The Big 5

Today Jason and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary.  I know that many of you are thinking "How in the world has Sarah able to put up with him for 5 years?"  Easy.  I make sure that no matter what, I always remember to tell him we don't have any money.  You want to buy a motorcycle?  We don't have any money.  Yes, that drum set is really nice.  Too bad we don't have any money.  That poker game does sound like fun.  It's a shame we don't have any money. :)  That seems to keep him in check for the most part! (Kidding...mostly.)

In honor of our 5 year anniversary, I thought I'd post the top 5 things I love about my husband.

Number 5: If it's broken, he will fix it.

I have never met anyone who can "do it yourself" like Jason.  The house needs remodeling, Jason can do it.  The shower is broken, Jason can fix it. The oil needs changing, something needs building, the sprinkler needs repairing, hair needs cutting....Jason will do it (okay definitely not the hair cutting again).  I laugh because even Aria understands this about him. Any time she accidentally tears a sticker or breaks a crayon in half, the first thing she says is "It's okay, Daddy will fix it."  If he doesn't know how to do it, he researches it until he does (and in his defense he actually did research the hair cutting before he did it).

Number 4: He is an amazing teacher.

Jason has been given this amazing gift of being able to teach others; not just teach them, but teach them well.  Whether at the dojang, work, or at home, Jason has this way of explaining how something works and breaking it down to help you understand as well.  He is articulate and patient and he loves watching others grow in knowledge and skill. 

Number 3: He is the hardest working person I have ever met. 

I don't know many people who have this drive to always give 100% (and in some cases it seems like more).  Every single day Jason demonstrates that it is not enough to just do something, but you need to see that it is done well.  He never does something half way and understands that the quality of his work directly reflects his character.

Number 2: He loves me more than he loves Aria.

Before we had Aria we sat in several classes at church where the same message was repeated; make sure your child knows that your spouse will always come first.  In order to be a united front in parenting, you have to make sure your marriage is strong.  The best thing we can do for Aria is to show her what a Godly marriage looks like.  By putting me first he shows Aria what a Godly husband is and our prayer is that she will never settle for anything less.

And the number 1 thing I love about Jason: He loves God more than he loves me.

Jason loves God and always makes sure that the decisions we make for our family are based on the things that God expects from us.  He pushes us to live a life worthy of God's love and even though we sometimes fall short he continues to lead us as God has called him to do.

Happy 5 year anniversary to the most amazing husband in the world!  I love you!

Here are some pictures of us over the years.

21 Day Fix - Week One

The first week was about as hard as I expected it to be.  I definitely was not perfect but any time I fell down I got right back up feeling a little more motivated.  When I completed the LiveFit Challenge back in 2013, it was easier to stay on track because Jason was doing it right along with me.  This time it's just me, but he's been extremely supportive and has pushed me on several occasions to make better decisions.

By Wednesday morning I was just flat out hungry.  I'm taking in a lot of food but it's so low calorie that I find myself hungry after about 30 mins.  I came close to eating my hand just to get some relief, but luckily too many episodes of Walking Dead made me reconsider.  In order to stay as close to on track with my meal plan as possible, I made Jason take me to get Mexican food....twice.  I stuck with 2 fajita tacos on corn tortillas topped with only guacamole but I definitely had chips and queso.  

I really enjoyed some of the recipes I tried out this week so I thought I'd share my two favorites.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

Received recipe from by Beachbody coach

Container Count per serving: 1.25 green, 2 blue, 2 orange

2 large Portabella mushroom caps
1 roma tomato, diced
2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup crumbled fat free feta cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
small pinch of red pepper flakes
small pinch white pepper
1/4 cup Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

In a small bowl, combine the spinach, tomato, feta cheese, mozzarella, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and dressing.  Toss together.

Place the mushrooms in a small baking dish and evenly divide the mixture and stuff the mushrooms.  Don't worry about stuffing them too full.  The spinach will wilt down when it's heated.

Pour chicken broth in the bottom of baking dish, just enough that the mushrooms are sitting in a bit of liquid.

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 until the mushrooms are soft and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Hummus-Crusted Chicken with Squash and Zucchini

Container Count per serving: 1 blue, 1 red, 1 green

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 zucchini, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup hummus (I used roasted red pepper)

1 TBSP olive oil

1 lemon

1 TSP paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare one large baking dish with cooking spray.

Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and onion with olive oil until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper.

Place all veggies in the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer. Lay the four chicken breasts evenly on top, then cover each breast with the hummus so that the entire breasts is covered. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken and veggies. Then sprinkle the chicken and veggies with the paprika.

Bake for about 30-40 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender. Serve immediately.

I thought I'd Pinterest up my weight loss journey (because who doesn't love a good Pinterest craft) by creating these weight loss jars.  I started with 11 marbles in the Pounds To Go jar and for each pound I lose I get to move a marble to the Pounds Lost jar.  If I put any of those pounds back on I've got to move the marble back to the Pounds To Go jar.  As of today I have 3 marbles in my Pounds Lost jar!

I did not post my starting photos last week.  I really struggle with putting them out there this time around. When I began the LiveFit program I hadn't already succeeded so posting photos as I progressed never bothered me because I was making progress.  This time is different because I've undone (almost) everything I worked for so it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I failed myself.

Starting weight: 136.2 
Weight today: 132.6

I can't tell as much from my front photo, but I can see a little more of the changes from my side photo.

Here's to week two and hopefully being just a little less hungry every day!

Starting Over...

...well maybe not completely.  Have I put on all of the baby weight I lost almost 2 years ago? Yes.  Do I make poor eating choices every day?  Pretty much.  But do I still have the tools and knowledge I gained when I went through the LiveFit challenge back in May 2013?  You bet!  In my book that already gives me a head start.

Over the past 6 months I've asked myself what happened?!  What happened to my drive and my self control?  Why is it such a struggle to get back on track?  I think my downfall began when I reached my "goal".  Once I reached my goal I began to convince myself that it was okay to eat that extra treat and it won't hurt if I skip this workout.  As the evidence confirms, that is such a slippery slope; one that I slid right down!

My "fat" pants are getting tight, my back and neck are constantly hurting, and I barely have enough energy to get through the day.  I hate the way I feel, I hate the way my clothes fit, and I hate looking at pictures of myself.

I've been trying to figure out what kept me motivated in the first place and I've come to the conclusion that the main reason I was successful is because I kept myself accountable by blogging.  I originally stopped blogging because I felt like I was spending more time worrying about my next blog or Instagram post than I was playing with my daughter and that was not okay.  I think there can be a healthy balance and I feel like I am in a better position to make that happen.

I've decided to use a combination of tools to get me back on track.  Tomorrow I will 100% commit to the 21 Day Fix.  I have used pieces of this program as a guide for almost a year now, but have never seen the program all the way through.  I absolutely love the workouts and the eating plan is pretty straight forward!  

Also, for the past 7 days I've been completing Chalene Johnson's 30-Day Challenge.  This challenge is a great tool for organizing yourself so that you can successfully set and accomplish goals.  I have really enjoyed it thus far and can't wait to see how the rest of the challenge goes!  You can sign up for this and you will receive 30 days of videos and worksheets to guide you through the process.  The best part about it is that it is completely FREE!  

Jason got me an awesome book for Christmas called God's Guide to Food, Fitness and Faith.  It is a 30 day devotional of Biblical principles for better health.  I thought it was perfect to start along side the 30-Day Challenge as a bit of extra reinforcement. 

                                  

So here I go again!