I love Fridays… Kids are home, I do lots of cooking, and even though I still work, it is at my own pace. And what is great is I rented a couple of movies!

One of them I have been waiting forever to come out ever since I saw the first preview. It is definitely my kind of movie…. Becoming Jane– (link to website, and click play to see the trailor there) based on Jane Austen’s romance- the foundation of her wonderful novels. Ann Hathaway plays the role, and I utterly adore her… She was wonderful in Ella Enchanted… I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG I could scream!! Sorry, I just cannot wait to relax tonigh and watch this while working on a dress pattern! What a better way to put me in the mood for designing.

No wonder Pride and Prejudice is my favorite novel and movie! And my other favorite actress, Keira Knightley plays in it.. and you know what Pride and Prejudice is- it is one of Jane Austen’s novels! Ha! yes, sorry I am excited, hard to contain! Quite funny, when I went into the video store, I noticed they have 5 NEW copies of Pride and Prejudice in. I kid you not, I am sure it is because of me. I think I have rented that movie more than all the  movies I have ever rented combined, and I think I gave a few sour looks when I have them check several times to see if it is in since sometimes it was checked out.. LOL if only they knew it was me who created their chaos! haha

It is odd, many times, especially while writing my stories.. music or a movie, something that takes me away, sets the tone for my stories and projects. You know.. one of these days I should share some excerpts from my stories.. maybe even the novel I have been working on. I have bean soup cooking, the house smells lovely, an hour before I pick up the kids, another hour after dinner and clean up, then my movie time!!!

Speaking of the kids.. my son is coming home bald today! (eek). Yes, you heard it, bald, no hair… nada zip all gone. You see, my son is on the high school swim team, and it is time for regionals. A couple weeks ago, the team all bleached their hair. The subsequent week, they went color (some blue, some red, some black- my son went aqua!). Now the time comes, a week later to shave it all off. We went out to the store last night and got shaving cream and nice shavers, as he also has to shave off all the hair on his arms and legs. They do this to help their swim times… Even if only by a second or two, it could make all the difference.

So… ready to see? Here is a before, a bleach job, then an aqua job. You will have to wait for the bald shot though – That will be tonight when he comes home!

Natural Hair: Here is at one of his swim meets. See the nice strawberry blonde

Bleach Job: (egawds)

Bleached hair wet:

AND AQUA!

I have to admit, I think I like the aqua better than the bleach job. lol, go figure. What could I do? Say hey no you can’t do all these crazy things to your hair?! The whole team is doing it, they are all having fun… forming bonds and kinship to one another… It is the way they celebrate. Just like each day they have a swim meet, they all dress up in suits and ties going to school.. They are all such a great bunch of boys, and going down the right path.. they have to have some fun before their hair is all gone, right? I love ya kiddo!

So, on my last post, I talked about how I lost some weight.. I never really liked photos of myself – all due to my weight. I am somewhat happy with my body, but I am NOT photogenic, and well being “weighty” has definitely not helped the camera’s love for me… It is amazing, I never really knew how much I had gained until really looking at photos of myself. And it is not just a “beauty” thing.. but also a health thing too. I want to live a long, healthy quality life. So, that was it, right after my daughter’s birthday part in late October, I said it is now time. And the very next day I started. I dropped 30 lbs by Christmas. It may seem like a lot, but I think that was only because it was the beginning, and I really never stuck to a diet more than week.

Ok, so cannot believe I am going to show these photos! But hey, gotta have courage. Here I am in June of 06.

Here is a photo of me at my daughter’s party in late October.

Ok, and now here I am 2 months ago at Christmas! And yes these I think are the first photos of me with my hair down

I do feel I look better, and I know I feel better. I went from a size 18/20ish to now a 14. My 16s still fit, and the 14s are a bit snug, but I like to say I wear a 14 lol But the thing is, before, I could not even get a leg into my 14s and now I can snap them up no problem. I do not really have a goal.. I have a dream goal to be a size 6! But, I do not think I was a size 6 at 12 years old even… But hey, you never know! Anyone want to go in on this with me and be like virtual world losing weight pals??

Another goal is to start going to the gym more. I now have a YMCA pass for both the kids and myself.. I ought to start utilizing it! How did I lost this weight? No diet pills. No shakes, no deprivation. No gimmick fad, no anything. I had researched a lot of diets, and well, I just really hate restrictions. I definitely did NOT want something that could be unhealthy. The best diet I found was the South Beach Diet. It was originally designed by a medical doctor for his patients with heart disease, high cholesterol etc.

There are basically 3 phases. The first phase, all carbs are cut out, and lasts for 2 weeks. That means NO carbs of any kind, including fruit. If anything, the first Phase is the only part that takes any heat. It also includes sugar, (no sugar in the coffee), nothing starchy like potatoes, bread, pasta etc. It very much emphasizes LEAN meat, (not fatty meats like bacon and burgers). Fish, chicken breast, sirloin, etc. It also has a great emphasis on veggies- that part I liked since I am a HUGE fan of veggies.. think I put onions in about everything.

The main reason for this, (I am NOT a doctor, this is only what I learned through research) is to break the insulin dependence the body has on foods high on the glycemic index. Others have deduced this phase is not even necessary, but that it is good in that it teaches one different, but better eating habits.

This phase was hard for me, as I am a potato gal. Not so much chips and such, but I love sugar in my coffee, and I love potato anything. But I did it and followed the first 2 weeks to a T. I lost about 14 lbs.. and not just water, but I really did feel it in my waist line. Now, losing weight that fast IS NOT healthy, but since it is only for 2 weeks I think it warranted following in my case.

What did I eat during this week? I ate lots and very much enjoyed it. It was hard the first few days, but I simply put milk in my coffee and adapted fairly quick. Not sure if it was the motivation aspect, or if it was something else, but it soon was just fine. I ate lots of omlettes, loaded with reduced fast cheese and onions, ham (not the sugar cured, mind ya). I also ate beans, fish, baked chicken, lots of veggies, of course, chilli etc. And what is great is you eat until you are full!! I was NEVER deprived.

How did I feel? I was quite tired the first 6 days. Almost like you had just exhausted yourself exercising.. I think that is because carbs give you energy, and your body is now changing where it gets energy from. I could literally feel both good and bad during this first 5 days how bad my body was from eating so many refined things. By the second week, I was feeling much better and getting some energy, and really felt lighter in my step.

The second Phase, carbs are brought back in, but only healthy ones. Fruit, complex carbohydrates such as Whole grain bread, whole wheat bread ( notice the emphasis on whole) , fruit, etc. You do not lost weight fast on Phase 2 and you stay on Phase 2 until you reach your goal. You do not eat the birthday cake, refined carbs (white bread etc), but you stick with whole foods, whole grains etc. I continued to lose on this regime, maybe 1-3 lbs a week. The last 4 weeks I have not lost anything but have not gained anything. I attribute this to eating some refined carbs, not watching my portions as close as I should and lack of exercise but you know what the weird thing is??

I have NOT gained one pound back. So I really believe the first 2 weeks is needed to retrain the body how it uses energy. Every single diet I have tried, I always gained it all back, plus 10 lbs. This is the first I have ever kept it off and did not gain any back. I know if I cut out the refined carbs (have pizza with whole wheat crust instead of white, etc) I will start losing again. So, I plan to work harder at this and get back into the groove. Let me know if anyone wants to change their eating habits with me! Of course, always see a doctor before changing anything and ask your doctor if this diet would be good and safe for you.