Punta Cana Pics

As promised.....

Finally, the bikini pics


The happy couple


My handsome hubby



Awwwww


Getting nice and crispy

Mmmm Coco Loco's...

Before a show..

Another bikini pic

First day on the beach...that is a sunken ship in the water behind me

Picture Post

My Dominican Motivation:

I know, I know, I'm totally coping out by not putting pics of me IN the bikinis.

Wedding Pics from last weekend....

Hubby and I

Not quite sure why my face looks all squishy...it was sooo hot in there!

I saw this pic and was so proud of my collarbone!! Where did it come from? Haven't seen it in YEARS! (me on the bottom left)

Random Pic from Girls Night out. (Me far left)

And Stagette...Moi and a friend
Moi and the Bride...the back says Maid of Honor

That's it Folks.....who doesn't love some pics though!

Also, I'm still sorting out the details for Summer Challenge but if you're interested, leave a comment and I'll put you on the list!

Thanks ladies!

A slight slip up...and St. Patty's Pics!

So last night I had a minor slip up. 2 glasses of wine, a piece of cake and about 1/2 cup of twix ice cream. Ok...there was a small plate of taco dip too. But it could have been worse and thrown in with all that was a lot of veggies from the veggie tray. But I feel awful this morning and wish I could take it all back! It wasn't even great cake! Don't you hate that? Spending points you don't have on food that's just so-so?

I'm hoping that my 60 mins Tae Bo sweat fest yesterday morning will help out. Today I think I'm taking a day off from working out. I've worked out the past 6 days in a row and Billy has a way of making your arms kill the next morning. Why do I still feel guilty for not working out though? Maybe I'll get in a walk outside. I should get some form of exercise in since I indulged a little too much last night.

Today is another Easter dinner. Did great at the one yesterday. Filled up on veggies and just had a small sliver of Graham Cracker Pie. I'm going in with a plan today to stay away from the potato scallop and just have salad and ham with 1/2 cup of chocolate frozen yogurt for dessert, only 2 points and sooo yummy!

I can't wait for a normal weekend again!

Hope everyone else is having a wonderful Easter!
Here are a few pics from St. Patty's Day that I've been meaning to post!

Me and 2 friends of mine. I think my antenna got caught in my friend's hair! I couldn't move my head!
I can't figure out why this is so small...isn't blogger odd sometimes? This is my showing off some major pipes!
I'm kind of thinking Scott is going to disown me after posting this picture but I think it's cute...minus my face being all squished up!

P. I. M. P.

Let me tell you ladies, a Very short dress and a pint of Orange Vodka aren't the greatest combo!

Finally...we see the pay off!!

Finally, after a few weeks of absolutely nothing it's time for the pay off.

-3 lbs ladies!!

This is a HUGE motivation for me! This 3 lb loss comes much needed after 3 weeks of maintaining. I was starting to go insane there for a few weeks. I think the reason I was so successful this week was because I tried to cut out any "empty points" and I got to the gym three days in a row. I've also pretty much doubled my protein and fiber everyday so I'm sure that is helping too. So to say the least, even though it's pouring down rain out, I'm feeling great today and I just KNOW that I am going to continue this roll and see a loss next week too. My goals for the upcoming week are as follows:

1. Count ALL of my flex points this weekend and BEHAVE at the wedding I am going to tomorrow.

2. Keep my breakfasts full of protein and fiber so it keeps me full longer.

3. Get in 4 40-45 min sessions at the gym (1 of them may be a Yoga or BodySculpt class)

4. Keep an eye on those empty points and stay away from sweets during the week.

What goals do you guys have for Week #4 of the Christmas Challenge?? Let's hear em!!!

Thanks for all the feedback on the flex point issue! It was so comforting to know that I am not the only one splurging on the weekends with chocolate and goodies. I especially loved Angie's thoughts. "I have always eaten every single point ever available to me. There's no friggin way I'm letting them go to waste! " I am the SAME way!! I am seriously counting down my points every weekend. Although I STILL haven't gotten through ONE weekend basically since JULY where I haven't gone over my flex points. So here it is ladies. I'm making a promise to myself and to all you lovely ladies. I'm NOT going over my flex points this weekend. NO WAY. I've started planning them out to help myself stay accountable so here is the breakdown.

Tonight's agenda: Dinner and a movie night with my amazing hubby. We are either going to see Good Luck Chuck or We Own the Night. Any recommendations?

Homemade pizza for dinner - 9.5 flex used

1 Mars Bar for movie (6pts) - 15.5 flex used

1 Bag of Baked Doritos (4pts) - 19.5 flex used

Saturday's agenda: Wedding. Great thing about this is that it is a wedding for a guy I went to high school with. Soo...I will get to see a ton of people that I haven't seen in years and I can't wait for the compliments to just start flying haha! It's been a while but I know it will be a great ego boost and will probably help me stay on track at the wedding. Plus a lot of my girlfriends are going (more than a few of us have actually dated the Groom!) and I can't wait to catch up with everyone and just spend the night mingling! I love my girlfriends.

My plan for this is to eat a normal breakfast and lunch and save any leftover flex points for the dessert and wedding cake that is inevitable (and usually tres yummy!)

What are you ladies planning on using your flex points on this weekend???

That's it for me today. I leave you with a VERY cheesy, but super cute picture of Scott and I that my brother took last weekend in their yard on Thanksgiving. I love it!

Sarah's Food Photo Challenge (One day late)

I'm finally posting my pics for Sarah's Food photo Challenge and I think I may be missing a dinner but I'll post what I have. (Sorry I'm a day late Sarah!!) Not sure where that other picture went. Honestly, looking at everyone else's gourmet meals makes my meals look like they were prepared by a pre-schooler. What can I say? I'm a simple girl with simple tastes :)

Thanks you for the sympathy regarding my stair flight. I got my first look of astonishment this morning at work when a girl I work with saw my bruised arm in the bathroom and said "Holy Crap, what happened to your arm??" (and that one isn't even the bad arm!) I told her I fell down the stairs at home and it sounded like such a "I'm hiding that someone is secretly abusing me" story. I had to laugh. Not that abuse is funny. But the thought of it happening in my home is absurd. I'm so much more stiff today. My shoulders and neck are really stiff, they weren't yesterday but I guess it takes a few days for the full soreness and aches to really settle in. Still so mad at myself. On top of that I feel like a Mac truck hit me today with an awful head cold. It came on like a ton of bricks last night and I was asleep by 8:30pm and today it is worse. I feel like my head is in a fog and I can't concentrate on anything except how awful I feel. Yuck! I didn't make it to the gym last night and I'm not making it tonight. I'm going home, taking a nice hot bubble bath and crawling into bed. Can. Not. Wait.

Ok, on to better and brighter things. Thanks to everyone who joined the Christmas Challenge. Randi and I are both so excited. We've gotten a great response and I am excited to see how everyone makes out. I must say that Angie has already sent me her WI for this week and she is setting the bar high! She is doing fantastic! It's not a competition by any means but seeing other people succeed always gives me that extra kick in the butt-- which is exactly what I need during this Challenge so Thank you Angie!!

Ok So onto Sarah's Food Photo Challenge..I also threw in a photo of Scott and I from a wedding we went to last weekend just because I think we look cute! :) And I'm always curious about what all my blogger friends look like. There are a lot of you without profile pictures! (Ms. Kelly!)I always just come up with my own image of what everyone looks like based on their personality. Did you ever do that, like at work when you correspond with someone over the phone for a few weeks or more and then you meet them in person and you already have this mental image of what they look like? Usually I am WAY off base...I'm rambling. Maybe the cold medication is making me crazy....or maybe I was already crazy. Who knows.

Pictures Carolyn Pictures...focus.

Seriously, if you have checked out the other challengers in Sarah's Food Photo Challenge, please forgive me.

I eat the SAME thing for breakfast every single morning. I know it sounds boring but I love it. 1 Cup of WW cereal with 1/2 cup of skim milk. 1/2 c V8 juice, 16 oz of water, and then I have a fruit for a morning snack. I didn't want to bore you with 3 pictures of the same breakfast so this is all you get. :)

Has anyone else tried the WW Honey Almond cereal? I didn't like it at first but then it started to grow on my and now I'm addicted.

Good ol comfort food. Nothing like Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I know what you're thinking...."What is she?? 12???" But nothing makes me feel warm and fuzzy like a good ol fashion bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Soup is made with skim milk and sandwich with WW bread, Becel topping spray and fat free cheese slice.

Snack time. 1 point of Vegetable garden melba rounds and Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges. Mmmmm

I wish this was more exciting folks. Sorry!

This is basically my typical lunch...including cheesy lunch bag. Has anyone tried this Primo Vegetable garden soup? It's SOOO good and only 2 points for the whole can!!! It's got pasta and roasted veggies. I can't get enough of it. I like lots of fruit during the day too. I don't like bananas until they are covered in brown spots. They taste so much better when they get to this stage. My hubby likes them when they still have a green tinge. We both think the other is crazy.




Another lunch. 2 WW wraps, a bunch of veggies to go in the wraps. I forgot that I added 1 oz of cheddar cheese and also some light ranch dressing. I forgot to put that in the picture. I should have though because although this lunch was really delicious...you'd never be able to tell by this pitiful picture. :)

I always keep my mushrooms separate until I get to the office. I hate soggy mushrooms.

This has to be one of my favorite suppers. The picture honestly doesn't do it justice. I take one serving of Healthy Harvest Omega 3 and flax seed whole wheat pasta, 2 tsp of basil pesto and mix that up. Top it with fried veggies such as broccoli, tomato, zucchini, onion and green pepper and have a side of Brussel sprouts topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It is absolutely amazing!!! (We call it Pasta Delight...I have no idea why)

I posted about this lasagna a few weeks ago. It is from Roni's site. It is lasagna made with Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini instead of pasta. It has no meat either. It is super low in points and it is amazingly yummy! It's even better after it sits overnight in the fridge. I had some today for lunch. I wish I had taken a picture of it after I cut out a piece so you could see what the layers look like but I'm sick...and tired and this is all you get. But you should try out the recipe. It's is yummola!

And last but not least here is a pic of me and Hubby at a wedding we went to last weekend. I thought it was c ute pic so I'm posting it :) I should crop out that big white blob. I think it was one of the centerpieces. Scott is going through a bearded phase. It's growing on me though... :)

Why is posting pics on blogger so hard??? Does anyone else have the same problem?? You post a pic...never know what size it's going to come out....then you have to try and position it right, then it messes up the spacing for your entire post....grr. It took me 1 hour to post these pics. Am I doing something wrong??

I'm off to bed. Night ladies :)

Long weekend recap...and my 100th post!

I've been slightly MIA since last week. Not because I fell off the wagon or anything (although I did have a weekend FULL of good food and lots of wine!) but only because I have been on vacation and have been enjoying the time with my hubby and getting out to enjoy the outdoors.

But today it is back to reality, back to work and back to my meal plan. Actually Monday and Tuesday were on plan (with the exception of a small teeny tiny love affair with a brownie on Monday night) I feel good about getting back on track and last night Scott and I went for a 35 min power walk. It's not much but I NEED to get back in the habit of exercising regularly. Last night I realised how much I actually miss it. It felt so good after I was done and I could feel that all too familiar burn in my legs and butt which only reminds me of how long it's been since I have gotten out to get any exercise. I plan on getting in 2 more 45 min power walks before the week is over and next week I am hoping to get in 4 good 45 min walks to gear myself up for the C25K program. I may just start it next week though. For those of you who have completed the program....did you jump right in or did you try to get your exercise groove back before diving in head first?

I'm also contemplating buying a mini trampoline. A friend of mine swears by hers. Especially during the winter she just puts it in front of her TV and watches TV for an hour or so and she says she gets a great workout. Anyone have one??? I think it would be great for the winter when walking outside isn't always an option. And I've heard those thing are great for your legs and butt. I'm going to go check them out this weekend I think. I'd LOVE to get some feedback form you guys though!

So we had our housewarming party on Saturday and we had so much fun! We had about 45 people show up which was great and we got tonnes of great presents!! We had a sweet bonfire and a washer tournament (for any of you that are form the country!)

Here are a couple of pictures from the night. Surprisingly I was looking through the pictures for pictures of our house and there are NONE!! I wanted to show off all the renos that we have done and all the great colors we chose for the house but I will have to post them this weekend. I have some great before and afters! This one on the right is of me and a few of my friends. Not the most flattering pic as I'm kind of straddling the camping chair!! The one on the left is CLASSIC Carolyn. It's too funny. This picture sums me up perfectly. Smile on my face, glass of wine in my hand (almost empty, as it usually is), holding on to one of my best friends. This is when I am happiest! (also you could insert my husband where my friend is!! haha) It was a great night and we all had a great time but what a mess! I spent 2 hours the next morning cleaning up after my messy friends! People keep posting up new pics on Facebook so I may have some more shortly.

Can't wait to check up on all of your blogs! I've got a ton of reading to do! Take care!