"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

WW Wednesday: An experiment

Ok, it was another rough week.  I have not been eating well lately.   
So, instead of wallowing in my struggles even longer,  I'm going to go out on a limb and try something different.  Many of you have asked me what I eat on a typical day, and this week I am going to share that information.  (!)
Every day (hopefully, I have a lot going on so it might not be till the next morning) I will share a run down of what I ate and the corresponding WW pointsplus.
I think a week of accountability will get me going down the right path again.  One step at a time, right?


As always, I appreciate every word and act of support for this joooourney of mine.  This is a big goal I have been working toward for almost a year and a half, and it means a lot to me, in case you haven't noticed. :)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

My other Curl-y Toddler

Two years ago today, I wrote the following post:

"To Blog or Not to Blog"

























I've been playing around with the idea of blogging for a while.  I'm still not sure if anyone would be interested in the things I have to say or what I have going on, but I might do this for myself at the very least.  Maybe sharing some of my life will put focus on what is important to me, so even if I am the only person reading this it will be beneficial.

Thank you to my friends and family (and if there is anyone else out there that I don't know, please introduce yourself!) for being on the receiving end of my Halloween rants, chocolate obsessions, flower photos, weight loss joooourney reflections, parenting adventures, and general random Curliness. 
It's been a big 2 years here at Just a Curl!  Here's to number 3!


~Cayce

Monday, February 27, 2012

Checking in

Just ONE more tulip pic, okay?


Sorry about my absence. I've been consumed with school matters of late. It's going to be crickets around here for another week or so, so bear with me.
Here's an old-school pic of the chitlins for now.


Hope you have a good week!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WW Wednesday

Hi folks, this is going to be fast and dirty.

I was feeling good going in today.  Yes, I blew out my points over the weekend, but I thought for sure I was looking at a loss this week.  I didn't even worry about my clothes (their weight).  I strutted into my meeting thinking, "wow, that would be awesome if I got a +5 two weeks in a row."

Ohhhh, my friends, life has a deliciously dark chocolate sense of humor.  (I typed dark and thought chocolate.  Maybe this shows a bit of the problem.. :)  )

I gained this week.  Two whole pounds. 

Yes, that scale flipped me the bird.  You think you've got it all figured out?  You think you can just slide right into home without getting scratched up and bruised in the process.  No ma'am.  It doesn't work that way.

Ok, ok, I get the picture.  I'm going to have to work for the last 15 just as hard as I worked for the first.

Just makes success that much sweeter.

I still very well might return the favor and give that scale the bird next week, though.

...

I take it back.  I'm a lady.  This is the closest I can get to "giving the bird."


At least it's a big one.  ;)

Friday, February 17, 2012

Focus

“If you change the way you look at things, 



the things you look at change.” ~Wayne Dyer

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

WW Wednesday

Welcome to the post-Valentine's Day edition of WW Wednesday! 

First of all, I have to apologize for the state of my blog recently.  All my creative juices have been funneled in to my classes.  You know, for those writing assignments I actually get graded on. 
If my writing was a fried chicken, you're getting the drumsticks while my teachers get the big breast pieces. 
Anyone want a cold biscuit?
(Isn't it sad that in a weight-loss post I use a food metaphor?)

Here are some of the beautiful tulips my sweet hubs gave me yesterday I'm giving you all to suck up:



Right.

This week I did pretty well making healthy choices in the "normal meal" category.  (I consider "normal meals" those meals you have during the week, usually at home, that aren't particularly special.)

It's a good thing I did so well in this department because I had some bigger meals on the weekend that could have easily pushed me over the edge into Gaining territory.  I've been there before, though.  I have a gorgeous vacation home in Gaining and it's especially inviting at holidays.

I ended up have a nice little loss at the scale today (I may or may not have shot my fist in the air like a gold medal Olympian) and I got my +5 lost sticker in the meeting. 
I think the stickers should be scratch-and-sniff, don't you? ;) Talk about low points.

Anyway...
I'm going to share my grand total lost next week if I hit what I think I might hit.  (Not Goal, just a nice new number.)
That is, if I don't go all Cookie Monster on the Hershey Kisses we have in the house.
As for a Before & After shot like some of you've requested, I don't think I have the guts for that one yet.   Definitely once I hit goal, though.  (Besides, I don't have a good After pic.  Scary Before shot, yes... many, in fact.)

A couple of you already are, but does anyone else want to join me in the last stretch?  It could be the beginning of your own joooourney. (barf.)

"This one step --choosing a goal and sticking to it-- changes everything." ~Scott Reed


Monday, February 13, 2012

I Heart IHOP

Today BigBoy and I had some rare time alone together.  (BabyCakes was at Mother's Morning Out and BigBoy is tracked-out of school.)





It was too cold for the playground and Target is booooriiiiing for a 5 year old (unless you are looking at toys for them), so we hit up IHOP.

When we go there, I usually get something normal like bacon & eggs or swedish crepes, but today I decided to channel the inner 29 year old 5 year old in me and get a stack of chocolate chip pancakes just like BigBoy!

He couldn't believe we were there alone in our little 2-person booth, waiting for his favorite breakfast.
As I sat there coloring the kids menu with him, well before the pancakes arrived, he said "this is the gwatest day ever."
(To be fair, he's said that at least twice before.)

Breakfast with my BigBoy was pretty great.

With chocolate on top.

Literally.  ;)

Friday, February 10, 2012

Words for the Weekend

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. 
So what. Get started now. 
With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” 

~Mark Victor Hansen, creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series

BigBoy's Valentine's Day

BigBoy is on a year-round school schedule and he tracked-out for 3 weeks starting yesterday.
His class celebrated Valentine's Day early so they wouldn't miss out on the fun.
Here are a few of the things he made in celebration of the chocolateday holiday:

This is a picture of him with his new girlfriend Sophia (who has blonde hair, not orange like in the drawing).  I hate to admit it, but he says he is going to marry Sophia instead of Biz now.
Before you judge, he says he doesn't see Biz enough and he wants to "marry a girl I can play with at recess."
I guess I can see his point. :)


He made a Valentine for his hamster Rapunzel.  We taped it to the outside of her tower cage so she can see it all the time.


He made a Valentine's mailbox with very little help from me.  I mostly did the cutting and helped with taping/gluing.  The rest of it was all him and he was very proud.


While I was in his room taking this photo, I also snapped a pic of one of his original lego creations.


He saw me taking the photo and said "Wait, let me turn the guns off.  I don't want it to shoot you."
(He's clicking an imaginary trigger with his thumb)


He also made cards for me, J, and BabyCakes, but we already knew we had his heart.
(Sappy I know, but come on, it's Valentine's Day afterall.)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Adventures in Parenting

Last night was rough.


It was so rough, in fact, that J and I were injured.


We have actual parenting injuries.


No joke.


Let me give you a little rundown...


12:30: BabyCakes wakes up crying. Why? Who knows. Soothe her, give her some water, and back to bed.


12:37: Pee.


12:38: Wake J up adjusting myself in bed.


12:39-12:49: Quiet the to-do lists in my head.


12:50: Drift off.


12:51: BabyCakes wakes up crying at her door gate. Jump Use my imaginary pulley system to get myself back out of bed and repeat the baby-back-to-bed routine again.


12:55: Climb back in bed.


12:56: Dang it.  I forgot to pee and I MUST pee before I can go back to sleep.


12:57 - 3:30: REPEAT THE ENTIRE PROCESS CONTINUOUSLY.

3:31 - Check BabyCakes' temperature and determine she is not sick.  What the crap, girl?!

3:35 - Decide to be a good wife and sleep on the couch so that my hard-working husband who has to get up all too soon can hopefully catch a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

3:36 - After peeing, drag blankets out of the linen closet to make up the couch.  Trip on the baby gate I left open and roll my ankle. Curse the day I became a woman.

3:39 - Hear Rapunzel (the hamster) running in her wheel.  Try to telepathically make her stop for the next 20 minutes.


4 freakin a.m. - Limp on sore ankle with hamster to kitchen.  Pee.  Back to couch.


4:03 - I still hear the hamster wheel.  Now I'm hot.  Hobble to switch for fan, then bathroom.  Couch.


4:06 - 5something - Drift in and out of sleep having those freaky dreams where you think you are awake but then it turns out you were still dreaming.  Finally decide BabyCakes is out for the count and hobble to bedroom and cozy up to a warm husband.


5something + 30 seconds - Hear the hamster who is now in the kitchen, much closer to our room.  Put hamster back in living room.  Climb in bed and have brief nightmare about hamsters, mice and rodents of all kinds taking over my house.


5something + Ihavenoclue - Hubs is up for work.  His back is very sore.  Try to massage some of the pain away but it doesn't help.


5:45 - BabyCakes is walking in my room.  Don't move. Maybe she won't see me.  


5:46 - Use what little energy I have left to pull her into the bed.  She sucks her thumb and snuggles up in my arms.


5:47 - Realize having moments like this make the whole night worth it.


Well, kind of.  ;)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Today, out of the blue, BigBoy said to me,

"I love you more than cookies and Star Wars."



Sorry ladies, he's taken. At least until he's 7. ;)

WW Wednesday

Well look at that, it's been a whole week since I blaaaahged about anything.
I'll try to get something more interesting than my s.l.o.w. weight-loss updates on here some time soon.
But while we're on the subject... :)

I had a nice weigh-in today.  I wasn't sure I would because sick children last week and Kindergarten obligations kept me out of the gym.  I used every single point I had for the week but I must have gotten more activity in than I realized, because I had a nice loss at the scale today.
Pollyanna nice.

After an undisclosed (because I don't want to go back and cry look) amount of time spent in this "decade" of numbers,  I FINALLY broke through to the next lower set.
Barely.
Like, eat-a-tictac-and-it's-over barely there.

But I'm here!

You see, I didn't just sit still at the same weight all those weeks months seasons (maybe 2).
I would lose a few, gain a few, lose a few, gain a few.  You know the drill.
It took me losing like 25 pounds to get 10 off.  Does that make sense?
Maybe it wasn't that much, but like I said, I don't want to go back and cry look.

My goal is so close I could touch it.

In heels.

If I stretch...

Anyone want to set a goal for themselves and join me in my home stretch?



Wednesday, February 1, 2012

WW Wednesday

Or, "Why I'm Glad I Stepped on the Scale Today"

This past week hasn't been easy.
Yes, yes, we can all agree that in the grand scheme of things, my "complications" of life aren't a drop in the bucket for millions and millions of people.
I get that.
I really do.

Moving on.

I've been in the house a lot lately.

And I might have turned to a candybar or twelve in the last week in a blind sugar addiction gone out of control moment of weakness.


I had a good excuse not to go to WW today.  Both children were home with me and besides, I knew I had gained.  I didn't get much sleep last night, either.

I wasn't going to go.  Last night and this morning I ate like I wasn't going to go.  I didn't eat a LOT, but I didn't eat with my meeting in mind, that's for sure.

But this morning it kept nagging at me.

GO.

Just GO.

YOU MUST FACE IT.  YOU CAN HANDLE IT.

GO.


So I went, fully expecting a BIG gain.  (well, as big a gain as you can have over one week)
You know what, though?  It wasn't that bad at all.  Perfectly manageable.  Far better than I expected, in fact.

I walked in with the kids, weighed, and left -- we didn't stay for the meeting.


But I WENT.  I faced my reality.


So you see, if I hadn't put on my big girl panties and stepped on that scale, I would have been completely convinced that I had gained several obnoxious, sugar-filled pounds. Then I would've had to try hard not to beat myself up over it, probably sabotaging the upcoming week's efforts.

So now you know "Why I'm Glad I Stepped on the Scale Today."
(Is that where the period goes?)


**Jana Hicks of A Bunch of Hicks took these photos of BigBoy when he was 3? months old. Sweet, aren't they?