Taking Charge

I am a sweet lover.  The sweeter the better has been my motto for years! Sugar was my best friend along with unhealthy foods.  When a cashier would ask me "chips as your side or baby carrots?" That was a no brainer for me-chips, of course!

Who did I think I was all of those years?!  Did I seriously think my bad eating habits and not working out wouldn't catch up to me?? Yes, unfortunately I did.  I always took for granted the fact I am thin and my doctors would tell me that I was a "lucky girl with a high metabolism." We all know doctors can be wrong...

About three years ago, I was told I have congestive heart failure.  This probably stemmed from my lack of exercise and my poor intake of water.  For years, my way of socializing with friends consisted of  many cocktails. I probably suffered from years of dehydration since I never wanted to drink any beneficial fluids the next day.  My normal routine consisted of two soft drinks the next day and maybe some juice.  That's it!  Post cardiologist, I slowly started to change my ways.  No salt, little to no alcohol, and SOME work outs. Fast forward to the present...  

I'm pregnant and began drinking (what I think) is tons of water, quit drinking soda, started eating more fruit, some sweets, and every once in awhile I would "visit" Portillos or Chipolte.  Pregnant women are supposed to indulge every now and then right?!  Not me. A few weeks ago, I learned I am borderline diabetic and had to make an appointment to see a dietitian because my baby is on the "chunky" side.  Exercise and eating right has to be in my life full-time not part time. No more excuses...

I'm a strong believer in signs and things happening for a reason.  Even though I've changed some unhealthy habits--I could be doing a lot better.  We all have something that we need to improve right?  No one is perfect, but I've learned that doing something at 80% is just not good enough.  Yes, I've improved, but I can do better and I FINALLY realized I need to give it 100%!

I'm currently following this meal plan given to me by my dietitian.  I have one to follow for each meal of the day.  Now that I'm off of work, I have been researching diabetic friendly meals (thanks Pinterest) and I'm learning a lot. Did you know bananas are loaded with sugar and therefore should be avoided?  I always thought ALL fruit was good for you.  I also have been taking advice from people in my life that have been extremely supportive throughout this entire process.  Ann has given me advice on what to order at certain places when I'm on the go and she sent me many links that provide healthy tips.  Vasavi told me about The Belly Fat Cure book that helps me choose meals/condiments that are not loaded with sugar.  Tom has also been cooking healthier meals and has been helping me make healthy choices. The other day, I had a craving for ice cream and he took me to an Oberweis store and told me to order the sugar free frozen yogurt. Yuck! I sat there gazing among all of the lucky people around me who had the sugar loaded FUN ice cream.  I wanted to cry. This is not going to be easy.

Just read this quote and perhaps you can apply it to your life as well:  

"What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while."


XOXO

Flower Power!

Looking for foods that are sugar free, salt free, & low in fat is enough to make anyone feel a little sad/frustrated in a grocery store.  Had to purchase these flowers today at Trader Joe's as a little pick me up. 

More on my new diet tomorrow.

An Easy Schedule

(Some of our baby shower thank you cards)

I have gifts to organize, thank you cards to write, pregnancy books to read, some returns to make, etc.  

Instead-I'm going to enjoy the fresh blueberry muffins that are (at the moment) cooling off and watch hours of my favorite TV shows.  Sometimes we just have to be lazy and put tasks or errands on hold! 

All About Me in a Good Way!

(Picture will be explained)

Sometimes you just have to put yourself over everyone else. Today is my first day off of work and let me tell you it was very difficult for me to walk away. I am blessed this year with awesome co-workers and three amazing ninety minute classes. 

My first class is my gifted group who loves a good debate and to speak passionately about literature and other topics. A few weeks ago we started a unit on Anne Frank and we discussed how the media still has such a powerful influence on us. Kim Kardashian (yes I find my clip funny) even entered our conversation because we are currently brainwashed to think true beauty exists in a woman who couldn't be more fake. She paints her face (as Tom calls it) with too much makeup and wants to look picture perfect all of the time.  This process has to be exhausting and we believe true beauty is real beauty. My first and second period are like a family and they have shared many personal experiences/conversations as a group while shedding some tears. I have not experienced an open and close class like this since my first year of teaching.

My second group is one that consists of many struggling students, but this is the class that I have seen the most improvement from.  Their confidence in their reading and writing abilities has skyrocketed since the beginning of the school year. A student named Juan used to stare out of the window and probably wish he could be anywhere else. I can honestly say I have changed him because he writes poetry at home, shares it with me, and tells me how much I have improved his writing. All he needed was some encouragement. He sadly shared with me that no one really supports him at home and after all of our talks, I now have faith that he will be fine and make good decisions. 

My last class is filled with goofy but respectful boys and the quietest group of girls I've ever seen! Thank goodness the girls are introverts because I have a handful of boys in that class that love to joke around (but they get their work done).  This class is a great way to end my day because who doesn't like to laugh a bit while working?? 

I remember struggling with my decision to leave Self-Contained (SC) because being with the same students all day enabled me to have a close bond with them. The 2011-12 school year started and I still missed SC, but now I've come to love my current position so much more because I'm able to see close to ninety students a day and hopefully change a high percentage.  

However, like I stated above, it is time to take care of me. I've been experiencing some bumps along the road with my pregnancy. I am trying to stay as positive as I can because I know pregnancy is a blessing from God. I'm really taking this time to sleep in, relax, eat right, and maybe just maybe complete some things in my Paris themed journal that I previously wrote about.

PS: This morning, I ate a spinach and tomato omelet and went for a relaxing walk. I'm trying, really trying this time for a whole new me.

Shower pics!

( Click on image to enlarge)

Our shower with 60 of our closest family & friends.

Jake's godmother Carol thought of the favors and my sisters helped her put her creative idea together.  The "Something is About to Bloom" favors  were flower pots with blue seeds that had other goodies inside. 

Love these two!

Happy Dad to be :)  

The bump!

My sister Joyce picked out the football themed cake.

Greatest sisters in the world who put all of the details together.

Jake received a lot of gifts-everyone was so generous!

What's a shower without games??

Missing a few friends that were there but are not in this pic.
(I feel like the Godfather, I mean Godmother in this picture ;)