My FIRST Guest Blogger!

While I never get tired of listening to myself (LOL), I figured it would be fun for my readers to have a change of pace. :0) I am hoping to have at least 1 guest blogger per month. January wasn't a difficult month at all to find a guest blogger...after all, it's the first month in a year, and (most) everyone seems to be focused on slimming down. I thought it would be fitting to have my #1 (girl) be my first guest blogger!

My sister Jenni didn't include any pictures in her blog post, so here are just a few that I will showcase. She is pictured on the right in all photos below...











And in true Chubby Diaries fashion...



Look for her post entitled, "I REFUSE TO BE THE FAT SISTER!"

I REFUSE TO BE THE FAT SISTER!

My name is Jenni, but many of you already know me as Elizabeth’s #1 (jealous?)…lol

Sticking to the theme of the chubby diary, I will introduce you to the beginning of my weight loss journey. I must let you know that I really hate that I even have to lose weight. The majority of my weight gain came from having 3 kids in the last 4 ½ years. It just doesn’t seem fair! Why can’t I be one of those Mom’s that “snaps back into shape” after having kids? From my first 2 pregnancies I kept on 20lbs, and with my daughter, I’m embarrassed to say I never even lost her birth weight! In my mind (and according to the scale) I have at least 43 lbs to lose from all 3 pregnancies.
While I have tried some diets here and there, exercised here and there, I have not lost a single pound in the last 9 months. I started Marathon training back in November…I have not lost a single pound. UGH! Meanwhile, my 2 older sisters have gotten more focused, and MORE motivated and have been putting in the sweat and hours at the gym and dieting to melt the pounds away and look AMAZING! My whole life I’ve always been the little sister, but for much of my life I have also been the thinnest sister. I came to realize that as my sisters were losing the weight, and looking great, I was do nothing and getting NO WHERE fast! So that’s my motivation…to look better than my sisters (I’m so mean)…LOL! We will all be going on vacation with each other (along with my Mom) in about 4 months. I REFUSE to be the fat one in the picture. I REFUSE to be the fat one in the bathing suit. I want us ALL to look good, and feeeeel good!

So what am I doing to lose the weight? (drum roll please) MEDIFAST! You do need to buy their food though (and enough for 30 days). I eat 5 of their meals a day, and then 1 lean and green. The lean and green consists of chicken/steak/or fish and then 2-3 cups of green vegetables. In the first week I lost…(another drum roll please)…7 lbs.!!! I love not having to choose my own food throughout the day (like on Weight Watchers). I have SO MUCH energy now that I’m not indulging on sugar and carbs. The diet has been pretty easy so far as long as I’m at home. Going to Disneyland was tough, going out to eat is tough, but I stayed strong (barely). I’m excited to see what more weight I lose in the next 3 weeks!

Bring.It.On.

So my girlfriend Katie signed up to do the 6 week weight loss challenge at her YMCA. For a fee, you will compete in teams, Biggest Loser style, for 6 weeks to lose the most weight. You workout with a personal trainer twice a week, and you meet with a nutritionalist who is on-call to assist you throughout the entire 6 weeks. I did not sign up for this callenge. My Y doesn't offer it. And I'm too cheap to pay for it anyway, LOL! HOWEVER, I told my friend that she is getting a 2 for 1...I'm gonna compete against her! I consider it research for my blog, HAHAHAHA! So here we go...Week 1 baby!

Be ready to feel good about yourself, here is my before picture (EEEEK!)...



Katie's goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 6 weeks...I suppose that means that I will be losing at least 21 pounds! ;0)

When the LONG becomes the SHORT

We are in the 12th week of marathon training...I can't believe it! The time has just FLOWN BY! When we started the training 3 months ago, "3 miles" was the LONG run. I think there was an occassional 1.5 mile run in the begining, and up until this week, there was a 2 and a 2.5 mile run thrown in there as well. Those days are no more. From here on out, there is nothing less than a 3 mile run! The 3 mile run is now the short run, and the long run this week is a 6 miler. I'm stoked to conquer that! I have always been comfortable running 3 miles, but I am now getting into a territory that I had panicked about when I browsed the entire schedule in the begining of all this. I have no doubts about participating (and completeting) the marathon itself, but for some reason the upcoming 8 mile run and the 20 mile run on the schedule have always freaked me out. I'm begining to have faith that I will be able to run the 8 miles comfortably, but the 20 mile (and many of the runs in the teens, for that matter) seem unreachable to me. But, as always, I will just keep plugging along, and have faith in the training program.

This past week was difficult and exciting all at the same time. As I mentioned in a previous post, Beatrice has been sick with a cold. She had a fever early on in the week that only lasted 24 hours, but she has a nasty cough and other cold syptoms that are hanging on, so I can't bring her to the childcare at the gym (or to church, waaa!). I have only made it to the gym 1x in the last week (and that was when my hunny could watch the kiddos). However, I rocked my runs old-school style this week. I busted out the double jogger and made it happen. Luckily, all of the runs last week were 3 miles, and Beatrice came with me on every one of them! I was able to do the hills fine, and it was so thrilling to have a new challenge. And then, on Saturday, I decided to let Rick sleep in, and I took BOTH kids in the double jogger and did my 3 mile run. This was A LOT harder! I had to be referee a few times, and Wyatt adds quite a bit of weight to the run! (Not that he is a chunker, it's just that he's 6!) But, despite the added "bonuses" I was able to run the ENTIRE 3 MILES non-stop! This was something I was 100% unable to do just 3 months ago!

I LOOOOOVE experiencing cool changes like that!!! :0)

Cupcakes, and Cookies, and Ribs, Oh My!

Nothing like a fatty weekend to crush your weight loss spirits! I wish I could just go to a party or gathering and not indulge. I wish I could be one of those skinny people who just puts salad on their plate, and passes at the opportunity to eat a piece of celebratory cake. I am not that person. It was so much easier when I was fasting. I was contracted to God to not eat. Now, I'm only contracted to myself, and believe it or not, I'm not as important as God! ;0)

This weekend I had a Bridal Shower sugar cookie order, and I love to eat me some scraps...



On Saturday, I went to an adorable baby shower. The food was GREAT! I have never eaten at "Chick-Fil-A" before, and at the shower they had some little "Chick-Fil-A" tenders with an incredible sweet tangy sauce on the side! There was also my favorite drink EVER...Strawberry Lemonade! And then...the cupcakes! They were every bit as delicious as they looked! They were so stinkin' cute, and they were soooooo GOOD! It was a homemade strawberry cake (with homemade strawberry jam) with a strawberry whipped frosting, that also had the homemade strawberry jam. Have I mentioned that they were good!?







After the baby shower my dad had us over for dinner to celebrate my cousin being in town from NYC. The food was A-MA-ZING! My dad grilled up some incredible baby back ribs, my stepmom made some great mashed red potatoes, and I brought the most delicious brownies from scratch for dessert! I found a bag of mint chocolate chips, and I threw those in the batter as well. Sooo GOOD...and yet sooo BAD (for me)!



I guess there is always tomorrow (which is today...and today?...so far so good!)

JUICY...burger?

In true chubby diaries fashion, when the topic of "Juicy" would come up, I would normally be referring to a Juicy Cheese Burger (on a "bad" day), or a Juicy piece of watermelon (on a "good" day)...but on a birthday the only Juicy I'll be blogging about is, Juicy...as in "Couture"!

I have never been a labels kind of gal. Especially in the last 2 years when necessity has been the key to survival, I have chosen "generic", or "left overs", or "Hand Me Downs" over any name brand. And in particular, with regard to accessories I am the lamest of them all! I very RARELY remember to wear jewelry, and since I am a mom on the go, I for-go a purse, and rock a "Jansport" backpack like nobody's business! (How's that for name dropping!?)

My family makes fun of me on a regular basis for sporting the backpack, but I don't care, I can hold my own...and seriously, it's just so practical.

But, with all things in life, the seasons are changing. :0) As Beatrice is growing up, we are done with pretty much all things baby...diapers, wipes, bibs, sippy cups, etc. My need for a large bag that can be worn on my back, is no longer there! For the last month or so, I have put away my Jansport backpack, and have now been using the only purse I own...its a generic, fairly small, little black purse that was handed down to me by a co-worker about 10 years ago. It has been fun and feminine to be carrying a purse again. :0)

But over the weekend, my brother surprised me with $30 worth of lottery ticket scratchers for my birthday, and I ended up winning over $100...it was SO thrilling!!! And in a moment of "Un-Elizabeth", I decided to combine my winnings with some of the birthday cash and gift cards that were given to me, and I not only bought a new purse, but a matching wallet too!!!



I absolutely LOOOOVED the purse yesterday, and while it's really neat to have an item that is considered to be "cool", this morning I feel a little bit like, "I really should have given the money to a homeless person...or, I could have put this money towards stuff for our family...or.......

But, I'm sure eventually I will start believing the inscription in my purse that states that "I am the fairest of them all", and everything will be right in the JUICY world! ;0)

More Party To Be Had

After Saturday's big party, I thought the celebrating was done. I was moving in to "hostess" mode. My in-laws had arrived earlier in the week, and becuase there was still much to be done with party preparations (and I had to work 2 of the 5 days they were here), I left the guest-entertaining to my hunny and the kiddos. I got 3 hours of sleep on Sunday morning, and then we were off to breakfast at IHop! The waitress messed up my order, and instead of returning the food that was put in front of me, I chose to enjoy the most delicious cinnamon roll french toast ever...YUM! We then hung out for most of the day, and then we tackled Costco for our dinner ingredients (and in true Costco fashion, I ended up buying $50 worth of product that I had no idea that I "needed" when we arrived.) I made the family an amazing dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and salad...but I didn't save room for the salad. :0) We stayed up late playing our usual "Brumbaugh's Tournament of Jenga Championship", and munched on some cinnamon apple pastries.

When I woke up on Sunday morning (after my party) I had only gained a half pound, but when I woke up on Monday, I had gained 5.5 pounds in just the one day!...YIPES! I hadn't exercised since the 5.5 mile run I did on Saturday morning, and I was determined to go to the gym...even if it was on my actual birthday! The kids and I took the last of the items back to the party rental place early on Monday morning, and when I came home real quick to drop the kids off with Rick, I was bombarded in my street by my sister Anna and my nephews who live in L.A.! I was shocked! I didn't know what was going on!? I didn't know what her plans were for me, but after I stopped crying (I was TIRED...I told you, I'm a total cry baby when I'm tired), I asked her if I could still go to the gym and get a workout in. She replied, "Absolutely NOT!" She proceeded to bring me inside my house, dress me up in "30" flare, and then had all of the kids hose me down with silly string!



Apparently she had been conspiring all week with my hunny to make this all happen. After she put a Starbucks coffee in my hand she said she needed to go back to L.A. in a couple of hours, but that she wanted to take us out for a quick breakfast first. Still in a whirlwind of disbelief that my morning was completely off schedule, I just went with it, and followed her to the restaurant. And yet again, I was 100% shocked to have my entire family yell "SURPRISE!" when I walked back to our table. At that point, I gave up on the notion that I was going to eat well on my birthday, and that I was going to burn many calories at the gym!









After breakfast, we left my family, and joined Rick's family at the Zoo. We did a lot of walking, but I was still feeling every pound I had gained. I know it's hard to find me in the next picture...I tend to blend in with the elephants...



After the zoo, we went home, and our guests went to their hotel so we could all get ready for dinner. They were taking us out! :0) We went to BJ's for dinner where Rick & I shared a small deep dish pizza, this time I made room for a salad, and then we all shared the "Pizookie" sampler for dessert!





Tuesday I was back to reality though...our guests left on a plane that morning, I had to be to work at 7:30am, Wyatt had hip-hop class and school, and unfortunately my Beetle came down with a cough and fever. Apparently the party had to end at some point. :0)