Ethan and I

:-) just a few of us too....

Olivia

Is almost 10 years old and in 4th grade.

Evan

Is 6 and a 1/2 now and in 1st grade. He also has lost 3 teeth. :-)

Ava

Is 19 months old now!

Hello again....

So it's been about 7 months.

Long time no see!

Wow, so many things have changed in 7 months.

I hope to be filling you in soon.

Look for new photos and updates.

I sure so miss my little old blog........

Photo Update #2

Here is a few from today, Olivia's basketball game.
She is in the 9~12 yr old league. :)
She is really having fun. :)

Photo update!

Here are a few shot's of Evan playing 5~6 yr old basketball.
He is enjoying himself, and we love watching him try hard and be all boy! :)

This one is for the MEMORY Books!!!! ~~~>

Photo update

Ava, Almost 1 year old.

Evan, 6... waiting to play some basketball. (Number 4)

Olivia, 9 playing in the yard....... SNOW!

So busy!!

Wow! We have been busy.

So, here is the re-cap of the past few weeks.

Ethan is gone. He is working away for now, and will be for a few weeks. I look forward to his call's and Skype call's. Evan and Ava are doing well with his absence, but Olivia is struggling. :(

But, to keep us busy during the weeks --->
The kids have started Basketball! We have practice for both kids at diffrent times 2 times a week per child. Ugh!! Can be so busy, but some days they have practice on the same day and that's nice. We have games on Sat.

Also, Olivia is in Girl Scouts and now i am helping out weekly, so ... We ALL go. Monday is one busy day.

Olivia is also in a Speed Stacking club at school on Thursday Afternoons. We just play at the park, while she is stacking.

Evan is not into to many things, but Olivia sure is.

Ava and Mommy stay busy at home trying to get the house in order and the shopping done.

Yesterday we did a Job for Modeling for Ava. It was a Big Job and lasted 12 hours...You know, Ava was having fun and not upset one bit. Just walked and played. She sure had fun!

It's almost Valentines day and were getting those things together, for school. And the 100th day of school is also coming up and we have potluck's and crafts ... (mostly for Evan).
........... and Field Trips, SIGH......... busy i say!!!

Ok, Well... that's the update from here.

Day ??

I took the weekend off....
Then, today when i was going to "get it together"... i blew it tonight.
UGH! NEED to get re motivated.
But... the "17 day diet" thing is soooo $$ and over here (in Japan) it's hard to get the food needed. :(


So, i am still going to follow it as i can, and diet as i can.
:) Working out as well.... Keep Cheering me on. :)

The 15th Day....

So, today was the 15th day of this 17 day cycle.
I had a "free" day. Although it was free, it was not about eating whatever i wanted.
I am still on a plan to loose weight.
No worries.
I did weigh in today, another week gone by.
I only lost just over a pound.
At 1st i thought it was just 1/2 of a pound, but it was a little over a pound after i did the math.
So this makes the 2 WEEK TOTAL at 4.6 pounds.
Not bad for 2 weeks.
Not as good as i hoped with the "promises" this plan offers. But, everything is relative.
I am ok with the loss,.... and i can and will keep on keep'n on.

So, today i planned a day out with a friend and knew i was going to cheat.
I had one Krispy Cream Donut... one Cafe' Latte at Starbucks, the small size. Also... with Very little sugar.
Then for lunch we went to El Torito's in the SKY.
I was worried about this. But, I did good. After looking at the menu i knew what i needed to order. A Salad. A Shrimp Salad.
I wanted all the beans and rice and so on. But, i did good and got a very lite Salad... with Very lite dressing and i ate one Tortilla.
Afterwards we went to the SOGO Food Extravaganza and i bought a few goodies, but only tasted them... and gave the rest away!
SIGH... that was hard, as i love good food....

Anyways, tonight we are having Chicken and Veggies and i am going to try to "get back on the wagon" for tomorrow.

My goal is far off... but this is a lifestyle change. I am making good choices for the future. I am not willing to sacrifice good times with good friends because i am afraid that one day,.... will screw me up forever. It wont~!

I am Keep'n on Keep'n on!!!!

Day 13 !!!

This cycle is almost over!
Oh Yea!!!!!
5 more days.

I have been 'good'. I had one "bad day" but let me tell you that only consisted of 1/2 of a mixed drink and a bite of ice cream. HEY... we were @ Chili's and i enjoyed it VERY much and not regretting it.
I LOVED the Salmon @ chili's and it hit the spot.

Honestly, i want the carbs... the bread. But, my body is not "craving" it. I only want it because i know how good it is.
Otherwise, i am A OK.
I cant wait to mix up my meals a bit next cycle. YAY for Oatmeal and Brown Rice. (LOL)

I have only weighed in once, but let me tell you i feel FANTASTIC!
I am loosing inches but wont know about the weight until next weigh in, Thursday.
(2 FULL weeks)
My last day on this cycle is the Sunday!

Oh... and i am adding in a "shake" into my diet. It's a Low/No Carb Shake~low cal/fat... and it's only for on -the-go days when i cant/don't pack a lunch or breakfast.
Hey.... it cant hurt, as the other option is a drive thru!

Day 9

Wow, has it really been 9 days? I feel like i just wrote the "day 3" blog yesterday. Now, if time would continue to fly like this!!


I had a hard day, the day before yesterday. So, i Tried REALLY hard to make yesterday's day the best i could.
I had a mixed veggie omelet for breakfast w/ my coffee and so on.
Then, I packed my lunch because the Daughter's and I were going on a Shopping day (Skipping school).
So, Olivia and I both packed our lunches and headed out. Now, the chicken wraps were not As Delish as i wanted them to be. They dried out a little bit. Live and Learn.
But, dinner was amazing.


We ate with Coleen and Ryan, like we do a few times a week. Dinner was roasted Cajun Chicken nuggets over salad w/ parm mushrooms and roasted brussel sprouts.
I used 2 tbsp of lite ranch... and it was sooooooooooooooo good. :) YAY!


Today is day 9 and i started off this morning wanting something sweet. So, i made a Mock French Toast from the Facebook Blog "17 day diet" and WOW!! So yummy. (basically a Sweet Egg)
One thing this "diet" or "change of life" what every you wanna call it has done for me... is make me fall in LOVE with yogurt. Yummmmy!!!

Weigh In

Today is the Morning of Day 8 and my official Weigh-In. :):)
I was hoping for at least a 1 pound loss, but nope! 3 TOTAL POUNDS! Whoooooooohooooo!!!
Some great motivation to keep going. :)

Day 6!

So YAY day 6 has come and gone.
Day 6 has been THE EASIEST so far. Way Easy!!!!
Yesterday i had Very Little hunger pains. I actually don't want to eat much at all.
It's kinda cool.
I am pushing the healthy foods though.

Today i did not exercise, but i was on the "go" all day...
I have burned those cal's via cleaning and walking for sure.

Yesterday was big for me. I packed a lunch!!!
EVERYtime i go to "base" i always run through somewhere for a quick bit of food. Not yesterday!
There was no way i could eat at Taco bell or McDonald's (IMO) on phase one. So, i packed a lunch for while i was out and running errands.
Honestly? I was GOOD!!! And... i had happy to eat it.
I did not want to eat the greasy food anyways. So, i sat in my car between stores and munched on the fresh selection i brought. BREAK THROUGH!!! I can do this, and it's going to be easy!!

Ok, enough of that.
:)
..........Day 6's dinner of rotisserie chicken and salad w/ roasted cauliflower & brussel sprouts was sooooo good! :)

End of the 5th day....

And it's the end of the 5th day.

I will admit, today was hard.

I reallly wanted to have some SWEETS!!

Breakfast of egg omelet was boring... Lunch of soup was not so bad.

But, i have run out of my favorite Greek yogurt and the berries, so.... i need to go out tomorrow for some more.

And Apple for a snack on a cold day... it's sucking.

Tonight i made Crock pot turkey and it was dry.

:(:(

I served it with a tiny bit of Cream of mushroom soup i added water to... and made into a gravy of sorts. It was low in everything i am watching (sugar) and ... i only used a SMALL amount.

If not, i would not have been able to choke it down. :(

So, today was a success in other areas!!!! I walked 2 times today!!! Once to get Olivia and Evan from school & take them to the girl scout meeting. Then, after the meeting we walked all the way home. That was At Least Two 20 minute "workouts".

Tonight, i am going to focus on pushing the water and green tea.

And, if i get hungry, i will eat the "soup" i made from the book. It's a chicken and veggie soup. It's Really good and keeps me Full.

Day 5 ...

... and still going strong.
Yesterday (4) was good. No mix up's and i drank the water/green tea.
I did not eat much i think... in Calories, but i was not hungry.
Did push the protein though. :)
Today i woke up NOT feeling the Lemon Water. I am STILL choking it down, 1 hour later.

~ok, just chugged it~

Now... i can have my Coffee and some breakfast. Oh yes!

Yesterday i did not get in my workout, but i did work around the house.
Today? I plan to walk around the neighborhood for a bit.

I will say,... now at day 5 i am feeling Really good. My clothing was already big to begin with (a side effect of not loving tight clothing) and so ... this morning my pants were falling down with every step. lol
Water weight is water weight.... it's STILL weight! :) I am loving this UN bloated feeling! :)

End of Day 3

So tomorrow is DAY 4!!!

OMG, tonight i had the Most Awesome Dinner!!!

Grilled Tilapia with Parmesan Mushrooms, Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower "rice".

It was Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good.

If all meals were like tonight's???? I would not care about "carbs" or "sugar"!

Anyways, I am having fun thinking about new ways to cook foods and new ways to get in veggies.

Evan LOVED the Mushrooms (that were dipped in Egg and then in Parm and baked until Crispy). He was begg'n for more. NO!!! I wanted them all. haha.

So today i got in my Exercise! YAY!!! And ... my water too. And... Green Tea!!! I did miss one serving of Probiotics (Yogurt) but that's ok.

This afternoon, Coleen and I took the babies and my 2 older ones and we walked to the Co-Op off base. It's a SMALL Japanese store with the basics. We got our veggies and some Strawberries. I also bought some cabbage for the soup i want to make tomorrow. Yum. It was a 1 hour walk. A nice cool day with clear sky's. I REALLY enjoyed it, Ava (and the other 2) did too.

I think I'll be walking like that daily... for a few weeks. Very nice Very Nice!!!

Hello Day 3

So Hello Day 3.
Let me Vent it all out here, OK? I cant right... this is the point. A Place to let it all out and get fresh.
Last night i was SO hungry around 930 pm. I made some green tea and took the laptop to bed with me. I really wanted something, but not exactly anything. I beat the monster and drank the tea and went to bed.
Today I have been good (its 11 am) and Ive decided that Food is not what it's all about. I have to push the water. So... i am. It Sucks. I don't love water at 1st. It takes some getting used it.
but, today my goal is to DRINK and workout 17 minutes!! PERIOD, no Excuses!

So, after 48 hours on this "diet" i have felt SOooooooooooooooooooo good! So much Energy and Focus! I feel 1000% "better".
The energy is amazing. LOVE IT!
So, my body is less bloated i feel and so i decided to step on the scale today. WHAT WAS I THINKING???? Yup, no change. But... i know i need to push the water and I will see results. I mean, I'm eating small portion's and NO Carbs and LOTS of Veggies.
It's gotta happen.
OK, so no midweek weigh in's! OK?!?!?! ALISA OK!?!?!?!?!?

Day 2...

Has been good. I am Enjoying this new way of eating/thinking!!!
I had a few lady's over today and resisted the muffin's i made.
Then, tonight... i Actually DRUM ROLL........ BROWN BAGGED IT!
Ate my Yogurt and Apple on the go. WOW.
This one is big for me, as i usually swing through the drive thru for a meal while i am out and about.

Tonight, after our Girl Scout Cookie Booth (<~~~ yes.... i was good and did not eat one,) we went to Chili's.
I was also good at Chili's!!!!
A Grilled Fish and Salad no cheese/croutons and lite dressing (put on very lite) and Broccoli. Unsweet Tea!
I REALLLY wanted everything else... everything with Bread. But, i feel very satisfied with what i ate. :)
So, Day 2 was a food success.
Still having problem's fitting in the working out.
And the water.... but i am going to push it tonight, before bed.
Ok... Day 3.... Right around the corner! :)

End of Day 1....

... has been a success!!!
Well a food success. I stuck to the "diet" and it was not a problem at all! Actually, i felt full... most all day.
For this eating plan, i get 2 servings of fruit and i had to skip one of them, because i could not eat anymore. Also, the drinking of liquid is soooo much. So, that helps.

Tonight i need to finish up the water intake, about 15oz and another cup of Green tea. WOW

One thing i Failed at is the workout. I honestly forgot about the workout. I planned it out, but ... the time slipped away and next thing i knew it was Dinner time/Bed time.
So, ... tomorrow i will need to workout during Ava's nap, period.

So ........ i think i might need stock in Gas X... hahahaha. With all these veggies and eggs, WOW... um Wow. LOL

So........ !!!!!!!!

I Weighed in!!!!
And, i was pleasantly surprised!!! I was brave ya'll!
So, i have a goal weight - (1st goal) - loss of 25 pounds.
It's Achievable people!!!! And, if i do this, i will weight Less than i have in at LEAST 10 years.

So, This morning i stuck to the plan, with No issues.
I did keep the one cup of coffee, which is allowed.
The only thing that is not allowed is Milk or Sugar! :(
I did allow this ONE thing, Sugar Free Non Dairy Creamer.
That's my ONE give.
So, i am happy with the day so far.
I'm not hungry and feeling energetic and not shaky.

I'm even pushing the water.
I need 64 oz a day, says the book. That does not include the coffee or 3 cups of Green Tea Daily, that's also required.

We will see what Dinner and After dinner hold, my Weakness!!!!

So, im already freaking out, LMAO

About the Food shopping/cooking/Controlling myself around ..........

CARBS.

The 1st phase of this eliminates White Everything.

Yes, this diet is Racist!

No White pasta, bread, rice............

I can do this for 17 days, right? It's only 17 days of my life.... then i can have Brown Rice, bread and Potatoes. But.... i have to get through this phase 1st.
UGH!
It's going to be so hard, especially while cooking these items for my family.

I'm shouting it from the Roof-tops....

I'M GOING on a DIET!
Yes, after ... maybe 3~4 years i am going to DIET.
Diet sounds like such a Negative word, but what else do i say? "Life change?"
I don't care what you call it... i am stepping into something new.
Honestly, i don't have a problem with my body.
It's what i was given.
I have been "big" my entire Adult life.

This diet is all about getting healthy and taking off extra weight my body has to carry around. I am tired of carrying around extra. I'm sure my insides are tired of working hard at it too.

I love the curves of my body.... i am not trying to be a -stick thin wafer-. I am just trying to be a better ME ~~~> For my ME, My Hubby and my KIDS.
PERIOD... end of story.

So, i am going to use our family blog to Vent my journey... write about the good and bad and hard times.
It's not going to be easy.
So, i am going to start with the big weigh in tomorrow. I wont share my #, but i will share my LOSS and or Gain.
I will be honest, because this is for me.... and I'm not going to lie to myself. LOL

I think i might Measure myself too. Ive done the measuring thing before, with my friend Kitty. That was the last time i tried to loose weight, with her.
It was fun, i had a partner.
So, If you want to be included in this journey via e-mail... let me know.

Whats the Plan?
The book "17 Day Diet".
It's not a 17 day diet, where i will loose all the weight i want in 17 whole days, lol.
No.
It's a 17 day Diet Cycle that's broken up into 4 Phases.... and i can do phases 1~3 in order until i loose the weight i need. So, i may need to repeat these phases Over and Over until i get the result's i need/want. Who knows!
Phase #4 is the Maintain Phase and this is where i will live & eat normal.
The 1st 3 Phases will Eliminate PROCESSED Foods and Add LOTS of Fluid's to my body and TEACH me to eat for LIFE....
It's all about Healthy /Good/ NATURAL Foods.

I have been thinking about switching to Whole foods and trying to buy healthy for some time now. So this should not be SUCH a shock.... but it will be hard.

So, Encourage me, if you like.
Listen, or don't....
I'll be here .... writing it alllllllllllllllllll down.

Blog Emails to those who get them.

I'm going to be STOPPING them for a time.
Honestly, i don't want to clutter your inbox with lots of entries.
I am getting ready to start a *new life challenge* and I'll be blogging daily(as a way to Vent). So, ... there it is. :)

Ava is a Walker!!!

I don't have Photo or Video yet, but she stood up in the center of the living room, alone and took 4 steps! WHOA Ava!!!

10 months and 3 weeks old.

:)

Happy New Year its 2011~!!

As part of my New Year Resolution ... yes, im going to try one (or a few) this year... I want to Keep in touch with the people who mean so much to me. (You know who you are.)

So, i am going to try to keep up with this blog regularly. :)

Today we got out into Japan and visited a shrine for the new year.

We had a great time as a family.
We walked / ate and enjoyed each other's company.

~>Ava just had a little lick :)

This year we had Ryan and little Willa along. The kids enjoyed having a friend come along. And, Ethan and I enjoyed Ryan's company. Enjoy this little snapshot of today.