Friday, July 27, 2012

Weigh In and stressed!

Last week: 193.3
This week 194.2

Goodness can't believe it's been a week since my last post! I'm up a pound. I expected it. Glad it wasn't more! This week was really tough.

Our weekend trip to Santa Maria went well. We really like it! Just waiting to see if we get hired!

Prayers please! It's a great situation. Davey would be director of maintenance, and be able to serve in the ministry. The Pastor is excited bout our desire to start a church in San Luis Obispo as well.

I couldn't get back on track when we got home. I was super busy editing pictures, appointments, errands, raising 3 kids. They are all so needy! Especially that husband of mine! ;) lol

Well thanks to stress and poor eating, my TMJ is in full flare and almost as bad as it was before. And I am sick. Woke up at 2am with a pounding headache! And a terrible cold. I'm such a baby.

Sometimes life as a stay at home with 3 boys under 5 is really hard. This week stress got to me and I'm paying for it.

I need to get back on track and get control of everything. I am SO thankful for my boys and that I can stay home. Sometimes it is overwhelming though.

One things I'd love about Santa Maria, is the boys could go to pre school for free at the church school! How awesome would that be. That's soooo important to us.

Part 2 of eating organic on a budget is coming.

Sorry for the short post. Xoxo

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Friday, July 20, 2012

Weigh In

Last week: 195.5
This Week: 193.3
-2.2 pounds!

Wahoo!!! I'm so excited and I thank Jesus for helping me!! He is my Rock.

So close to the 180's! I can feel it!
Not only did I hit (& pass) 50 pounds, I reached my pre pregnancy weight from Reece!!! Only took me 7.5 months. :)
I have lost 23 pounds since bringing Reece home from the hospital.

I'm technically not at my "lowest". I was 187 when I ran my first half marathon in 2010 right before I got pregnant with Reece. I had gained back 6 pounds sometime between then & when I found out I was pregnant.
During my pregnancy with Reece I was so sick I lost about 7 pounds and got down to 184.
But I don't really count that as my lowest because I was sick & pregnant.
So, when I get below 187, I'll really be happy to pass where I was before. Make sense? Sheesh that was a long babble.
Anyways, exciting news. Tomorrow morning Davey and I are dropping off Shane and Cody at a friends house and we are heading off to Santa Maria Ca for an interview! Very mixed emotions here. We absolutely love Lancaster Baptist Church and would be really sad to leave (again!).

BUT our heart is to start a church in San Luis Obispo Ca (don't think I've mentioned that on here yet, but we've decided this several months ago after praying & taking a trip there). That's our goal anyways and whether God changes our directions that's up to Him. Right now we really feel that's what God wants us to do.

Anyways, the pastor at this church we are interviewing at seemed excited about the fact that we eventually want to start a church in SLO. It's about 40 minuets from SLO. So maybe? Maybe not. We'll see what happens. I'm excited for a night away. :)

Anyways, what's REALLY helping the weight come off is, eating clean (I'm sooo not perfect but I'm trying!) and I'm daily eating coconut oil and organic green tea. Both are suppose to help speed up metabolism.

Heres a pic of the scale so you all believe me :)

And a pic of my Reecie, he's everywhere now! He's just about crawling. His brother put this sticker on him, lol.

I love my boys!!!!

Love, The Curvy Housewife

Monday, July 16, 2012

Eating Organic on a Budget Part 1

Just like when you are planning a wedding, you have to spend a majority of the money somewhere (or you should, and I always say photography! wink).  We spend the majority of our money on fruits, vegetables and plant based foods (oatmeal, nuts, beans, whole grains).  It generally goes: fruits, veggies, fats (because they are so expensive. ie nuts, oils, avocados), grains, dairy, meat. 

Farmers Market: Every Thursday I venture out to my farmers market and buy fresh Organic produce. This is by far the very best way to get organic produce.  Not only is it cheap and organic, it's local, which means you support local organic farmers and you get the most nutrients out of the produce.  I buy strawberries by the box for $5 (3 heaping green baskets).  Which is waaaay cheaper than any regular store! Last Thursday I bought cucumbers for $2 a pound (which equaled $.50 each, same price as winco), apples for $2 a pound (this was pricey because apples aren't in season), olives $5 for a container (impulse buy, they were stuffed w garlic, delish!), I always get Kale for $1 a bushel, I got peaches and nectarines mix and match for $2.00 a pound, 2 boxes of strawberries (which are almost all eaten now) and this huge red onion for $2! Total= $24. Pretty good I'd say! Better than store prices.
 

My second stop is Trader Joe's. If you told me 4 months ago I'd be shopping at Trader Joe's I wouldn't believe you because I always thought it was way to expensive. My friend and her mom surprised me with some groceries from Trader Joe's about 4 months ago (so sweet huh!?) and I LOVED all the food! Here's what I get there that is natural/healthy/organic that is priced about the same at a regular grocery store.{Just FYI, not everything at Trader Joes is organic, and not everything is clean and healthy, cough Cookie Butter, cough cough, Kelly, Kendra! Cough.} ;p 
Here are some pics of a few very reasonable things that are staples for us.  
1. Organic whole wheat pasta- $1.39 2. Organic Reduced guilt tortilla chips $2 a bag (cheaper than regular chips and good!) 
3. Strawberry Kefir, (organic if they have it) $3.50 {kinda pricey but goes a long way...it's super good for you, has probiotics, and lots of protein & it's delicious! Your kids will love it!} 
4. Organic black beans $1 (I know it's best to cook your own, but I like to have some canned just in case..).


More things that are staples for us from Trader Joes include: 
Meat: 
Organic Free Range Chicken drumsticks $2.98-$3.50 for a package of 5! Let me park it here for a second...I buy this even though yes it's dark meat, because, it's organic & free range. Meaning- these chickens are not cooped up in a dark chicken prison sitting in their own poop all day. They roam around and get fresh air at least part of the day, they aren't pumped full of hormones to make them bigger (which makes the chickens retarded and unable to walk-so not joking, this is true).  They aren't treated with antibiotics either. The breasts are even better but much pricier.

Beef- if we get beef (which is rare) we will get ONLY organic beef. Because, organic beef is so expensive, we rarely get it.  We aren't vegetarian, and we aren't vegan, although we aren't oppose to it.  Our diets do consist mostly of plant based foods.  But we still buy chicken and occasionally we will get organic grass fed top sirloin. YUM. The one I buy from TJ is around $7, not too bad, but you don't get much. If I knew where to get grass fed beef at a reasonable price I would. 
Beef is one thing you don't want to buy unless it's organic AND grass fed. Just watch Food Inc. These cows are caged up, unable to roam and eat grass. They are fed genetically modified corn and soy crud and they get E-coli. Grass naturally kills E-coli. So when cows roam and eat grass like God intended them to, you don't have to worry about it. But now they are cooped up, fed a bunch of crap which has lots of Omega 6 {linked to causing cancer} and the cow has lots of E-coli bacteria in his stomach. So the farmer cuts a whole in the stomach of the cow, inserts a plastic tube over the whole, reaches in with his gloved hand, and scoops out all the visible E-coli. Disgusting right? Well it isn't over yet.  They also regularly give the cows antibiotics. THEN, once the farmer gets all he can see out, they kill the cow, butcher it, and clean the meat with AMMONIA.  Yes, like the stuff you disinfect your house with. Then they process it, package it, and sell it. Mmmmmm, barf now, gag me. 

Salmon: I like to buy one package of wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (must be wild!). Usually around $7. We don't always get this either due to the price.

 
Produce

We get produce here as well. We usually only buy organic produce that is on the dirty dozen list or anything with thin skin and that you don't peel. I get organic romaine lettuce for $2.50 a bag. Organic zucchini for $2.99 a package, organic apricots $2.99 for a package, organic sweet potatoes a big bag for $2.99, and more.  They don't have organic apples right now because they aren't in season yet. We can't wait for this.  (I get more produce at Winco & Walmart and go into that later). 

Breads: 
I've been getting Ezekiel bread which is Organic, sprouted, grain bread $3 something...& you need to keep it in the fridge. It's made just like in the bible. VERY healthy and so much better for you.  Ezekiel wraps $2.50, AK-Mak crackers $1.69, sprouted whole wheat cinnamon bagel $2.29. All these are considered "clean" breads. This is where our budget jumped. We use to buy Cascade pride potato bread from Winco. We are weaning off of it....it's only $1.69, super soft and fluffy, buuuutttt has high fructose corn syrup at the top of it's ingredients list, among lots of other things I can't pronounce.We've been eating less bread and more salad.  I found some OK bread at Winco, I'll talk about that later.

Fats: 
Raw whole cashews $7 for a pound, raw almonds $4.49 a pound, raw pecan pieces $5, 4 organic avocados $4, organic virgin coconut oil (cancer fighting, fat burning, fungus killing awesomeness! I've been eating it everyday) $5.99, Extra Virgin Olive Oil big bottle $5.99. The oils I only have to buy once a month if that.  I know nuts get pricey. For us, we never bought nuts before because they were too expensive. But now we substitute them for other snack foods we use to buy. Our boys love them, and they are great for all of us.

 Supplements/toiletries
EVERYONE should take supplements.  Most people don't get half the nutrients we need a day. These are reasonably priced in my opinion.  Ground flaxseed $2.69 (sprinkle on your oatmeal or in your soup or salad or coffee!) it has Omega 3's, which is soooo important to fight/prevent cancer and keep brain healthy.   Chewable vit C $5.99 also a major cancer fighter and preventer, Multi-vitamin and mineral $7 I think...can't remember. Tom's fluoride free toothpaste $3.99 (we get waaayy too much fluoride, which is toxic!). Next time we will be looking into natural soaps, shampoos, ect. But I'll probably get them online if they are cheaper.  

More in part 2. :) Do you have any good deals and staples? Please share! 

Love, The Curvy Housewife








Friday, July 13, 2012

Weigh In & more pictures!


Weigh In: Last Weigh In (two weeks ago) 197.5
Today: 195.5 
Yippee! I am super happy with that. Especially because I have had a pathetic work out regimen lately. As in, none. 
1.5 pounds until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight! Can't wait. 

Today I am on a MISSION. I will be blogging about it in more detail soon. I am on the hunt to find the cheapest, best deals on clean, organic, unprocessed foods.  I think it's extremely ridiculous that food that is good for you is expensive, and processed junk is so cheap. I mean really? Does it seem to you, that some people might want us to stay obese & unhealthy? Cough cough FDA cough. Oh & maybe because the people at the top of the FDA are the heads of big Pharmaceutical & pesticides companies? Cough cough. Did I just write that out loud? Oops.

Anyways, here are more pictures from the wedding! I loved my dress! I ended up buying it at Khols for $20!! It's a Vera Wang Dress!! Size XL, but for a normal dress in a normal size department, I'm ok with that size. :) It's exactly what I wanted. 
I look at the pictures and see a huge fat girl. Sigh. 
I was embarrassed to see old friends from high school. BUT everyone kept telling me how beautiful I looked and that was so sweet and made me feel a little better.  Just a reminder that I have so much more to go.
Below, me before the wedding.  Then me breastfeeding during the reception when I wasn't busy taking pictures, me and my husbands cousin Ricki (we've been friends for 12+ years, {who is Sara "weightless"- who never blogs anymore :( sister}), Shane making a goofy face (he was the ring bearer), Davey giving his toast (so sweet, made everyone cry), another of me before the wedding-full length pic, me & Davey at the reception (so tired right about now), and one of my shots of Olivia, the Bride! :) 
I am motivated, I am praying for God's strength, I can feel success, I can see myself at my goal. 
Love, The Curvy Housewife 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

I'm Back!

We got in late Sunday night from the wedding and I've been swamped since!!! I did 4 photo shoots over the week, including the wedding. Lot's of work to do! Wedding went well, I'm gonna keep this one short and just upload some pics.  :)


ps I didn't gain ANY weight while out of town....whoo hoo! Back on track now, and a big blog post brewing in my mind.

pps the rest of the pics were taking too long. grr. ill post more tomorrow of the wedding so you can see my dress!!!!

Love, The Curvy Housewife