So behind

So I've decided to start rejoining in the FlyLady system/routine. I did really good last week. My entrance was always clean (it did need to be steamed, but then it rained and snowed so I had to put my rug back down). My dining room table is actually cleared off and that corner is decluttered! I actually folded and put away ALL the laundry, instead of leaving some (or all) of it in the laundry hampers. I even swept my front porch!



This week we're supposed to be in the kitchen. The kitchen is where I spend a good chunk of time now. I make 3 different meals for dinner: 1 for Mike, 1 for Marsh (unless he's cooperative and eats what Mike's having), and then my special HCG meal. I have like seriously no counter space again. If anyone finds a really cheap (like under $50) kitchen cart, please let me know... I need to expand my kitchen desperately!

Here is my kitchen in a nutshell. It is so tiny that when the dishwasher is open, you can't open the fridge more than 2 inches. Once I managed, somehow miraculously, to get a gallon of milk out while the dishwasher was open. Once.

So, back to the kitchen. On the left side of the sink live the Kitchenaid stand mixer, the blender, and the crock pot. On the right side of the sink lives the rotating spice rack, the knife block, all of the cutting boards I own, and the George Foreman grill. On the counter between the oven and fridge lives the microwave.

I would like to note that with all of the counters there are small cupboards below and above. There are 2 small cupboards above the fridge and the stove. The cupboards on the long side of the kitchen (side with the sink) don't go to the ceiling, so I have a lot of stuff stored up on top, like the griddle, the rice cooker, the deep fryer, the other crock pot, and some oversized bowls that don't fit anywhere else.

So, back to the FlyLady thing.... we're supposed to clear our counters off COMPLETELY and wipe them down. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Unless I want to trip and kill myself by putting the stuff on the floor, this one isn't getting done anytime soon. Also, scrubbing the faucet with a toothbrush? I don't know about you, but the only non-electric toothbrush I own is the one I got from the periodontist because I can't brush with an electric one yet (still having gum issues).

So the odds of getting this week's flying done are slim to none. Plus, I don't have a lot of energy this week. I don't know why. I'm super excited about starting Phase 3 of the HCG, which means that I'll be cooking even MORE, but I can eat EGGS, and natural Peanut Butter, and CHEESE!! I'm so excited!

I'm more than willing to accept any advice/tips you might have for me on solving my kitchen problem. Did I mention that on the other side of the tall cupboard is the garbage can, then the dining room table (which is really a card table) that hides the food processor, which is still in its box because there isn't any room for it on the counter or in a cupboard? Yeah....HELP ME PLEASE!!!

And don't suggest I dejunk my electronics/appliances, because I already got rid of a SLURPEE machine, a fondue set, a waffle iron, and a broken blender. :)

Weight loss progress :)

I can finally show some weight loss progress (lost 24.4 lbs!) :)

So, last February I bought this dress (below) to wear to my nephew's wedding. At the time I had lost 14 lbs, and spent 2 months dieting and excerising. I was so excited I went out and paid way more money than I normally would have on this outfit.


I wore it twice before I couldn't wear it anymore :( Well tonight I realized that I weigh 1 lb more today than I did a year ago! So I tried it on and it FITS! I'm so glad, because today I went shopping with the sisters and bought these beauties:
at a KILLER sale at Dillard's. And guess what? They match the dress! It totally wasn't planned. I really went to buy a pair of black shoes and a brown belt, two things I need, but ended up with cute brown shoes instead. :)

So, tomorrow I am going to wear my dress to church. I'm so excited! :)

Apologies

I feel like I've been neglecting you, blog and readers, and I'm sorry.

I've been posting almost every day on my diet blog, which is good. You're more than welcome to read it. That's what it's there for :)

I feel like I'm slacking a bit on OPAM for February. Yes, it's only like what? the 6th? But last month I had so many finishes. This month I am struggling already. Let's attribute it to the fact that I'm tired and cranky because I can't pig out on popcorn, soda pop, ice cream, and microwaveable treats. Sounds like a good excuse to me! haha

I have been writing a lot lately. I started rewriting my book and currently am on like chapter seven or eight. It's not as impressive as the last time I wrote (I had over 200 pages written), but at least I'm getting somewhere, and the story makes sense and is cohesive. :)

That's about all I have to say right now. My life's been pretty boring. Oh, except that I've lost 10.5 lbs in just 1 1/2 weeks! WOO WOO! That's pretty exciting.

Hopefully I'll have some more interesting things to say later, or next week.

New Diet

I've started a new diet. It's the HCG diet. I started today.


I will be blogging each day (hopefully) about my journey via this blog, in case you are interested in following me on my journey.

Best Diet Ever

So, while this whole connective tissue graft has been such a pain in the butt, I have to admit that some good has come out of it.

I have lost 14 pounds in just under 2 weeks. That's pretty good, for me. In fact, when I went to the clinic on Saturday and they took my blood pressure, it's gone down from pre-hypertension to normal! YAY! Who'da thunk that 14 pounds could make that much of a difference?

Ultimately I would like to lose maybe 20 pounds by the time this ordeal is over. I'm supposed to get my sutures out on Wednesday, but unfortunately, due to my own stupidity (i.e.: eating pizza, even though it was cut up into bites), part of the sutures have pulled through, and I think I might have to go in tomorrow and have it reattached. Grrr.... stupid pizza.

Note: I don't recommend doing a Google image search for before/after photos. YIKES! Some people have scary gums. I thought mine were bad but after seeing those photos, I have some hope that they'll turn out okay. :)

Anyway, if you ever want to lose a lot of weight fast, try only chewing on your left molars, not biting into anything, and not drinking out of a straw. That cut out fast food and Coke for me. :( Oh well. Eating every 3-4 hours wasn't all that bad. Soup, spaghetti o's, pasta cut into little bites, applesauce and cottage cheese, yogurt, and lots and LOTS of water certainly has worked out well :)

Who knows? Maybe I'll keep the diet up after I get clearance to bite into things! haha