I am just trying to share more what we are eating and how we keep costs down.

I have to be clear that dh and I are not so much into hype and diet. WE are, as with anything, just into moderateness and reasonableness.

For one, I Am not going to stock up on organic produce to be healthy. Mostly I am very suspicious of how organic anything with an "organic" label is. So I am not one to rush out and pay double for the privelege of organic. If it meant that much to me I'd grow my own veggies.

Likewise, dh and I Are more likely to home cook our meals, and eat smaller portions. My dh is a stick and since we switched to primarily dining in since I became pregnant with our first child I think he lost a good 10 pounds+. (Not like he had any weight to lose).

Eating home is both healthier and cheaper than eating out. & it is quite simple. SO that is the extent we go to be healthy. We try to avoid junk food and prepackaged foods as much as possible. BUT we don't put a lot of thought into how healthy our food is. We don't count calories or only buy whole grains or go extreme in any direction.

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So with that said, last night dh made a beef/pasta casserole for dinner. IT was actually a briefly forgotten recipe that he had found. Hamburger pasta or something - is what it was called. Not the healthiest meal ever, but yummy and made LOTS of leftovers.

Dh ran out of penne pasta so he threw in some egg noodles to round out the pasta portion. Was fine with us.

We also had salad (prepackaged) with dinner. We really love those expensive salads that you mix together (like mexican salad is our favorite - you mix up the salad, chips, and salsa and dressing - yummy - divine). But dh only stocks up on those when they are on sale. Otherwise he just buys a giant bag of plain salad that we go through slowly.

Our kids LOVE salad. Don't ask me why -kind of weird. LOL. But one of the few veggies I can really stomach - lettuce. So we try to eat salad regularly. But yeah okay - we go prepackage there. IF food prices rise dramatically that is certainly one area we can change up a bit to save money - make our own salad. FOr now, call us lazy.

For dessert (Rare) we actually had some ice cream. We had some left over from the weekend. IT was the first night since Saturday the kids had really eaten their dinner and I had promised BM ice cream on Monday. But no dessert unless they eat most of their dinner.

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Today as I left for work the kids were eating granola bars for breakfast. (LOVE the nature valley granola bars - buy them on sale whenever/wherever. USually Walgreens or Target).

Dh doesn't do breakfast so probably saves us money there.

I just have my apple sauce, which is plenty for me.

For lunch dh will probably have leftovers, and the kids will have PBJ. That is just standard lucnch fare. They will probably have apples or grapes to round it out. They also both get one cup of juice a day. BM drinks whole juice but LM's we still water down.

With lunch they will drink water or milk. & they get a small cup of milk before nap time.

I am actually going out to lunch today, though we would have PLENTY leftovers otherwise. Meeting a friend at the buffet.

I assume dinner will be leftovers just because we have so much food.

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Oh yeah, with the rush of busy season over I Feel I have much more time.

Anyway, Tuesday I did go to aerobics (& got my butt kicked as usual). Last night we went for a walk around the lake. The walk was an hour with a leisurely stroll and a stop at the playground. I had guessed 1 mile, but I think it may be a little longer than that. Maybe something like 1.25. I need to re-measure one of these days. I have a pedometer I think which will give me an idea.

Tonight I will go by the gym on the way home. I think I have only been once or twice since I was so sick in February. Mostly just sick or little time, though with the nice weather have been doing much more outdoors. The gym is more for winter and summer when the outside is so extreme.

The thing that struck me when we joined the gym, and I hadn't thought of, was how plopping the kids in the gym daycare while we worked out was little help to them. Dh and I could maybe work out more efficiently, but then they would be less involved. So we try to do much more activity with the kids outdoors when the weather allows it.

I am going to aerobics Saturday and gym Sunday (ideally). We were going to do a small hike this weekend also if it is not too hot.

An active Monkey Mama is a happy Monkey Mama.

Plus I need to get in shape for Disneyland. !!! Will be LOTS of walking.

All the fat on my body and I am losing weight where I have no (minimal) fat. What gives with that???

I feel fitter and I think I look fitter, but the scale and my clothes show little difference. Oh well. I am sure it will take time.

Well, I should clarify that my pants aren't really feeling any loose and most of my weight is hips and waist I guess. In fact I am not a big person overall but my fat all seems to congregate in one place. (& more my waist too since my last baby).

So I put on a shirt yesterday on a whim that has been a tad on the tight side, and it hangs on me. Are you serious? I am losing wait in my upper body where I pretty much have no fat to begin with - LOL. It was funny because someone was just saying she hated losing weight because it all went from her breasts first. I didn't think much of it because I really don't have much up there, but she's right - it's all shrinking!!!! LOL.

I got pushed up a size or 2 in bras in the last couple of years so maybe my old stuff will start to fit. I guess I have gained weight overall up there, but you just can't really see it - hehe. What about my monster hips? Yeesh. My body is like a size 8 and my hips are like a size 16. So you know. Why is the size 8 part of my body shrinking????

We'll see how it goes I guess. I have to admit I have not put on my jeans in a couple of weeks. I should drag those out. I would probably notice a bit of a difference. My waist does seem a little tighter. As far as my work clothes, I don't know, they don't feel any looser...

Hallelujah.

I have been so frustrated with our auto insurance since we moved to Sacramento. I guess I could have never imagined that drivers could be so much worse in such a smaller metropolitan area than where we moved from. But they are! They are TERRIBLE DRIVERS! So our insurance went from like $600/year each to like double or something.

It has slowly been drifting down with time, but State Farm had a really good year (or 2 or 3) so issued dividend checks and lowered auto rates. We got about $130 in refunds and I JUST saw my auto renewal - $430 instead of $550 for 6 months. So so so cool! Woohoo. Dh's went from $420 (no collission) to $340 or something like that.

I was just crunching numbers, so his went down 19% and mine went down 22%.

Pretty sweet.

Considering I have a much newer, fully covered car. This is way more in line with what we were paying when we moved here 5 years ago.

Well I hope it stays that way.

There is a fight in California right now over whether insurance rates should be based on zip code or driving record. For now, zip code prevails more heavily but the government feels strongly that driving record should be more important. (I wish). State Farm announced earlier this year, to the press, they were changing to driving records over zip codes in California. They then quietly mentioned in the last newlsetter I received that "nevermind" on that. So I have no idea what is up. I geuss makes you wonder if the rate decreases are to appease the government or what. Either way the government is putting the crunch on them.

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In other news I guess I will get back on the weight loss bandwagon. I have mostly put an importance in getting back into shape and hoping the weight would follow.

In high school I Was in marching band. As well as a little in college. I ran all over campus taking stairs and all that in college as well as always going to the school gym and/or taking aerobics & yoga classes, etc. So whenever anyone talks about gaining weight in college I can't imagine. For me it was my first job. Sitting at a desk all day and working 12 hours a day, etc. isn't exactly conducive to exercise. HAving kids just destroyed me. I have tried at times to get into a free exercise routine like walking, but just haven't really had the means or time until now.

Anyway, I am excited at the prospect of getting my fit bod back.

I went to the gym Sunday and probably overdid it. I recovered Monday. Went to aerobics yesterday and starting to feel stronger I stepped it up a notch. I was so sore when I got home but the kids wanted to go to the park, so I walked. I must be crazy. On the other hand I carried LM a good chunk of the way and I do feel MUCH stronger overall. (I have been going to aerobics a little over 2 months).

I was worried that all this working out would make me hungry, and though the increased metabolism might help me a bit, that it might be hard to get my eating under control.

Instead I find the completel opposite. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Most days when I come home from aerobics I force myself to eat something because I am just not hungry. It is really weird. & I find the same. Not only am I less hungry but I crave soda less.

Dh was showing me some article about how soda was linked to certain diseases, and the researchers mentioned they weren't sure if it was a cause and effect or just a lifestyle thing (people who drink soda are less likely to lead healthier lifestyles). I think maybe there is something to it. When you treat your body good it doesn't want that crap. I don't know. IT's very bizarre. I have in round figures a goal to lose about 10 pounds by December - just to get back to where I Was. Though it is definitely less the weight (as I always gain muscle weight when I start working out) and more just fitting into clothes, etc. From there my goal may be to lose 10 pounds next year too. Would put me at 140 or probably around a size 12. Which would put me back closer to a size 6, back to my size 12 butt. LOL. I usually just gain weight nowhere else, so I have to admit I Really don't mind having a little more meat and being mroe proprtioned. I was closer to 130 when I first became pregnant, but I was also pretty out of shape then. I think a fit 140 would be about equivalent and would be my goal. Proportion is nice but I miss my waist too.

The other weird thing is though I don't feel particularly "big" is that since having LM I only gain weight around my middle. Up until arounf 150 I never ever gained weight around my middle and now it seems to be where it all goes. I guess not only does it bother me physically, but you get scared as your waist size suddenly puts you at risk for all sorts of stuff. It is getting borderline on those things.

Yeesh, I can not believe I have 20 pounds to lose... ALl this darn baby weight. I know I should feel lucky it isn't more...

Oh and the awesome news is that both kids LOVED the gym daycare yesterday when they both went together. In fact they didn't want to leave. But really good for dh - he has somewhere to take the kids and get some down time during the day. I was worried LM would need much more easing back to it after traumatizing him this weekend.

So anyway, it's on!!!! Here's to 10 pounds down in 2007.

I did it before last year without a gym membership, but I think the gym will help make it stick. Tax season is always my ruin - always gain weight. Holidays, tax season. Vicous cycle. I think the gym will help me break the cycle.

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In other news we took the kids' rockets to the park yesterday (incidentally where we first saw these) and there was a pile of kids there - quite a scene - fighting over rockets. I think we need more... LOL. Mental note - drive by park and check out crowd before bringing rockets... At least if we had more rockets we could lessen the chaos. Instead they were fighting over the few and was hard to make them wait in line in an orderly fashion. Plus I figure we are lucky some of the bigger kids didn't break them. Oh well - $5 - money WELL spent! I guess we can replace it if we have to. We probably should keep an eye out if we find them cheap again - stock up on these puppies...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0006O8Q7Y/sr=8-1/qi...

No financial update of late. I paid all the bills for the month last weekend and no shopping, no eating out, no money spent, not much to speak of. Dh did some grocery shopping, got gas, and an air filter for the a/c. He also bought some birthday presents (sibling b-day party today) and has some things planned with BM today. So money money money. He asked me to go to the ATM and I asked him if he was crazy - LOL. I am expecting $100 in the mail, so told him to use his emergency cash. I'll probably do the same this weekend if need be, though I have the feeling my mom will pay for us. We are going to a festival today for lunch. But it's good I have my cash - I'll buy her a mom's day gift there, with it. I don't remember the last time we went to the ATM, it's no longer really part of our budget, just get cash with extra money inflow. Gotten into the habit of keeping the bare minimum and depositing the rest in savings. Well, I think we both have $8 cash (+ $20 emergency money). Which is fine, during a normal period would last weeks. We just aren't cash spenders - prefer to put as much onto card for tracking and rewards. But we both have a busy weekend planned with possibly cash-only vendors, so it really screws us up I guess. Anyway, I could go to the ATM, take out cash, and put it back later, but what a PITA. I find myself using emergency money more and more to bridge the gap (not using it all, and quickly replenishing). It could be good or bad, but honestly, otherwise I would completely forgot I had an extra $20 hidden in my wallet, so it is probably good.

Oh, I did get one bill, electric - was almost $60. $40 bill, $20 fees/taxes. But overall it was double what it was same time last year. For one, it has been HOT and so air was run a bit (a very wee small bit) in April. But moreso they just changed out the meter and I don't like the new one - it seems twice as bad - LOL. I can't help but wonder if we were grossly undercharged the last 2 years (around when we started to notice our bills lower). In that case, it isn't the worst, but now we have to adjust. It's nice how the bills were so low when we weren't making much money and now we can more readily afford them, oh well. We pay another $6/month voluntarily for green energy, but usually our bills are dirt cheap too, so I am starting to question that. ??? Oh well. Will stick it out for now.

I crashed around 9 last night and don't really remember waking up much at all (my peeve of late because 1 kid or cat or something will wake me up every couple of hours all night, and after a while of that you really start to lose your mind. Not as exhausted as when it's like a newborn, but got the bags under my eyes and feel quite frazzled without getting real sleep. Thank god our cruise is around the corner, I might just sleep 4 days straight - I really could). Anyway, I don't remember waking up much before 4:30 (though I can't believe I really slept that long uninterrupted - LOL). But LM woke up. I laid on the floor in his room for a while but he just was not having it. I got up thinking maybe he'll sleep on the drive today, and was surprised it was already 5:30 - hadn't felt like an hour in there. So anyway, the plan is good, he will sleep in the car and make things easier on me. The downside is it is only 6 and I feel like I need a nap - LOL. Will have to cut our day a little short since I will probably be too sleepy to drive much past 9. Well, we'll see how it goes.

I have aerobics this morning and maybe that will wake me up. The aerobics class is okay. The instructor is really into 80s music while I am NOT into it - LOL. So I am not sure I could go 3 days a week for the rest of summer or year or whatever. I might go nuts. BUT the nice thing is she only charges per class. $2.50 per class. I think in the spring and summer I am going to work hard on doing my own thing. But in the winter, aerobics class is a great opportunity, and even my own routines get boring over time, so just another way to mix it up without breaking the bank. I think it is pretty good. For now I am attempting to make all classes though because I really need to shape up and has been so busy. But we'll see...

I am still not really into it for whatever reason. But figured I would add a post to the topic. I think I have been so mired in financial improvement that it is hard for me to focus on much else. Though things are going well and I feel I Can step back a little more.

Anyway, we are going on a cruise in June and I would love to lose a few pounds by then. But other than that I am not terribly, terribly motivated. I always do very well on weight loss from may-september or so when the weather is nice and I can go out for more walks, etc. (maybe not so much in the summer though). Tax season, eh, it is so hard to keep afloat, exercise is last on my list. Though weather has been nice and we have been resuming afternoon walks at work - phew - it really helps. Simply walking 1/4 mile every afternoon, & walking to the mail after work, etc., all stuff to work on and feasible with improving weather. Once daylight savings hits I will be taking the kids to the park in the evenings and when it gets hotter than hades we will walk down to the pool on weeknights.

Anyway, for me, I am not terribly unhappy with my weight. I think I really just want to be more in shape. & I want to be healthy - the weight is mostly incidental. But again, just not terribly motivated right now. I'll get there.

Just a background on my story. I have always been able to eat ANYTHING and not gain a pound. Always very active too.

SInce college I have a leg injury and I can not do the intense running and workouts that I really enjoy. So I have put on a good 35 pounds since high school. BUT I Was a way, underweight waif who ate nothing but junk food before. Not exactly healthy - health food is foreign to my family.

I settled around 135 and then gained about 8 pounds with each pregnancy - so have now settled around 150. am short so makes me a good size 14/16 but I carry the weight well - often assumed I am a size 8 or something.

The good is that I have never been really motivated to eat well, and AFTER my last baby I Started ballooning up. so I started on diet mode and eating a lot better. I might have fallen off the wagon a bit, but trying to be more frugal has pushed me back on - there is no longer any junk food in my house. I come from a family with a long history of food issues and fine I am mired with my own. I am lucky, or maybe cursed, I got away with it so long but food to me = comfort plain and simple. I eat what I Want, when I Want. No one has ever challenged that. But my dh has been challenging that, and extra harshly with the kids to set a good example for.

I have been trying. Some changes I have made is I generally take a container of applesauce for breakfast every morning, and some cheese for protein if I get hungry (I never do). My mornings used to be poptarts and granola bars every day. Not the worst, but I need more fruit in my diet. Instead of juice I have applesauce, and lots of water. For lunch I don't really fret, I take a sandwhich or leftovers. I don't count calories because the snacks are my downfall. I pack my snacks every day so I only have so much to eat. Nuts, weat thins, yogurt, bananas, etc. I try to get 2 servings of fruit every day and a little green salad at work. My trick is to bring the dressing in a separate container and dip the salad too - many less calories than a salad drenched in dressing. & then when I Come home I eat dh's dinner, no matter what it is. & if I am really good I don't snack afterwards. Though if I do we don't have anything terribly bad laying around. I also allow myself 1/2 can pepsi every day - keeps me from craving sweets and has actually been very key in my weight loss I feel. Usually my 1/2 can pepsi with lunch, and some milk with dinner, and lots of water throughout the day. What I really need to work on is upping the fruits and veggies. Dh generally has veggies in his meal, which I pick out less and less with time. & we usually all share an apple or 2 at dinner. & in the warmer months we make a lot of fruit smoothies. Best way for me to get a variety of fruit - just like when I cook I puree all the veggies in the food processor - if I can't see them individually i Am okay.

The good is I eat great at work but on the weekends and on vacations I can not do it - LOL. But those are so rare I guess it doesn't matter. Something to work on going forward...

Anyway, last year I had gained a ton of weight with hormone issues and it was the first tax season I had actually lost weight by doing the above. Usually I get really stressed and gain a token five pounds and maybe work it off in the summer. SO it was good -and so far this year is looking good. I am more likely to skip my snacks because I am too busy - LOL. Rather then go out and get a bunch of junk to deal with my stress. So it is going good. I haven't gained any weight in a year and that is grand. Plus I lost a good 15 pounds or so I had gained with hormone issues.

So I have some tentative goal that I really want to lose these 8 baby pounds and if I got a little more in shape I would probably be pretty pleased. & yeah the other 8 baby pounds to get down to 135 - hmmm - would be nice but not exactly counting on it. It isn't that big a deal to me. In fact I probably wouldn't be very motivated - LOL.

I approach dieting like being frugal. Slow and steady totally wins the race. IT's a lifestyle change, something that just doesn't happen overnight. & baby steps really make it stick. Anyway, the big thing I see is everyone around me wanting to lose 5 pounds a week and giving up when they don't make it 1 week. Then they throw up their hands and gain more weight. THat is just ridiculous. For 1 - I only want to lose about 1 or 2 pounds a month. No need to push it farther than that, or for me I know it won't stick. I have less to lose, but I wouldn't push more than 1-2/week personally. & secondly, when you have a bad week, you pick up and you move on. I will never understand why one bad week means throwing in the towel. But it is a lifestyle change, and I am a large part of the way there already. In fact I haven't been focusing on my diet at all and haven't lost any poundage, but I Can tell my weight is shifting and I have been slimming down since the holidays.

So anyway, hopefully you all will motivate me a bit.

I find it hard to discuss my weight loss in real life and I am SO frustrated with our society. I have a sister who is anorexic who I really don't expect to make it to 30. & here I am at a nice size 14/16 and I am pretty happy with my body. Like I said I look a lot slimmer than that overall, but I get so mad flipping through magazines or looking at media telling me I am fat. I find that everyone has an opinion and it is impossible to win. dh's family are all naturally size 0s and I know they are all concerned I am taking the way of my overweight family. At the same time I have friends who get all pissy when I Say I am working on my weight or diet - like I don't deserve to because I am so thin. So for every 5 people who think I Am too thin, there is always 1 who thinks I am overweight. & frankly i Am sick of everyone else's. It's MY body. Luckily the one person who has never had any input into my body is dh. He told me at 100 I Was beautiful and he didn't see the big deal at 165. Thank goodness for him. For him and me it is probably 99% about health than weight anyway. I NEED to eat better, and I need to eat better in front of my kids. My parents were bitter they were forced to eat food and have their issues, but pushed them to the opposite extreme with me, not teaching me how to eat balanced meals, basically by telling me I should eat what I want, when I Want. That is a lot of damage I am trying to work through - trying to find some middle ground with our own kids.

So anyway, so I generally do not tell anyone when I am losing weight and so help me because my MIL get so freaking obnoxious. she will notice if I lose 1 pound and she will get all excited about it, which just pisses me off. Gee tell me what you really think why don't you. But if I eat a salad all my friends roll my eyes at me like I don't deserve to lose weight. You can't win. I have a mother who weighs 300 pounds and darned if I am going to gain another 100 pounds before I take control of my health. I think a lot of that can be chalked up to jealousy with friends, but it just drives me batty to feel like I am a normal weight in a society that is so insanely obsessed with weight. I can't imagine if I was truly underweight or truly overweight how I would really feel - because I am fed up with everyone's input as is. But yeah, I think that is my biggest thing. I know it will be easier to lose 15 pounds now, or to work on not gaining weight, far easier than it would ever be to lose 100 pounds. & I get sick of people questioning it.

If they knew I had an anorexic sister and an obese mother I think they would back off a little. Grrrrrrrr...