I know i've missed you but have an awesome cruise and relax and enjoy

Glad you had a good time and got some rest!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm surprised (happily) how quickly my body is adjusting to the lower-calorie intake already. I was worried that since it was used to so many calories I'd be hungry all the time, but I'm just a little munchy. Having pre-made breakfasts ready for me really helps - thank goodness I made so many right before the trip.

Hubby and I looked at each other last night and realized we had to pack lunches - almost forgot! So used to just walking to the café. Lovely salad for lunch and lots of water today to get on track like you said, @50extra . Thanks for the encouragement. Like you said - I definitely am not made about the gain - I was worried it'd be worse! But I'm definitely ready to work towards getting below 160.

Office was still standing when I returned. First job I've had where I had more snail-mail than emails when I returned haha! Already mostly caught up and will definitely be all set by tomorrow.

Hubby is interested in finding a local gym, so I'm researching my options this week. For now it's still cool enough we could just go outside to run/walk etc., but soon the heat will scare us indoors. Maybe I can try running before that.

So glad you had fun on cruise. Don't you hate not feeling up to par when traveling. I loved St Thomas when we were cruising. I thought 6lbs sound pretty good especially with the "All you can eat" with cruising. Welcome back !!!!

Way to go you for sticking with things. Shame about not feeling so well though. Hopefully the weekend has been good to you and you have had a good rest.

Yay for joining the gym. Don't be scared about going near the weight machines, they wont make you into a hulk and a little extra muscle will help you increase your metabolism for losing weight.
Nice news about the new job for hubby. The extra 8k a year will certainly help the house hunting coffers as well.

I love how you guys go all out for 4th July. It's so big that even in some parts of Aus people celebrate it. I remember going to a 4th July part one year and it was the best party i've been too. Hope you have an awesome time.
Sorry to hear about your Aunt. ALS is is the pits

I've heard good things about good will and just thrift stores in general for replacement wardrobe to save money! I hope you luck out there! It does sound like you're going to be a busy girl this weekend, I hope you enjoy it and have fun!

So happy that you need new clothes it means you've been successful!!!!!!!!

Definitely sounds like you're in need of new clothes! I'm pretty sure my boobs are going to change a little bit as I continue to lose weight but I'm okay with it because well what can you do? haha good luck on your weigh in, Saturday will be here before you know it!!

I am not a fan of spaghetti squash but maybe we just didn't use the right recipe. I've never tried kelp noodles. I'm glad you found something you both enjoy!

That's awesome that the pool is still open!!

Good luck on finding a new phone!

haha that's an awesome use of free time!! Sounds like a good plan! It's nice to always feel prepared!

I like random thoughts and rambles so I'm a fan. haha Hope you're having a great week as well! I look forward to your next update/ramble =P

Today's our 2-year anniversary! Celebrating with tasty Thai food - yumm! I gave hubby a Game of Thrones polo (he so he can wear it to work) and some Star Wars boxers and he loves them. He gave me Civilization: Beyond Earth which is the next in a video game series that we're both obsessed with - but this one has cute aliens! Really good anniversary so far, and it isn't even half way over!

On the health/weight-loss front, I've been pretty bad. I definitely won't reach my goal for 4th of July, but at least I haven't gained any either. How can you tell what a good maintenance level for you is? Maybe this is it? Or maybe I've just been bad. After tonight's celebration food I'm going to try to kick it up and really stick to my goals for food. Maybe if I can get past this plateau I'll get back in the routine. I guess if I gain the weight back I'll know that this is where I should be for maintenance.

Made some more breakfast quiches last night - tomato and artichoke - yum! They turned out really well and will hopefully help me get back to healthy breakfasts for a healthy start to the day.

Sisters came over this weekend (both of them) and we spent 8 hours shopping. It was SO much fun and VERY productive. I wasn't within 10 pounds of my goal (11 - so close!), so I only got 2 pairs of pants, but they fit GREAT and were desperately needed. I also got some skirts (they're stretchy so I'm not worried about additional weight loss with them) and new bras. First time in a long time I've been excited about how the ladies look in their holster - it's a HUGE confidence booster.

Along with their visit I made a TON of food. Most of it was pretty healthy, it's just the quantity that's astonishing. We have so many leftovers in the fridge that I won't have to cook for a week. Happy and sad - I enjoy cooking. But this way I can be lazy and play more Civ

Not sleeping well probably hasn't helped with weight-loss. The government job that Hubby is hopeful about posted over the weekend and he applied. Now it's just a waiting game to see if he gets it. Makes him anxious and therefore me anxious and neither of us sleep. Fun times. Posting closes this Friday, so I really hope we hear something soon. Otherwise I'll have to learn to be an insomniac. This is just one of three postings they were promising too, so if he doesn't get this one we'll go through this whole song-and-dance again in another week or two. It really is a great opportunity (minimum $8k/yr raise plus government benefits/stability/etc.) and we both really hope he gets it. I'm just also looking forward to it being over, hehe.

So a couple of years ago my sister got us recipe making software called "Living Cookbook." You input the ingredients, the directions, any pictures, servings, etc. It makes a nutrition label similar to MFP but it also contains directions. It also has a nice, uniform, print-out version for each recipe. I started inputting my healthier recipes when I first started with MFP, but I really haven't had a lot of time recently. Ideally, I'd like to get my recipe binder updated with all of the same recipes, but all in the same format through living cookbook. I could also share them then with my sisters and mom, who also have the same software. I just found out that I might be able to install the software onto a flash drive and work on it in my spare time at work - WIN! Going to ask hubby to set that up tonight or tomorrow. I'll post a picture of a recipe example once I have it up and running.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week. Lots of little exciting things and big exciting things.

Been a little while, but not a whole lot going on. Still in the midst of my plateau and trying to push through. Setting new mini-goals that I hope will help. For example: no munching on the snacks and candies provided by work. If I snack, it will only be the ones that I bring in so I can more easily control how much I eat. I bought some low calorie high fiber brownies and some fruit snacks to help on that front. Hopefully this weekend when I weigh in I'll see some movement.

Living Cookbook won't play off of a flash drive, so I've just brought my laptop in and I work on typing in the recipes in my free time. I'm REALLY excited to have my recipes in a uniform format and in a way that I can very easily share them. Hopefully you all can see this picture below of how they look. This is also one of my favorite recipes of all time - I really recommend you guys try it:



(I use Turkey Kielbasa for the "chicken sausage." Super tasty!

Yesterday was both an up and a down for me. I snacked a TON. I couldn't stop myself from grabbing every snack I saw and eating it. It was horrible. At the same time, according to my Garmin I took over 15,000 steps AND we went to the gym where I used the bike, level 10, hills, and (according to the bike) burned over 300 calories. I was so tired from all the walking that we didn't do any weights yesterday, but that's my first time biking at level 10 the whole time, so I was really proud of myself. Hoping I can keep the snacking to a minimum for the next few days and really hit my goal this weekend. Also going to try to hit the gym Tomorrow and get the cardio and weights in this time.

My sister, mom, and 4 (that I know of) friends are on MFP now! Super excited.

Hubby and I went through our wardrobes and donated a box full of clothes, and put another box full of "almost fit" clothes away (both on the large and skinny end). Really felt nice cleaning up our closet and fitting into some older clothes that we grew out of.

Anyway. Hope everyone is having a lovely week and has exciting things planned for the weekend!

I looked again at my tracking, and I think my problem isn't so much a plateau as it is I'm gaining and losing the same 4 pounds ever other week. I really need to hunker down and stick to my calorie goals EVERY day instead of goofing off every other week. Mostly it's the weekends that kick my butt. I visit family or friends or even having them over - I always eat or drink too much and go over. I've always been a social eater, so I guess I just have to be more strict about when people are over or when I'm out visiting.

Got a new phone - LOVE IT! I can actually use the MFP app on it AND it connects to my Garmin automatically. I'm hoping the ease of access helps me log when I'm away from home. I also have the cutest piglet (traditional A. A. Milne piglet) and Pooh background. So cute.

I've gotten over 60 recipes entered into my program. Whew! Can't wait to share them with my sisters and mom and get their recipes in return. And then MAKE ALL THE FOOD! Hehehe. So, my only problem with cooking is - I love it! I know it's more time and money smart to make larger batches of food and reheat blah blah blah, and I do some of that and take it for lunches. But I like cooking and trying new things so much that most nights I'd rather make something new than eat leftovers. Not all nights, but most. Weird problem, I know. But with my journey to lose weight I've discovered a passion for cooking that I never really knew I had before. I dream about new dishes to try, weird combinations, and a beautiful kitchen that I hope to one day own. I'm sure as I cook for a while the thrill will die down.

Fourth of July this weekend should be fun, but probably another struggle with food. Planning on bringing healthier desserts to tempt me away from the rich foods I expect will be there. Gotta run to the grocery store and find someplace to buy fireworks before Friday too. Busy busy busy.

Hope everyone is doing well and has fun plans for the weekend!

I also have a tendency to go over at family gatherings...the one thing I started doing was counting everything by number and then logging it accurately even if I go over plan...for me it's amazing how much less tempting chips are when you know you have already eaten 12 and are going to have to log 13+ if you keep munching! Totally a mental thing, I'm not usually eating them because I'm truly hungry, but just because they are there!

@Quzzdragon12 haha yes, very excited!!! <--See? =P