, though.

We are trying to teach Storm how to ring a bell anytime she needs to go out as part of her housebreaking. Wish us luck on that!

There are pics in the gallery. Enjoy!

I’ve been doing very well at keeping track of what I eat and how many calories I consume. I’ve actually been averaging around 1300 calories a day! Writing everything down is great because it deters me from getting seconds or candy bars. After 1 week, I weighed in at 10.5 pounds less than one week before! I know that was probably water weight and my body will get used to the new diet plan, but it is still exciting to see any progress!

Okay, so after the holidays and the cruise, I stepped on the scale and gasp I have gained 12 pounds!! For the past few years, I’ve been struggling with my weight a bit, and I always start exercising more and start eating healthier…for a while. This time is it! I’m going to lose 32 pounds, and I’m giving myself 8 months to do it (that’s a pound a week). Here’s my diet plan:

Counting Calories

Yes, you heard me. I’m going to be a label reader. I read that, per day, it takes 12 calories per pound to maintain your weight. So, I calculated how many calories it will take to maintain my goal weight, and that is how many calories I’m allowing myself to eat each day. I don’t think it will be a huge cutback in what I eat. Nay, I believe that it is a habit I can get into for the rest of my life. I don’t plan on this being a crash diet or anything. I’m going to slowly get down to my ideal weight and hopefully stay there.

I am keeping a binder in my kitchen. Here’s the plan:

The front section is loose leaf paper. On this I am writing down how many calories certain foods have. i.e. 1 egg=75 calories, or 8oz. Dr. Pepper=100 calories. As I fill up sheets of paper, I’ll type them up and alphabetize for quick reference.

The back section is my daily food journal. I am keeping track of exactly what and how much of each food I eat, and how many calories that is. For instance, this morning I had 3/4 cup of Total cereal, 1 cup of 2% milk, 1/2 grapefruit with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 4 oz of orange/pineapple juice. At the end of the day I will total up how many calories I’ve consumed (including snacks and drinks). At the top of the page today (my first day of the new diet), I wrote down my weight. I weighed myself this morning right after I got up. Every 6 mornings or so I will weigh myself to track my progress.

After work today, I plan on hitting the grocery store for snacks. I know I will feel hungry on smaller portions, so I am going to stock up on greens, carrots, and fruits to help get me through the day. Also, I am now carrying around a bottle of water to drink anytime I feel hungry — just to make sure I really am hungry. Another trick I heard of that I’ll try is brushing my teeth when I get a craving. We’ll see if that one works.

As a side note, I also take a multivitamin and calcium every day to make up for what I don’t get in my diet. I’ve been in that habit for several months now.

Everyone knows that with diet, you need exercise. Starting last night, Justin and I are doing crunches and push ups during commercial breaks while we watch television. I always have down time at work, so I decided that’s a great time to stretch and do leg lifts. And, of course, Dalmation Jake always helps me with my aerobics. He gets upset if he doesn’t get walked daily. I just have to work on how briskly I walk.

Well, that’s my new lifestyle plan. I hope it works! I’ll keep you updated on my progress.