Today I did the school clothes shopping thing! I originally figured about $150 for clothes (bottoms, tops, socks, undies), but I completed the shopping with the exception of one pair of khaki pants for $61.47!! Sometimes I really love school uniforms! She has khaki skirts, pants, shorts, and her polos and brown belt. We dont need shoes as she recently bought herself some Sketchers with Grandad money!

On another note, I have cut my shirt to look all 80's and it's cute! And I put on make up too - a rare occurance lately as I've been bustin ass at the gym so much! 
Oh - and I got my girl into Gymnastics! She went today for the first time and LOVED it! She's in a class that works on balance beam, floor routines and the bars. She seems to show a proficiency for the bars and is already able to swing and flip both forward and back. The teacher was a little surprised since she hasn't really had any real training before. Don't get me wrong - she's nothing amazing yet, but she's kinda impressive for not having been in class yet. Until you get to the back bends. This child for some reason just cant get that down LOL! Anyway - we got her into classes that occur on Friday so that her sport doesn't interfere with homework. If she balances this well with school for a bit - we may put her into an additional class of Tumbling (straight floor routines) on Wednesdays since that is also a no-homework day. 
Tomorrow she goes to a Fun Friday event where they get dropped off for 3 hours and can practice on any areas that they choose with instruction. She's excited! I am kinda too but not sure what to do with my 3 hours. I might go see a movie or something - I kinda wanna see Step it Up. *shrug*
 
Well it's getting to be that time again! School Shopping! While I do love that my daughter's school does uniforms (not only because they can't tease each other - but because it's definitely cheaper), I find it incredibly frustrating to get it done and to hunt down the right colors, lengths etc. 
This year - I was delighted to find out my child can now wear White and Black Polos instead of just Royal Blue. They also get to wear jumpers! This means my little girl will actually have an opportunity to look like a GIRL at school! WOOHOO! But - then you read the small print, "Unisex Short Sleeve Polo - No Capped Sleeves" well...dammit! My girls is a slender child. A unisex polo that is long enough to cover her tummy - is also HUGE on her body. She looks sloppy in it no matter how your try to fix it. To top that off - no "girl" polos which are made to fit them better - are free of capped sleeves. So now my daughter is being punished for not being a wide and thick girl, so the other girls will fit their clothing better, and she will look like a slob. That's not fair. It just seems they are taking the stipulations a little too far. 
I know they mean for uniformity - but having a child look sloppy will not be uniform to the other children. 

I guess this year instead of our normal $200 in clothing/shoes/socks/underwear/shorts/undershirts - Ill have to see a Tailor and have it all tailored to fit. What a HUGE pain in the ass. And here I thought the biggest problem would be the khaki pants/skirts/shorts fitting properly (again - she's tall, and skinny so if it fits her hips, it's too short). 

Enough of my bitching and moaning I suppose. 
Yesterday we got the chance to meet up with my friend Maura and her baby girl M!:) We did the Waterpark thing and enjoyed ourselves immensely! Maura brought her Step Father and little Sis May along and we finally got to ride that Tornado ride that my girl has been DYIN to ride! And that was MORE than enough times to ride too. It was the scariest ride I've ever been on in my life, and judging by the look of sheer terror on my girl's face - she wasn't even able to scream she was so scared - she decided it wasn't her favorite either! It felt like the entire time we were about to flip.
We had a great time though - and my girl really enjoyed meeting another adoptee! It's not that common that she gets to meet others from similar situations and so it's a real treat when it does happen! 

Somehow - despite my extreme hunger leaving the park - I did manage to keep on my diet yesterday and Im being rewarded for it by a 2lbs loss this morning! WOOHOO! The dieting and working out thing has been going well if not slow - so Im going to keep on keeping on I suppose.

Funny story - at the waterpark we were in the restroom because girly needed to do a potty stop. While in there, a girl in the far stall was clearly frustrated and emotional. Her mother and older sister were standing outside the stall trying to help her figure out how to use a tampon for the first time. The conversation was basically that the cardboard part wouldn't come loose from the tampon once inserted. Of course the mother was offering to come in and help her daughter -and her daughter was panicked and frustrated and talking about how she hates her life etc. She could hear us in there, so not wanting to just stand and stare I said aloud that being a girl sucks, and that every one of us have been in her position trying to figure out how tampons work, and it DOES get easier once you get the hang of it. At this point - the mother offered once again to come in and help her to which the girl replied "Mom, I'd rather SHE come in than you" and went on about how she doesn't want her mom to see her bits.  It's funny because I can totally imagine years from now - being in that exact same position with my girl. It was like a glimpse into the future. LOL - I can't believe one day Ill be explaining tampon use to my own daughter. Im sooooo glad this is a ways off!!

Anywho - I think the reason this post is soooo long is because in reality - Im 
 
I love those Living Social and Groupon deals. I got the girly and myself a Mother/Daughter session at Glamour Shots for $19 which included a framed 5x7 and a "facebook" digital file. Here's the digital file! My daughter's hair was curled and lovely - but it fell completely straight about 10 minutes into the shoot :( We still enjoyed it - but didn't spend the damn near $400 for the "SMALL" package. I have another session with our regular photographer coming up next time the hubby is home - and THAT is where we will make our portrait orders! 
Still - it's a cute photo! 

I've lost a total of 7 lbs in the last month. Gah - sooooo slow! I understand that's also due to my working out nearly daily and doing strength training. Im building muscle - and retaining the water that is needed to repair the muscles. But still find it frustrating! Oh well...

Today I was running uphill for 3 miles and really pushing myself and before I knew it I looked down and I had sweat literally DRIPPING off me. Eeeww....what's worse? My skin all over my face, neck, legs, stomach and back felt like it was stinging like a sunburn being slapped. I have NO idea what that was about but it was really miserable for about an hour. I even called hubby to ask about it because it's never happened before! 
 
Took this of myself after Mother Daughter Glamour Shots! Everyone on FB says I look like a 70's Porn Star! Yeah....only in the face! 
Me in my workout clothes. I figured maybe posting a Before Photo (or as I like to call it, Shaming Myself Publicly) that not only will it provide a point of reference when Im done getting my 15lbs off, but perhaps just the sheer knowing that folks can see how fat I am might shame me into getting it off? I accept that this might be a weird way to go about motivating myself but, to each their own! So there I am from the front, just under breasts down to crotch. I have a nice shape, says the hubs, a sexy and womanly shape. I disagree. I see extremely WIDE hips. 
Here is the side shot. I know a lot of people think this is still thin, I guess my point of reference is what makes me think Im not. There is a weird roll looking thing going on above my butt (see that white emblem? Look to the left, there is the roll), and in the front there is a belly going on. It's not a huge belly - but it's just enough that my clothes are uncomfortable, and I USED TO BE CONCAVE folks. I dont have to be concave again - I understand that my hubby likes me not to be bony like I was for a little while, but I'd like it to be perfectly taut and flat again. Im not really sure even losing my 15lb gain will get me there now either, as somehow my abs have built up there in the bottom and are rock hard but kinda bulge...
 
Didn't go as far as I'd like to but had to get er' done so I could get home showered and ready for the hubs to get home!:) But hey - I burned an entire meal off!:)
Me - ready for the hubs (sans lipstick!) My hair had kind of fallen down but I rock
 
 
I'm kinda proud of myself today! I didn't get to sleep till around 4am this morning due to a friend needing to talk, and yet still got up about 5 hours later, went to the gym and ran 2.5 miles, did my weight training and ran my errands (boring stuff, prescription, post office, library). Don't get me wrong - I had to DRAG my ass into that gym. I really REALLY didn't wanna - but once I got going, I almost seemed to get MORE energy! By the time I left, I was down right Perky running my errands looking all sweaty! 

Right now I'm feeling frustrated that I'm retaining so much water. I know I'm just looking fluffy due to all the strength training I've been doing and muscles need water to repair etc - but it doesn't change the fact that I feel like I look FAT. I know I know - Im not but still. Grr. 

Today's food isn't a Recipe exactly. It's more of a Go-To snack that I use for my munchies feeling (especially on days I work out - I feel like I'm starving to death. I get a can of Reduced Sodium Chick Peas, drain and rinse them, and then toss them with seasonings. I love Toni's but I am trying to avoid it at the moment as that salt will only make me retain more fluid. Today Ill season them with Mrs. Dash. They are a great alternative to Popcorn - and are delicious and filling. I pop them in my mouth with my fingers like popcorn too. Even the Girly will eat them (trust me - if it's not a white carb, it's hard to get this child to eat ANYTHING).  They are fairly low carb if you subtract your fiber from your carbs, and have a decent amount of protein. And they make you regular - very regular. Do not eat more than one can in a day!!!!


 
2 Servings

Ingredients:

300 ml of Egg Beaters
2 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein

Directions:

Shake in a shaker bottle for 2 min till well blended (or use magic bullet).
In hot non-stick pan with a little olive oil spray pour some mixture in just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Swirl until dry around the edges, then flip. 

You can eat these like a pancake - but I chose to stuff it with cottage cheese  and strawberries, topped with fat free whip and more strawberries!:)

Calories 150
Carbs 3
Protein 28gr