sushi saturday.

this morning, i was able to talk tim into a nice run/walk... we had our record breaking stroll for 3 and a half miles... and yes, i was huffing and puffing after only running for a mile!

tonight we decided to go do dinner at a place called Masamoto... they have the best sushi... i ate an avocado roll and split a hawaiian roll with tim. it hit the spot!

and with all this royal wedding hype, we decided to end our night with a little mario 3...

i needed to save the princess.

chips and dip.

before tim and i were married we attended a pre-cana class for church. we were to write down each others strengths and weaknesses. he was to write down weaknesses like "theresa has very little patience" or "she gets angry easily"...

but not tim. he wrote "chips and dip"...boy, does he know me, or what?!

tonight we went to On The Border... my favorite mexican restaurant... they give you bottomless chips and dips...

i decided to order a salad with dressing on the side and enjoy as many chips as i pleased...

i didn't eat as planned tonight but i am not going to beat myself over it... we have a very quiet weekend and i plan on exercising and eating light to get ready for monday's weigh-in...

but for now, i am going to finish enjoying my friday night with a homemade white mochatini made by my husband.

Have a wonderful weekend!

holy guacamole!

tonight i went out to dinner with a few friends... after fighting with myself between the turkey hoagie and a salad, i finally agreed on the salad with a side of dressing... great choice!... because when i got home...

tim surprised me with one of my favorites! he went to chipotle and picked me up some guacamole dip...



i dipped some tostito chips and savored every bite!

so worth giving up the turkey hoagie for some chips and guacamole!

eating clock.

this past monday, i had off from work and decided to tackle my first cooking recipe. tim is the cook in our little family but i decided to take on the challenge.

i have only ever cooked for tim one other time... and although he enjoyed and appreciated it, i knew i could do better.

so i took the laptop into the kitchen and watched youtube videos on "how to mince garlic" "how to chop an onion" "how to chop cilantro" and "how to cook chicken breast"
after three hours i made my first edible dinner. chicken tortilla soup. it tasted just like the soup from Max and Erma's, which is my favorite! we sprinkled a little cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips on top and voila!
Recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup

In a large stockpot combine and whisk together until smooth: 2 cans each of the following Campbell soups: cream of mushroom, cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and cheddar cheese soup. Whisk in 2-15 oz cans chicken broth.

Add: 1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup Pace brand medium salsa
1-4.5 oz can Ortega green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh,chopped cilantro
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. red chile powder, more or less to your taste
salt and pepper to your taste

Bring to a full boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Add: 4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into small chunks. Simmer another hour.

While soup is simmering, make your soup toppings:

Crunch tortilla chips and place in a bowl.

Shred 1/2 lb. cheese and place in a bowl ( i used cheddar)

To serve: Ladle soup into bowls, top with shredded cheese and fried tortilla chips.

This recipe will make a full crockpot... I did half the recipe for just the two of us and we still had leftovers!

speaking of dinner...

tim eats lunch pretty late in the day and usually a big one like cheese steaks or burritos...

i eat lunch pretty early in the day and usually a small one with yogurt, fruit, and carrots...

he is never hungry for dinner at 5:30... and i am STARVING! i tend to snack.. and snack... and snack...until tim gets hungry around 7:30...

does anyone else live with someone whose eating clock is different from their own? how do we get our eating clocks the same?

Final egg update.

ten days later...

and by the tenth day... it didn't taste nearly as good as the first... so the rest went into the trash... I WON!

sweet distractions.

i made it through the easter weekend! i have to be honest. it was so hard. super hard.

i started off easter sunday with chobani yogurt in hopes that the protein would fill me up and i wouldn't be famished going to the party.

when i arrived...i had just a taste of all my favorites (taco dip and buffalo dip)

a very close family friend, corrine (an avid blog reader!), made a delicious and healthy salsa to go with chips! I ended the chip fest, dipping in her salsa and walked away from all the appetizers.

dinner was a success...but then...

came the dessert table... Candy, cookies, and cakes were EVERYWHERE!! i ate a cookie and some malt eggs and then used my niece and nephew as my sweets distraction.

i walked with logan.

and snuggled with mckenna.


and stayed far, far, far away from the kitchen. i enjoyed the company and tried to focus on catching up with family and friends rather than focusing on chips and dip.

and for that... i think i deserve a pedicure to bring in the spring season!

Happy Monday!

Happy Easter!

Tim and i spent the evening dying easter eggs and getting ready for the "easter bunny" to arrive!

while we were busy dipping eggs, sasha was snoozing in the corner of our dining room waiting for us to finish...(had to throw this picture in...she is so stinkin' cute!)

I woke up this morning... and JEEPERS CREEPERS! the easter bunny was here!

I don't think he got my memo that i have been trying to eat healthier... maybe if he knew, he would of put carrots, oranges and fiber bars in the basket instead!

i have a feeling that i may be giving the candy to friends... any takers!??!

today is going to be really hard. easter is a big holiday in my family. we have about forty people celebrating and all those people bring delicious food. buffalo chicken dip, taco dip, homemade chocolate chip cookies and candy will all be on the table.

i figured a plan. i am going to have a little "taste" of everything i want and walk away. i don't want to deprive myself (thanks Kristin for this advice!)

i am weighing in today. i weighed in last monday after eating terrible on sunday and i was seriously down and out for two days because of it... i will go back on my monday weigh-in next week...

new number is 144.6! that is an 18.6 pound weight loss in 16 weeks... i'll take it!

next weigh-in: monday, may 2nd.

Happy Easter everyone!

successful start.

the start of the easter weekend has been a success...

last night we went out with a couple of friends to a japanese restaurant. since it was good friday, i had to find an option that was not only healthy but had no meat! i previewed the menu at home before going to the restraunt...

and decided on an avocado roll for my appetizer for about 180 calories and mango shrimp for my entree.

i had my "cheat of the week" and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.

A new idea that I came across recently is "cheat of the week." I came across it in another healthy living blog and loved it!

looking forward to the easter weekend...first on the list... dying easter eggs!

little green monster.

jealousy. this is a feeling i don't get often in life except when it comes to weight loss.

i get jealous when i see people who have lost weight. i get jealous when people lose weight faster than me. i get jealous. not a mean jealously. just the little green monster sneaking up on me jealous.

jealous because i wish it was me! don't get me wrong, i am super excited about their weight loss and how wonderful they look...but i just wish it was me!

this jealousy feeling usually gives me a little "push"... seeing that others can do it, and how great they look, makes me feel that i can do it too...

so for all of my friends who have done a fantastic job on their weight loss... keep it up! because although i may be a little jealous, you are inspiring me to keep on my journey... and keep my head in the game.

this is just a game, right? and everyone knows that i hate to lose.:)

have you ever felt jealous of someones weight loss?

Another Egg Update.

1 week later...

still winning...

diet coke dilemma.

my name is theresa. and i am addicted to diet coke.

before lent, i would drink up to three diet cokes a day. one for dinner. one for lunch. and yes. one for breakfast.

i gave up articial sweetners in hopes to make it a life change. i wanted to begin drinking water and stay away from all those "diet" drinks. i kept hearing from friends how drinking "diet" drinks are so bad... and they are full of chemicals.

i have learned to drink water. it has been a PROCESS. the first two weeks were tough. i learned tricks on how to make drinking water better.

lent is coming to an end. i have to make a decision... should i go back to my diet coke drinking ways? or continue on this water path?

i am leaning more towards the water path but maybe having a diet coke during special occasions like.... a vacation to Playa Mujeres in Mexico!

speaking of playa mujeres... 97 days!!

i'll have s' more.

my friend, melissa, introduced me to a south beach smores bar... it seriously tasted like a candy bar... no joke!

They have 110 calories and 9 grams of fiber! it was a great afternoon snack and totally took care of that "something sweet" feeling that i needed today.

just dance.

i am not a huge fan of this game on the wii (because i LOSE every game)... but i must say... i worked hard and burned calories!!

a mess.

i made it through the weekend with some bumps... but made it through... on saturday, i began the night drooling over chicken wings. i did end up eating one. for dessert there were these fantastic, gooey rice crispy treats made by Allison. i did end up eating one of these too. i am proud of myself because i could have easily had more but i settled for one and ended the night with a little dancing... Sunday was ROUGH. Tim and I went to the Phillies game and I ended up eating a hot dog... i did avoid the cotton candy man walking up and down the aisle next to me for three and a half hours! i did great all day until dinner. i was a mess. an absolute mess. such a mess that i was so angry with myself the whole drive home and poor tim had to hear it. The Melting Pot is a delicious fondue restaurant... and i ate everything in sight and lost total control. i checked myself out of eating healthy and just indulged in melted cheese and chocolate. i was mad. frustrated. i could of ate better. i could of just ate apples and broccoli and forgot about the bread, chips and dip. i could of just ate the strawberries and bananas and pay no attention to the brownie, cheesecake and chocolate... but i didn't... i lost control.

i was going to lie on the weigh-in and post my weight from yesterday morning knowing the damage i did last night would cause a rise in the weigh-in this morning. but i will be honest...

here it goes...146.8. miserable. miserable because i was 144.4 on sunday morning. i was ALMOST at the twenty pound loss mark. almost... way to go theresa. way to lose control...

have you ever lost control with eating? and how do you bounce back from these negative feelings?

Next weigh-in: Monday, April 25th...

egg update.

peanut butter egg has been in the house since about 6:00pm on Thursday...

as of Saturday at 11:30pm...

so far...i am winning.

a weekend to conquer.

holy productive day. accomplished a few things on my "to do" list. wrote an essay for grad school. cleaned and disinfected the kitchen from top to bottom. and organized all my clothes. wooo hoooooo! and i bet i burned a few calories in the process!!

obviously we still need to get to the post office this weekend... :)

this weekend is going to be a tough one to conquer. tonight i am heading to a friend's place for appetizers, dinner and dessert! tomorrow, tim and i are heading to the phillies game and ending the night with a dinner to celebrate my brother paul and kim's anniversary at the Melting Pot.

hoping that if i blog about this that it will hold me accountable to make healthy choices throughout the weekend.

any suggestions on how to make it to Monday's weigh-in without stuffing my face and falling off the bandwagon?

parties and get togethers are my DOWNFALL...

temptation.

why do i do this to myself? i ordered easter eggs from a friend from school... four of them... I am giving three away for gifts but decided to surprise tim with the fourth one... of course, "surprising" tim meant that it was for me too!

i cut a piece of the pb egg off the end the minute i walked in the door with it and savored every bite...then i wanted to take the big egg, shove it in my mouth, and just eat the whole darn thing. forget cutting it into pieces!

that peanut butter egg is going to drive me CRAZY! it tasted AMAZING! why do i put myself in these positions? did i really need to buy one for tim? deep down, i knew it was for me...

it's a beauty. and it tastes as good as it looks.

we will see who wins. the egg. or me.

to be continued....

meet tim.

just a quick overview of "us"... we were great friends in high school. lost touch for ten years. reconnected again on myspace... and then tim fell in love with me. HA! and shortly after... i fell for him. we were married on july 24, 2010... the best day of my life.

our first thanksgiving together, tim made an amazing corn casserole for our family dinner. and i bought a pie from the grocery store...

from there on, tim has cooked for me. from monthly anniversaries to holidays. now that we are married, tim continues to make dinners.... he really loves it... and i really love being his sous chef. i have learned how to cut a tomato and pepper (from watching youtube videos) and i can clean a mean pan.

tonight tim made a delicious indian dish. it had chick peas and crushed tomatoes. and for the side. a mediteranian cucumber salad. so healthy and delicious. i figured the whole meal to be about 550 calories.

and for dessert... marshmallows!!

excuses are like armpits...

i had every intention to do another 30 days of jillian michaels and her Shred... but i just couldn't get myself MOTIVATED to push the play button and get shreddin'...

maybe it is because i don't want to hear jillian's voice. maybe it is because i don't want to bother the neighbors downstairs with my jumping jacks. maybe it is because i got tired of looking at tiny girls doing the workouts in the video. maybe it is because i have been busy with my grad class and work. maybe it is because i am just trying to give any excuse in the book to not work out to the shred.

it is hard to believe that i use to love running... it takes all my might to move my body after work. it has been impossible to even do a 30 minute video. i need motivation to get this almost 30 year old body moving...

no more excuses. as a friend of mine says... excuses are like armpits. everyone has them and they all stink...

how do you get motivated to work out after a long day of work?

pizza, hoagie and a blizzard.

i thought i would lose weight this week with being sick... but that just wasn't the case. some days i ate very little... but yesterday i ate pizza and a hoagie... and yes. i broke and bought a reese's peanut butter cup blizzard. so new weight is 146.0... that is a .4 of a gain. very small gain. but a gain none the less. the blizzard did me in.

back to my routine today... i crave structure and routine with this whole eating healthy thing.

ohhh monday! thank god you're over!

Next weigh-in: April 18th

GOALLLLL!!!

so after being home bound with strep since wednesday, i finally got out and about last night. i went to my very first soccer game! we drove into chester with our new union shirts and cheered on the team!

I have never had a huge interest in soccer... it always seemed boring. no one ever scores and it is just a bunch of people running all over a field. but last night, i saw it in a whole new light. those guys worked hard. they just didn't stop. they must of ran MILES around on that field. it was like watching track with a ball involved. the fans were much more involved than any other sports team i have seen. they were singing, and playing instruments and standing the whole game!

i also enjoyed the fact the game never had a break. it kept my interest the whole time. no time outs. no innings switching. no time for a bathroom break... or buying crab fries and cotton candy... or you would risk missing a GOALLL!!!

speaking of crab fries and cotton candy... i didn't have any of it! every time, tim and i go to any philadelphia sports game we always get crab fries and cotton candy. last night. i was smelling the crab fries. and seeing the bright blue cotton candy. and my stomach grumbled. but i focused back to the game and cheered on the players instead! success!!

Shout out to Frank! Happy Birthday! and thanks for having us go to the game with you! maybe next time, we'll split that cotton candy!

weigh day tomorrow...

the social network.

486.485.486.485.484. these are the numbers that i see constantly change in my friends column on facebook.

my mom asked me the other day. why do you have so many friends? do you really have that many friends?

i thought about that answer for a second. and said... everyone on my friends list touched my life one way or another. whether it be when i was a child. or when i was in highschool. or maybe it was college and we were on the track team and i cheered for them. and they cheered for me. or maybe we were in fca together. and we prayed and worshiped together. or maybe i have worked with them and we connect through our jobs.

are we suppose to be back in touch with people after many years? or just let all those people who entered our lives be memories and move on...

i learned today of someone who "defriended" me. someone who is such a sweet person. someone who i had a fun time with at one point in my life.

i personally enjoy seeing old connection's lives change and grow...i love seeing friends' updates and learning about engagements, weddings and babies being born...oh and babies growing up!

i love being back in touch because it means that at some point... you were a part of my life... a friend!

Have you ever been "defriended" by someone?

rainy sick day.

sick day. number 2. doctor's orders. i even have a little sick note to give to my employer when i go back to work on monday. i didn't think i needed one of those but since i have never been sick for two days in a row, i thought it would be best... especially since it ended up being two days before the weekend...

i love being home sick on a rainy day. i am sorry for everyone else who has to be driving to work in this or who were wishing for a beautiful start to the weekend. but wouldn't you rather be home sick on a rainy day than a sunny day?

Sasha and i are just resting in bed waiting for me to feel better...

last night, tim bought me a milkshake from Chik-fil-a... a small chocolate one. a 6oo calorie one! and i slurped every last bit and felt not even an inch of guilt. my throat felt amazing. although my belly didn't about an hour later... ugh.

wishing everyone a happy and healthy weekend!

yep to strep.

i woke up tuesday morning with a headache. took an advil. tuesday at lunch. i felt a sharp pain in my left ear. tuesday around 3. it hurt to swallow and my throat hurt... i woke up yesterday morning feeling HORRIBLE. my whole body hurt. i went into work and as the day went on, i thought i was going to die. my clothes rubbing against my skin... hurt! it was impossible to keep my head up. on the drive home. i seriously cried because my body and throat were in so much pain. my temperature was 103.

i have forgotten what it felt like to be really sick. it has been since 2002 that i was sick with a fever.

i haven't eaten much in the past two days or so... not a good way to lose weight... tim made me soup last night and today i had a latte lite after the doctors and i am making egg salad to have for lunch. trying to keep foods soft and easy to swallow. i can't wait to feel better and bounce back into my routine.

count down.

I have been getting daily text messages and pictures from tim counting down our trip back to mexico (he has been using pictures from our honeymoon in the countdown!)... words can even begin to describe how excited i am to go back to the spot where we had our honeymoon. we absolutely loved playa mujeres and haven't stopped talking about it since we have been home.

after tim and i booked the trip, i mentioned to him how i wanted to do more activities on the resort this time around. during our honeymoon, we just sat by the pool and did absolutely nothing. this time, i want to go on the bike trails, participate in aqua-aerobics at noon, and play beach volleyball. i even mentioned that maybe we should head to the gym...

tim "sorta" agreed with me...well... kinda... but i have 112 days to talk him into it!!

run, timothy, run!

tim and i booked our trip to mexico yesterday! we were so excited that we decided to celebrate with burritos from chipotle!

today we went on our second run together as a married couple. tim is not much of a runner... in fact, he hates it. but after a little begging and buying him new sneakers, he has decided to join me as my workout buddy. i am hoping to blog about our third run... keep it up timothy! (excuse the blinding white legs in the photo below)


Weighed in this morning... new number is 145.6... that is a 2.4 pound drop from last week! for a grand total of 17.6 pounds lost over three months! wooo hoooo!!

Next weigh-in: Monday, April 11th.

three months ago.

three months ago...

i realized i gained 24 pounds in only five months.

i had a constant red ring around my belly.

i was told i had puffy cheeks and got "gordo"

three months ago...

i started to eat healthy breakfasts and dinners.

i started to pack my own lunches with yogurt and fruit.

i began blogging again.


my goal is to continue to stay focused and eat healthy until easter sunday.

do you have small weight loss goals?

so long, march.

Hello April! I am looking forward to the warmer weather... to walking outside and not feeling that instant freeze. to not having to sit in a cold car and waiting for it to warm up. to not wearing jeans and coats. to not shivering and feeling miserable during recess duty.

i am looking forward to walking around town with no coats. to running with my new sneakers. to wearing spring and summer dresses. and of course. my favorite. wearing flip flops!

i am so over winter. i really only enjoy winter for four days. from december 21st to december 25th. once santa has come down the chiminey and drove his sled back north, i am done with it.

tim and i have made our first big financial decision. we are taking a trip back to Mexico in july. we went to the mall to discuss it with the travel agency. of course. they were closed. so we decided to go eat dinner in the food court. HOLY TEENAGERS!! i swear we were the OLDEST people in the mall! tim and i looked at each and decided to eat elsewhere... max and ermas. i treated myself to a cheese skewer and ate some soup and salad. for dessert. dairy queen. ice cream in a dish with rainbow jimmies. a great start to the month of april.

march. we had great memories. but so long, and bring on april.

Best Memories of March.
Losing 15 Pounds
Dan and Amanda's Wedding
Making Tim Dinner
Eating Beans for Breakfast
Running a Few Miles
Completing the 30 Day Shred