Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford

Krazy Mommy Moment:

I honestly thought that if I became a teacher, I would have perfectly behaved children of my own!  Holy crap was I wrong!  If you have kids, you know what I am talking about.  We all had that "My kids will never......" conversation.  Mine were "crawl under the table at a restaurant" and "Throw a tantrum at the mall".  Oh I had several other momentous ideas about my future fabulous parenting.  Unfortunately, I was totally delusional!  Actually, my first two behaved pretty well overall.  The third one.......well, let's just say that he is teaching me some very memorable lessons in patients and self control!  Last week, his teacher had to pull me aside and inform me that my "little monster"  pushed another little boy down and called him a name that rhymes with wenis!  OMGosh!  My kid is a bully and a potty mouth.  What the heck?  All I have to say is that this has to be his father's fault!  I'm not sure how, but I'm not taking the fall for this kid!  Any advise?

LivFit Week 2 Update:

OK ladies, here are my measurements after 2 weeks of Jaime Eason's LivWFit 12 week program. You can find it at bodybuildin.com .

Weight: 119.2 lbs. (+0.8 lbs no cardio!)

Fat %: 19% (+0.8% no cardio again!)

Biceps: 11 in (+ 1/2 in.  yeaaaaa)

Chest: 35 1/2 in (- 1 in. crap!  Not where I want to loose!)

Waist: 26 in (-1 in. oh ya)

Butt: 35 in (- 1 1/4 in. oh ya X2)

Thigh: 19 in. (- 1/4 in.)

I have been loving this program so far!  I have been lifting 60% of my max weight 4 times a week. I am really happy with the results so far!  I knew I would probably gain a little weight because I am not doing any cardio.  I can't believe how well it has toned my body so quickly though.  I do have to admit that I did cheat on my workout this week!  It is not what you might think!  Jaime Eason insists that there is no cardio for the first 3 weeks of the program so that maximum muscle development can occur.  I rode the stationary bike last week!  I know, I am a terrible person, but I couldn't help it.  I was feeling fat and lazy, so I needed a little pick me up.  The bike did it.  I am on the straight and narrow again! 

Diet Tip:

I grew up in the "Fat Free" generation.  In the 80s my mom was trying to loose weight.  She brought all kinds of fat free foods into our home.  We even had fat free Twinkies for after school snacks!  As I got older, I fell into those same eating habits.  I thought I was doing myself a favor, but actually I was harming my metabolism and muscles.  I ate sugar cereal in the morning, a plain bagel and a Diet Coke (still drinking this  daily as many of you know!) for lunch, and spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner!  I ate tons of Skittles and Jelly Bellies because I thought if a food didn't have any fat, it was going to help me loose weight.  Another misconception of this generation is exercise habits.  We were taught that aerobic exercise was all we needed to loose weight or get into shape. You remember Buns of Steel?  I was the queen of buns. I could never quite understand why all of my cheer leading and aerobic videos never toned my body the way I wanted it to be. Unfortunately this is a hard habit to break.  I always thought girls who lifted weights would bulk up and look like football players! How wrong I was!  Women need regular weight training to loose or maintain weight!  Our muscles are not genetically programed to bulk up.  All it does is create lean muscle and rev up our metabolism.  We also need to eat healthy fats in order to maintain our muscle and overall health.  All that sugar and white processed food that we used to eat has to be thrown in the trash!  At the ripe old age of 36, I look and feel better than I ever have!  I am strong and healthy, and I actually look forward to working out everyday.  I eat delicious clean foods (I seriously eat more than my 220 pound husband!).  I am never hungry or feel like I am being deprived.  I am happy in every aspect of my life.  I attribute this to my new outlook on fitness and diet! 

Fabulous Clean Recipe:

Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls:

I found this delicious recipe in this month's issue of Clean Eating  (cleaneating.com).  This is honestly the best magazine I have ever subscribed to! 

Ingredients:

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

1 head broccoli florets

1 orange, juiced and zested

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp olive oil

3/4  lb. sirloin strips, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

4 cloves garlic (I used bottled minced)

1/2 cup snow peas

sesame seeds

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water.  Bring to a boil and add pasta.  Simmer for 5 minutes then add broccoli.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Drain and keep warm.

In a small bowl, whisk orange zest, juice, soy sauce, pepper flakes and ginger.  Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute.  Add beef and cook, turning occasionally for 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add peas and orange juice mixture and stir to coat.  Saute for 3 minutes until beef is cooked through.

Add beef mixture to pasta mixture and toss to combine.  Garnish with sesame.

Enjoy!!!  I ate this for dinner last night and again for lunch today.