Dear Jennifer Hudson (Week 7)

Dear Jennifer Hudson,

What's up girlfriend!?

This past week my family and I ventured to the "Sin City"...Las Vegas. In all truthfulness, I wasn't too sinful during our stay there.

In an effort to be budget conscious, and diet conscious, I had packed our breakfast, our lunch, and our road-trip snacks for the first day of our trip. That worked out really well.

But then, once dinner time came, everyone wanted to eat at a Vegas buffet, and so that is where we dined.

I was NOT perfect. But I could have done SO much worse! I had 2 plates of food (which sounds worse than it was)...I put a little of everything that looked good to me, on my plate...which I know is not smart.

BUT, this is what my plate looked like when I was done with them....



My eyes were bigger than my stomach...and truth be told, the food wasn't even that good...and so after having a single bite of everything, I was completely full.

I'm sure that even with having a single bite of everything, I probably used 100 WW points, lol...but still, in the past, I could have done SO much more damage at an all-you-can-eat-buffet!

The 2nd temptation came at the end of that same night. We were only going to be spending 1 night in Vegas, and since Rick and the kiddos were exhausted by 8pm, and I'm not used to falling asleep until after 10:00pm, I had concocted a plan in my head to go "live it up" ('PG' style) in Vegas after everyone had fallen asleep. But when the time came to make my exit, the whirlwind of Vegas had subsided, and reason began to set in. I knew that if I stayed up...and left the hotel room...2 things would happen:

1. I would spend money.

2. I would consume more calories.

I had no burning desire to do either of those things any longer. So, I was "boring" and joined my family in sleepy slumber.

The final meal we consumed on our trip, was breakfast at Serendipity. I don't think you know this about me, but I am a total sucker for unique restaurants, and impressively plated food! A special dining experience is one of my very favorite things to experience in life. (That MIGHT have something to do with the fact that I'm chubby, lol.) The dining experience at Serendipty was SUPER fun, and they had beautiful and impressive food coming out of their kitchen! They are famous for their Frozen Hot Chocolate, and even though it was breakfast, other customers were partaking in the treat...and we did too!



I had a really hard time deciding what to eat for my actual meal. And not because I was weighing the options of being "good" or "bad" on my diet. I had thrown that debate out of the window when I walked into the restaurant! But even still, there were so many intriguing options! And finally, after consulting with our waitress, I ended up ordering the Banana Cream Waffles!



Sandwiched between (and on top of) 2 waffles, were sliced bananas, and the most DE-licious cream! The taste of the cream resembled that of typical whipped cream, but it was oh so much more than that! The consistency was just slightly softer than a pudding, or something like that. SOOOO good! And you can never go wrong with a touch of chocolate sauce and added berries to your breakfast! I ate WAY too much of it though...I was full long before I finished what I ate. And still, I had almost half of it left to bring back to the hotel for my husband (who got to sleep-in while the kids and I were out for breakfast)....



We got back from Vegas on Friday evening. And as usual, the day after I have eaten poorly, is a real struggle for me to get back on my diet. Something in my brain tells me that I want more, more, more of the sugar, and fat. Again, I wasn't perfect, but I didn't totally abandon my diet either.

But by Sunday, I had my game face on again, and I joined my girlfriend in a challenge she is doing...30 days of no sugar. I most likely will only be joining her for 28 days, as my 10-year-wedding-anniversary-weekend-celebration falls on days 29 and 30 of this challenge, and I don't want to commit to not being able to eat a sugary something that weekend. ;0) But, I figure, even 28 days of no sugar can do this body good. :0)

This morning was my WW meeting, and I was expecting a decent weight gain due to my choices in Vegas. But the gain wasn't so bad. I am only up .4 pounds.

Considering that I had gained a full 4 pounds during my birthday celebration, I feel really good about a ".4" gain this week!

I'm looking forward to making a big (positive) change on the scale this week though!

Your biggest fan,
Elizabeth

Vegas Baby!

A little less than a month ago, we got a call from Rick's brother Doug letting us know that he was vacationing in Las Vegas with his girlfriend, and he was inviting us to join them. Rick's other brother Scot comes out to visit us in San Diego about once a year...but we haven't seen Rick's brother Doug since he came out to visit us when Wyatt was 4 weeks old...which was exactly 7 years ago...which means he has barely met Wyatt, and he has literally never met Beatrice.

Between Rick's opposition to flying on an airplane, and the cost to fly all 4 of us to Rick's hometown in the state of Indiana, we RARELY get to see Rick's family. :0(

So, when we got the call that Doug was going to be in Vegas, there was NO question as to whether we would meet up with him there...we.were.SO.there.

Las Vegas + Children = No bueno...but we were still going to go for a short time. Rick got a night off from work...and we booked a room at The Excalibur for $28...SCORE!

This was our first road trip as a family, and I thought it went GREAT! After all was said and done, I gave the kids a grade of 85% in the car...but Rick gave them a 70%, lol. He reminded me that we left our house at 6am, and after being on the road for a little over an hour, the kids were already asking for their packed lunches at 7am, lol. And then he reminded me that Wyatt asked us (literally) every 20 minutes, how much longer we had left to go. But, I then reminded Rick, that when we answered Wyatt's question, he had a joyful response every single time...even when we were stuck in traffic for over an hour...

Wyatt: How much time do we have left?

Me: 4 hours.

Wyatt: GREAT!

20 minutes later...

Wyatt: How much longer do we have to go?

Me: Still 4 hours.

Wyatt: Excellent mom!

20 minutes later...

Wyatt: How much longer now?

Me: STILL 4 hours.

Wyatt: Wow! We are making GREAT time!

HAHAHAHAHA! You can't penalize a kid for a positive attitude! :0)

After a five and half hour drive, lots of snacking, and just one bathroom break, we finally arrived at our hotel...



We immediately met up with Doug, and his girlfriend Deb (not pictured...SO bummed I didn't get a good picture of this lovely lady)...



And then we set out to walk "The Strip"...



We had such a great time looking at all of the beautiful hotels on the outside...







...and on the inside...







It was so much fun browsing through all of the stores...



Although, things turn a little sour when mom makes you pose for a picture after you've just been told that we aren't buying anything in this store...



And one of the most interesting parts of walking The Strip was seeing all of the "characters". When we first started walking, I caught a glimpse of Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street pretty far away from where we were. I was SO excited...I figured they must be in Vegas promoting something...I HAD to get the kid's picture with them! But after I flagged them down, I soon realized that the situation looked better when we were farther away. These were totally knock-off Bert & Ernie's...AND they had a donation jar in their hand...BOOOOOO! But since I had made such a comotion about getting their attention (DORK!), I felt obligated to still pay the piper, and get the picture. Neither of the kids wanted to pose with Bert and Ernie, but FORTUNATELY I got my more agreeable child to buck-up and take the picture, lol...



It turned out that there was nothing unique about Bert & Ernie traveling The Strip. There were TONS of characters and mock celebrities posing for pictures...with their money cans...with their half lit cigarette...and with their nearly empty bottles of booze. Apparently, this is how the homeless people make their living in Las Vegas now. Minnie Mouse, Garfield, Sonic The Hedgehog, Buzz Lightyear, and Bumble Bee from the Transformers, never looked so TORE UP! We only gave into the temptation of characters one more time...but what can I say!?...this guy is ALWAYS cool!...





After walking The Strip for a couple of hours, Rick and Doug got to spend some time together solo, and I took the littles back up to our hotel room. We had such a great view from our room...





But the kids could care less about our view. There were beds to be jumped on...



...pillow fights to be had...



...wrestling matches to be won...





...and gravity to be fought...









The kids had worked up quite an appetite, and so when the guys came back to the room, we were all ready for a Vegas buffet! But more about that in a different post. ;0)

We ended the night by playing for a little bit in the arcade...



...but then everyone was pretty exhausted from the day's adventures, and we were all in bed by 8pm for the Valentine episode of Wipeout on TV. :0)

I wish the kids had been so tired enough that they actually slept in the next morning...but that wasn't the case. In fact, the idea of sleeping in a new place had them up and excited even earlier then they usually wake up. They were up for good at 5:30 am. :0(

By 7am, their antsy pantsy excitement bought them a breakfast date with me, while Daddy got to sleep a little bit longer. :0)

It was a win-win...seriously. I had been so eager to eat at this restraunt, and the other adults weren't interested the day before, so this was my chance! We were off to Serendipity at Cesars Palace. :0)



The place was super fun!



And I had the cutest dates!





Serendipity is famous for their frozen hot chocolate...we chose the oreo flavor...yes, even at breakfast...





This meal together was definitely a highlight of the trip. :0)



And before we knew it...after we spent a few more hours with "Uncle Doug" & Deb, our 24 hour adventure in Vegas had come to an end, and it was time to get back on the road.

Five and half hours, no bathroom break, a couple of rounds of the alphabet searching game, and even more snacking, we were back home!

Dear Jennifer Hudson (Week 6)

Dear Jennifer Hudson,

This past week was the first week since I can remember that I didn't have any plans for "special eating." At the beginning of the year, I thought that I only had one baby shower to go to early in this year, and then there wouldn't be any distractions from my diet until my cousin's wedding in May. I was wrong. Not only had I forgotten about a few events, but in these last few weeks, new events have been orchestrated.

I'm just going to have to work through them...like I do every other day...dieting is a choice. Every day I make a choice...every meal I make a choice...every bite I make a choice.

I thought for sure this week was going to be easy though, since I didn't have a single event on the calendar. I was going to be determined and steadfast.

But then PMS set in. :0(

I didn't deter from the plan though...I chose not to deter from my goals. It's just that for a 48 hour time frame, it wasn't "easy" to be on a diet...in fact it was very hard.

And then there was the Superbowl. Rick and I purposely didn't make any plans because I didn't want a diet-distraction. But as soon as the game started, something came over me...I went into the kitchen and made BROWNIES! :-0

I was shocked at my lack of self control in making them. (Seriously, when am I going to stop being shocked? This was such an "Elizabeth" thing to do.)

But luckily, God is strong...when I am not.

EVERYONE should be shocked to hear that Rick and I both were satisfied with eating just ONE brownie...and after giving the kids each one also, we threw away the rest. :-0 They were SO good...but they were SO rich! I couldn't have eaten more than 1!

So that's about it for my week. My weigh-in today went GREAT! I am down another 3.4 pounds this week, for a 6 week total of 15.6 pounds...I'm SUPER HAPPY with my progress! :0)

Your Biggest Fan,
Elizabeth

P.S. Why don't you ever write me back!?

That's What He/She Said

I surprisingly didn't take many pictures of our adventures this past week. :0( And without a picture to remind me of our happenings, I can't even really remember what we did last week, LOL! Yep, I have the worst memory EVER!

However...I did make sure to bring out my camera on Friday and Saturday. And boy am I glad I did!

I will preface this post by saying, that on Friday, I brought Beatrice over to my sister's house so she could have fun with the little girls, while I got to take all of the boys on a trolley ride Downtown to watch the San Diego Symphony. After the symphony, we went back to Jenni's house for a little fun altogether, and then the kids and I brought Zachary (one of my nephews) home with us for a sleepover.

When I pulled the pictures off of my camera yesterday, I was laughing so hard at all of the random pictures!! In most cases, the images totally speak for themselves...

"We are waiting for the trolley...what do you THINK we are going to do with this rock!?"



"Yep, Climb it!"



"One minute, I am 'on top of the world', having the BEST time of my life..."



"...And the next minute, I am riding on a trolley, reading the paper, and carrying the weight of that world on my shoulders."



"30 minutes late for a 60 minute field trip...but we made it!!!"



"This is SO boring...I'm having the WORST time at the symphony!"



"...No, I am having the WORST time at the symphony!"



"I am having the best time EVER!!!"



"We had fun too!!!"



Brady- "Yep, this still isn't fun!"...Martin- "I told you guys, I was NOT going to be in this picture!"



Brady- "Oh great, now you are giving me a headache!"...Zack- "Are you sure this isn't where I put my trash?"...Wyatt- "Still having the best day EVER!"



"I'm so glad you guys are back to our house...Auntie, did you notice my shirt?"



"Rootbeer floats only ADD to my great day!"



"This rootbeer float is easing the pain from having to sit through 3 songs at the symphony."



"I don't just want a rootbeer float...I'll take a lemon cookie too, please."



"Wow! Waffles for dinner!?"



"Twins!!!"



Wyatt- "Could my eyes BE any bigger!?"...Zack- "Could my eyes BE any smaller!?"



"A moment of peace without our older brothers."



"We are easily distracted."